Youth Pastor School
My name is Jessica Brown, and I am an Ambassador of Christ, a wife, a mother, and a Youth Pastor. I was born prematurely with a hole in my heart, and doctors believed I would have a severe mental disability. With a blood transfusion and too many stitches to count, I made it through and defied the odds. Beginning in middle school, I started suffering from seizures, shaking then blacking out. After years of tests, doctors diagnosed me with Benign Peripheral Vertigo and Hypoglycemic.
During that time, I discovered a lot of things were different than they seemed. I was told if my mother had the option, she would have terminated me. My father was not dead, but in prison, with a life sentence. Further, my mother was adopted into the family I knew. My mother let me know how much she didn’t like children and told me how unattractive she believed my features were. I felt alone and ugly. Rejected by my mother’s adopted family after being beaten up by her boyfriend and sexually assaulted by my uncle, I became homeless just out of high school. I didn’t feel valued. I didn’t understand love. With no self-worth, I didn’t feel beautiful. Afraid of men, unable to trust, and with a scarred heart, I was broken.
God Changed Everything
BUT GOD! I found Him under a bridge. I found Him bartering for food and when I had lost everything else. While homeless, I found a home in Him. Made whole in God, and He was my Mother and Father. He taught me about love and removed the fear. He gave me a dance to talk to Him. Also, He healed me through food from Vertigo and Hypoglycemia after 14 years. He showed me my beauty and value. He taught me to be resilient.
I learned to love myself and met my husband through ministry. I also became a mother of two beautiful boys, a co-founder of a nonprofit (5A Elite Youth Empowerment), and a Youth Pastor for Central Baptist. Our church has trusted what God says about us and has allowed us to pastor their young people. We come alongside seasoned leaders in the ministry to glean from them, and we are covered with wise counsel. Our church is a blessing because they believe in family and welcomed both my husband and me as pastors. God provided us the word of Priscilla and Aquila and confirmed where we were to be through our head pastor’s decision for us to co-pastor the youth.
Youth Pastor Ministry and Study at CLI
Praising God and giving Him all the Glory, we preach the Kingdom and teach the things of Jesus Christ. God showed me the importance of empowering the youth. I help them address their trauma and encourage them so they can see who they are in Christ. What God brought me out of is to be used to help others. They aren’t too young to be used. Jesus’ ministry was entrusted to people so young they didn’t have to pay the temple tax; how much more should we be removing the young people from the “kiddy table” and providing them the meat.
Christian Leaders Institute is a youth pastor school that is an answer to prayer. Unable to go to a brick and mortar with my young children and unable to afford the costs associated with Christian education, CLI is wonderful. Outside of the convenience, CLI provides a quality curriculum and allows me to be further equipped for my service for God! (Learn more about Studying the Bible, Click Here) It is wonderful to study and learn with so many believers with different backgrounds and experiences. I request prayer for the youth in the Pennsylvania area to be drawn to the Lord and to be active for His Kingdom.
Church Planter Education
A church planter education is usually something that costs a lot of money. Christian Leaders Institute has made this formal training free of charch. Here is Andrew Elliott’s story and how he found CLI.
Andrew Elliott – United States
I live in the Bend OR a mountain resort city in the western United States. There are a lot of church in my city, but there is also a high suicide rate. I believe this is because so many people move here to get away from their old lives and they don’t have family or friends in the area. This creates a lot of loneliness and isolation. Which is a key reason for the high suicide rate?
I grew up in the church but walked away fro God in my late teenage years. I became a heavy alcoholic and became ensnared in a deep addiction to pornography. I had one child, and my wife was getting ready to leave me. It was at this time that my friend took me, passed out drunk, in the back of his car to a pastors house for help. During one of our meetings the Holy Spirit opened my eyes and I finally saw the damage I had created in my life and the life of others. I wept for 40 minutes and gave my life to Jesus. I received a new heart that day but did not know how to live the life God was calling me to. I didn’t even know how to be a good husband or father. Thankfully I was blessed to have mentors come around me and teach me how to live.
I own two furniture stores in my city and am the Associate Pastor at our church. In my many years of business training, I’ve seen the value of investing in building a quality team of leaders to increase our opportunity for growth. What I love about CLI is the vision of creating leaders and mentors all over the world. It is my dream to see people freed from the slavery of sin and then to go beyond freedom by being activated in the amazing calling and life of adventure God has for their life.
Church Planter. As an entrepreneur, it’s my passion to break up the ground, build a foundation and create a space for opportunity. I believe churches are the greatest place for an opportunity in this life and I want to be God’s partner in starting more.
My salvation. What I have experienced through Jesus must be shared with others.
Surrounded by beautiful mountains and rivers, this is a true nature’s paradise with many people moving here to “get away” from life, explore nature and pursue their pleasure. We also have nearly 20 alcohol breweries and many marijuana dispensaries in this small city. It is truly a place where people seek their pleasure. It is difficult to get people to gather together for worship and Bible study on a regular basis.
The Senior Pastor of our church is the one who mentored me out of my addictions 17 years ago. Because of his investment in my life, I moved with him to Bend in 2012 to start the church where I currently operate as his Associate Pastor.
When I first started giving myself to ministry, I saw my family as an obstacle. They required time and energy which pulled me away from my passion to build the church. Over the last several years the Holy Spirit has taught me that my family is my first ministry. Being their father and pastor is my first joy. I love to have them participate with me in ministry, but I also love to take time out to just enjoy them and allow them to enjoy me. I’ve found they are God’s instrument to refresh me and keep me energized for the long game of ministry.
As a small business owner and volunteer pastor, I have found that finances have played a key role in keeping me from pursuing formal ministry education. The opportunity to enrol with CLI for church planter education is a huge blessing for our family and me. I also see it as a huge blessing to our church, our city and to future church plants I work with. They will be true beneficiaries of the training I receive.
As a vision-driven leader, I can get to focused on the work at hand and forget about the basics. Please pray that my personal walk with God stays at the center of my life and ministry. Pray that I can always share from what I am living rather than what I have learned.
CLI offers a complete curriculum for both house church planter education and church planter education all free and online.
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Credible Officiant Training
Greetings. My name is Douglas. This CLI training is Credible Officiant Training perfect for my situation.
I was raised in the church, baptised at an early age, and was devout until the 15th year of my life… My challenge came from the church “firing” our pastor at the time. A man I loved and brought vibrancy to our small congregation.
So, I left the church, asking God why He would allow such a thing to happen and who were these evil people leading our church? For the next 40 years, I stayed away from the church, referring to myself as spiritual rather than religious. Then, I was asked by a dear friend to officiate their marriage ceremony, since I’m a notary, and allowed by state law to solemnize marriages.
I agreed.
Off I went down this path. Little did I know, it was God’s hand helping me find my way back to Him. Now as I’m blessed to spend time with these couples on one of the happiest days of their life, I reflect on Matthew 19:5-6 and 1 Corinthians 13: 4-13. Having answered the call to establish a marriage ministry, I deepen my knowledge and understanding of our (and my) relationship with God.
I’ve been blessed to perform 150 weddings to date using an online ordination. Now having found CLI, I wish to legitimize my ministry ordination. I ask for prayer from all who read this for strength to continue on this path, and for blessings, upon those, I’m privileged to give a start down the path of “we” and their newly formed family.
This Credible Officiant Training is registered at the Christian Leaders Church website…
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