Bi-vocational Leader
Become a bi-vocational leader today. Christian Leaders Institute (CLI) offers free high-quality online ministry training. CLI accepts any individual anywhere in their life to learn about Christianity. Read a student’s testimony below who was a lost son of God and found CLI as a tool to rediscover the pathway to Christ:
You may wonder when you first look at my name “Is he Italian or French?” Well, I’m none of the above… I’m Canadian. Born in a 100% French speaking small town of the Province of Quebec. Back in those days, people from Quebec were referred to as French Canadians. Nowadays, we are known more as “Quebecers” or “Québécois.” My first ancestor “Zacharie Cloutier”, who arrived from France in 1634, was a carpenter. Yes… like our Lord! As for the Italian roots of my first name, in spite of my best efforts, I just can’t find any from both sides of my family. Mom said she just picked it up because she liked it.
I’m not proud to admit that my walk with Jesus has not been a straight line, to say the least. I have been the “lost son” Jesus talks about in Luke 15: 11-32. Only times two…
I accepted Him at the age of 19 in the Spring of 1983 and got married in July of the same year. Then followed an insane 10 years stretch in which I found myself running after the world’s shiny objects. It took a monumental business failure for me to go back to Him when I turned 30. I got baptized a few months later in November 1994. Then guess what? I aimed again for the world! Objects were only bigger and shinier this time around… and I got divorced at the turn of the century.
In my chaotic years, the biggest sin I did, among so many, was to try to “mold” God to my liking. Although I continued to believe in Him and often expressed gratitude for the blessings of my life, the God I worshiped and praised was diminished to a stature that I had designed TO PLEASE ME. So I diluted Jesus. I adapted His gospel to one that better fit my prosperity thinking and the kind of literature I swamped myself in. Shamefully, I became my own Savior…
In the Fall of 2013, the Lord chose a pure stranger to throw me off my horse… After a back treatment, a chiropractor I was seeing for the first time, witnessed to me. His testimony was so pure, loving and candid that it literally rushed me home to my bible! After I repented for my sins, the Lord took me back ONCE more with open arms. Glory to Him! Although it took me too many years, I finally acknowledged Him not only as my Savior but also as the Lord of my life.
I am now married to the woman of my dreams since September 2001. Together we are the proud parents of 3 adults children. Diane has a son from a previous marriage and I have 2 daughters. She accepted Christ in June 2015 and got baptized in December 2016. We still live in Quebec but in recent years, we have been blessed enough to spend about half of our time on the Treasure Coast of South Florida, in the United States. Diane and I are serving in three local ministries in our Florida church and are honored to be hosting a weekly Life Group in our home.
The serving ministries and fellowship have given me ample opportunities to share my story with several brothers and sisters in the faith. What I noticed is that many have revealed to me that they too have had a similar “on and off” walk with the Lord. It has since become clear to me that this was to be my main ministry. My dream is to become a bilingual bi-vocational pastor, in Canada and/or the United States, whose main focus will be to reach out to the sheep that have drifted in the world from their Holy Shepherd. I feel that a CLI scholarship would equip me with the proper tools to do just that and become a successful bi-vocational leader of Christianity.
By His grace, I am now willing to follow any path He will show me to bring Him glory. Please pray that I remain faithful, obedient and active in the furthering of our Father’s kingdom.
Check out more stories about students becoming a Bi-vocational leader on the CLI facebook page
Free Bible College Recommendation
Free Bible College Recommendation – My name is Grace V. Hughes and I live outside of Houston, Texas in the United States of America. I am the youngest of four, I am 52 years old. I was born in Texas but lived in Venezuela until I was 20 years old. At that age, I moved to the United States to attend college. My husband and I have been married 25 years, we have five children and two grandchildren. Currently, my husband and I alternate serving in two churches as Camera Operators.
I came to know Jesus Christ through my grandmother Grace. Here is my account: I was raised in a wealthy home but God was not considered relevant in our family even though we attended church and I attended an all-girl Catholic school. At 21 years of age, I witnessed my grandmother’s death after her long battle with cancer. After she took her last breath, I questioned where her spirit went. During the five months after her death, I questioned my own eternity. So, on May 18th, 1986, shortly after turning 22 years old, I decided to make Jesus Christ my Lord and my Savior.
There are two aspects of my life experience which have defined my ministry dream: my upbringing and my involvement with various churches and ministries for almost 31 years. First, my family home life was dysfunctional. My dad was extremely controlling and my mom was extremely submissive. These behaviors set the tone in my home for unhealthy behaviors between all of us family members. I grew up always thinking of myself as never good enough, scared and insecure. But everything changed after I became a Christian. Through a series of circumstances, God began to heal my wounded emotions. Many years later, I know I am very imperfect. But I also know within myself that I am forgiven and I am priceless in God’s eyes. Next, over the years of serving in different churches and ministries, I realized there are people that are just as broken as I was. Since I have the gift of listening, a “sound board”, I wish to become a Chaplain or a Counselor. In other words, a Small Group Leader. A setting where I can connect with people that are experiencing a difficult time in their lives and in which they can be heard by me, I can pray with them, and I can provide general advice to their situation.
Losing my day job prompted me to begin pursuing ministry. In 2010, I survived one of many layoffs. I realized then that the Corporate world would not be my final career destination. Recently, in 2016, I did not survive this last layoff. I concluded then that the time was right to begin ministry training. A church friend gave a Free Bible College Recommendation for CLI. I did my research and realized CLI is a legitimate online Bible College.
Regarding employment, it is of great importance that I gain full-time work again. However, I am looking for work in two areas: regular office work and working for non-profit organizations, whether the job is in the Christian or secular industries. Going through CLI will aid in fine-tuning my Bible knowledge and prepare me for ministry whether in a paid position or a volunteer position.
The scholarship from CLI is highly significant to me since I am unable to afford the traditional four-year college tuition and I believe it is not financially beneficial to our family to be in debt. (As a matter of fact, as a family we have been going through financial counseling to better manage our finances and, eventually, bet out of debt!). The scholarship takes away the monetary obstacle and burden and allows me to freely pursue great Biblical training and preparation for Kingdom work.
Regarding the two local churches I serve in and my family, I have their 100 % support and prayers in my Bible College endeavors.
My most important prayer request is for a healthy balance between home life, work life, and able to successfully complete in a timely manner all the courses offered by CLI.