Answering God’s Call
CLI student Rebecca Glenn is highly motivated to serve God despite challenges of being legally blind in her right eye. She is answering God’s call in her life by getting formal ministry training at CLI.
Hi, my name is Rebecca Glenn. I live in a small city in Montgomery Alabama. I was born in New York. I am legally blind in the right eye. I have been married for 32-years. I do not have children. My mother is living and is 82-years old when I write this profile. She is still in her own house and does her own cooking and cleaning. She is a strong woman of God. I have three brothers and five sisters. Currently, I do work so I guess I am bi-vocational.
Being legally blind in the right eye, I had to adjust as a child because my right eye tends to deviate to the right pretty badly and the vision cannot be assessed. The Lord blessed me; however, as I have been able to continue my educational journey, obtaining a Doctorate Degree. I began my faith in Christ Jesus at an early age attending Sunday school, church and church activities. Church was a required activity. You knew that Monday-Friday was school, Saturday family activities/housework, and play time. But, on Sunday we were in church beginning with Sunday school, participating in choir, Easter programs, Christmas programs and other church activities.
During my childhood, my grandmother lived with our family. She was very wise, and she participated in many church functions. Often, I would be passing by her bedroom, and she would have the Bible. She would call me “Becky!” come in and read this passage. The first time I retorted “Gram you must not have your glasses on”’ she, then stated, “I did not say anything about my glasses, I told you to come in and read to me.” This became a habit; I do not know if she liked the way that I read or if she did not want to read it for herself or what. However, I do know that this planted a seed deep in me. I started to get to know our Lord and Savior in a deeper way. It was like He leaped off of the pages and was standing in my grandmother’s bedroom whenever I came in to read for her. My mother and grandmother did not believe in being baptized unless you knew Jesus for yourself. In other words, I had to have my own relationship. They gave us the ability to say that we believed in Christ and accepted Him as our Lord and Savior. I was baptized in a tiny creek with fish swimming around my feet at the age of 16; I will never forget it. At the age of 29, I began teaching Sunday school at children’s church. It was at this time that I received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit! I thank God for His power and anointing. God’s calling continued strongly in my life. In work, I have always believed in service to others. Through me, I want others to see Christ in my life. I always tell people that the only inheritance and legacy that you leave is that of a heartfelt relationship with Jesus Christ. If someone else sees Christ through me, then I am fulfilling my call and my ministry.
I currently, teach Sunday school; however, I have felt the need to perform formal evangelistic ministry. I would like to work as a Christian Counselor. I find that someone is always calling on me for knowledge and advice. My training would begin the journey towards a goal of ministering to people who believe that they have no hope. My goal is to obtain either an Associate or Bachelor’s degree. This would not necessarily make me competent to spread the Gospel as God has called us all to His ministry; however, it would assist with obtaining leadership positions with a strong foundation. A foundation of support lends credibility with those that you are ministering to; it also equips me with knowledge of the Bible, church, congregants, the community, and growth for the Kingdom. I have always felt drawn by God’s Word, but, did not know how He would have me to apply it further. I have always believed in working if as unto God, so, I always worked in service related professional fields. Now, I want to focus my life on ministry with the passion God has given me. I feel like the chains have been broken and I must focus on His will for my life. The world is turned topsy-turvy; we must look to the Savior to bring change individually and collectively. I pray that I receive this scholarship and I ask that CLI pray for my endurance in the completion of this program so that I may show myself approved to His will.
Currently, I am working on-line as an educator. I am very familiar with distance learning and cyberspace classrooms and course work. When I first saw this program, I could not believe that God had answered my prayers, but knew that if I waited long enough, He would answer my prayers. I know that He is calling me to this ministry as I reviewed other colleges and universities and low and behold like five loaves and two fish, there was Christian Leaders Institute. This scholarship was God sent and was meant for me. A scholarship would enable me the ability to pursue this endeavor. I am determined to go all the way and completely submit myself to Christ, but, I know that it will not be easy, I have dealt with adversity, and through them, all God has strengthened me to be a powerful ambassador of His Word. One final word, ministering to others on a formal basis is something that I have done my entire career as a nurse educator. It requires more than knowing scripture; it requires a personal relationship with our ruler and maker. There is a call on my life, and I am answering God’s call on it.
Youthful Passion for Christ
CLI student, Sydney Simao, has been raised in the faith and at only 17 she is writing and public speaking about Christ. She has such youthful passion for Christ that you can feel by reading her testimony.
Read her story below:
My name is Sydney Simao and I’m a 17-year-old Christian writer and public speaker. I live in the United States in Washington with my Dad, who is a Pastor and Entrepreneur, Mom, who has home-schooled all of us kids, me and seven younger siblings.
I don’t remember the day that I came to know the Lord, but my Mom tells me that she remembers the first time I appeared to have a clear understanding of the Gospel. I was two years old, and running around the house carrying a small gift. When she asked what I was doing, I told her that I wanted to give a gift to Jesus. She knelt down and told me that Jesus wanted to give a gift to me and shared the Gospel. I prayed and asked Jesus to save me from my sins, and ever since then, I have been striving to grow in the knowledge of our Lord. I was baptized when I was 7 years old.
I desire to continue speaking and writing for God’s glory, and pointing others to the truth of His word by sharing the Gospel, defending the faith, and helping others learn about the central and sometimes difficult doctrines of the Christian faith.
I have always had a passion for understanding what I believe and why I believe it. When I was little, I desired to be a missionary in a foreign country. That desire to share and defend the Truth has not changed, but now I am planning to do this by helping those all around me through writing and speaking. That is why I am pursuing a degree in Biblical Studies, and I hope to get my Masters in Theology/Writing when I graduate.
My local Church, family, and friends have certainly supported my desires to minister to others and my Dad has the blessing of a large library, study tools, and resources which I have access to and have been enjoying using on a daily basis.
A scholarship to CLI is important to me because it seems an accessible and solid way to pursue gaining an education and foundation in Scripture so that I can share that truth with others.
Please pray that God would use me for His glory and that He would give me the compassion to see the need of others, the courage to help them, the wisdom to understand His truth and share it, and the strength that can only come from dependence on the constant grace of God.
If God is calling you into ministry it doesn’t matter your background, age or gender. Like Sydney, you can have youthful passion about the gospel whatever your circumstances.
Read other CLI student stories on the CLI Facebook page.
Inspiration for Ladies
CLI student, Shay, has known what its like to be bullied for her faith but she overcame the doubters and now wants to become an inspiration for ladies everywhere.
Shay shares her story below:
Hello! My name is Shay. I am a newly married and I am really enjoying being married to my best friend. We reside in the Deep South of the United States, a place that I am still becoming familiar to. I grew up on the West Coast where I was born. As a very young girl, I would catch the neighborhood Sunday School Church bus all by myself. Attending church service and learning about Jesus amazed me. I love reading the bible and coming home to tell my mother what I learned. By the time I was in 5th grade, my church attendance was low. We moved and I simply stopped going.
In high school, my aunt invited me to her church. I loved it! I loved it so much that at age 16, I was baptized in the Apostolic church. I remember wearing all white and being dunked in the pool in front of my family. I felt so new. I had a need to feel new. I harbored a secret of shame. I had been sexually abused and I wanted God to make me new. I started wearing my church clothes to school because I was a new person, but my attire was met with taunts. I was teased. I was made fun of. High school just wasn’t the place for me.
My mom noticed a change in my behavior, so I finally explained to her what was going. How I had been abused. How I had been teased at school. She told me to toughen up, but if I needed to go speak to a counselor she would take me. I told her no because God is my counselor. I had learned to tell him everything. Things at home became unpleasant and as, a teen I just wanted to run away.
At the age of 20, I ran from home I wanted to see what I could do on my very own. I worked three jobs at one time to keep a roof over my head. I wanted to show my family that I could make it on my own. I kept getting sick from working too much and had no choice but to move home. This really made me depressed. I moved back home and started partying with my new friends. We would have drinks and play loud music every weekend. After all, I did work and I was grown. I felt I could do what I wanted to do; I was grown.
My 30s came and I must say, those days were no better. All of the loneliness I felt inside, finally caught up with me. I prayed. I prayed to God for a real friend and true direction. I wanted to get back on the right path. One day later, my prayer was answered. He sent me a friend! A girlfriend that I could talk to in addition to him. Someone positive that I could spend some time with after we worked. A Christian friend who believed the same things I did. There was no more need for extensive drinking parties and loud music. I finally had a friend.
I began reading a lot of Christian based literature. God’s Word started to change me. It shaped me so much that I packed my house up and moved down South to be closer to my sister and her family. The best decision I have ever made was leaving.
Life in the South is way different than California. People here are more family orientated and they have no problem telling people about God. Something that I love about the value system here is the traditional roles of husband and wife. Life is slower here, but peaceful in our little town. I believe God sent me here so, I could become closer to him and guess what? My relationship with God deepened. My spiritual growth allowed me to see things that I would not have noticed like, a Godly man pursuing me. I was mature enough to have an adult relationship. We courted shortly then married.
I have enjoyed visiting a few churches, but I still haven’t found one that I really just love. Most churches here are Baptist, different from how I was raised. This has lead me to not attending church regularly. I watch television or YouTube sermons. I do not drive and my husband works weekends so, I do not go. I got to thinking, how many other women are embracing the Word this way? Women that live in rural areas or have no transportation that want to fellowship and have bible study in a woman’s group, but don’t have the means of getting to the building. My dream is to join the other women who teach God’s Word online. I just do not know where to begin.
Then I got to thinking about how I always wanted to assist ladies who have been victims of sexual and verbal abuse. Young women who are teased just for being themselves. Women who say forget what society says, this is what God says I am and I’m going to live this way. These very factors are the reason I am starting my Ministry blog.
My goal is to be an inspiration for ladies to be the woman that God says they are, not who society says they have to be. I want to cheer them on as they realize the wonderful life God has for them to live. The beauty of the blog is my personal testimony—Evangelist. How God is changing me through His Word. I still have so much to learn that is why it is important that I receive a scholarship to Christian Leaders Institute. I do not have the money to afford “traditional” ministry training. I want to encourage women, but I really do not have the proper training to lead them. This is why free training is important to me. It will allow me to effectively be an inspiration for ladies everywhere.
Read other CLI student stories on the CLI Facebook page