Local Officiant Ordination
Christian Leaders Institute offers Local Officiant Ordination training so you can do weddings. Erik Leopard tells his story.
I was born and raised in Richardson Texas, a suburb of Dallas. I served in the United States Navy and saw the world while figuring what I wanted to do with my life and returned to college receiving my Bachelors Degree from the University of North Texas. I am currently working as an HR Manager at a surgical hospital in Addison Texas. I have been married to my wife Jessica since 2007 and I have two step children, Danielle (24) and Isaac (22) and another daughter Erika (2) who we adopted at birth. I was raised in the United Methodist Church through high school but never truly understood the Gospel and Salvation. I fell away from the religious life I grew up in early on in my adult years and lived an ungodly, unsaved life for most of my adult life. In 2009 my wife and I were about to divorce when Jesus Christ entered my life and we started attending a non-denominational bible church and attended their ReEngage marriage class where I learned for the first time what a Godly husband and father looks like. I was saved during this time and my wife and I reconciled our marriage.
I intended to use this training to become ordained as my step daughter and her fiancé have asked me to marry them in February 2017. After reading more about the program I am interested in continuing past the ordination certification as I lead my family in bible study and also have a passion for evangelism and have been called by the Lord to do more in this area. We recently moved and have changed churches (Community Life in Forney, Texas) we were quite active in our last church but are not plugged in other than attending worship at the moment.
A scholarship would help me with all of the work the Lord has and will call me to do. As stated before, at the present time that area is evangelism and leading bible study. Please pray for me to lead my family better as the spiritual leader in our home as well as where the Lord wants me to serve as an Evangelist.
Like us on Facebook
Local Ministry Leaders
Local ministry leaders are being raised up everywhere. Meet Taylor Browning: 22 years old, oldest of four, homeschool graduate, daughter of children’s ministers and resident of Chicagoland, U.S.A.
I accepted Christ when I was four years old, with both my mum and my dad as witnesses. I was influenced by their faith, and I do believe that even at that young age, I was convicted of my sins and understood my need for a Savior. I have been striving to walk with Christ ever since.
I currently work for my dad’s office furniture company. However, most of my time is spent volunteering in ministry for my church. I love working with children, teaching them about Jesus and what it means to serve Him. I am very involved in my church’s children’s and youth programs including Sunday School, youth group, Pioneer Clubs, Bible Quizzing, Vacation Bible School and one-on-one mentoring. My mom has been the Children’s Minister for my church for 12 years, so my involvement began as a “drafting” of sorts. But then, my passion grew, and God has blessed me with more and more opportunities to share His love.
I am a firm believer in local ministry leaders settings. Some, God has called to be sent to the far corners of the earth, and others God has called to minister to those around them. I believe God has placed me where I am for a purpose and I am fulfilled in work He has given me. It is because of this work that I have been limited in my options for higher education. To go to a traditional four-year college would take me away from the ministries I so long to continue working in. Even going to a local community college would conflict with most of my children’s and youth ministry activities each week. I am praying that CLI holds the solution to my situation. CLI’s degree program would open the door for me to continue ministering while attaining formal training.
Tina Marie Burris
United States
Hello everyone!
I lead a simple life with my husband, Jeff, and our many animals. My life was once not so simple and full of the constant battling of demons! Those demons were smoking cigarettes, drinking, unmarried sex, and the list goes on and on. I was so very very lost. I did, however, around the age of 6 or 7, ask Jesus into my heart, with the help of the very loving principal of my private Baptist school I happened to be attending at the time. My time in Baptist school was abruptly stopped when my parents got divorced. I was then thrown into public school and soon was lost to the demons of this world and lost for a long time! I met my husband at the age of 32 and got married about 2 years later. We were actually born just 16 days apart in the same maternity ward of St Joseph’s hospital in Tampa, FL. It took us 32 years to finally meet face to face. God brought us together for a definitive reason! We have both helped each other survive our demons (alcoholism and smoking cigarettes) and overcome tough times. Together, we climbed out of the deep hole of despair.
It was probably around 8 years into our marriage (2-3 years ago) that my mother died, God rest her soul. At this time, I was heavily into politics and my views and ideology drastically differed from my mother’s and my siblings. So much so, that the demons took advantage of this and drew a thick line of division between me and them at the exact time I was trying to be there and help my sister take care of my mom. Ever since this time, my relations with my half sister and half brother have seriously been damaged and I pray to God to help bring us back together again. I have since quit politics for the most part. If I feel God is reaching out to me about someone or a special cause, I may vote, but no matter what side you are on or how valiant you think your cause is, the only one that is going to save all of us is Jesus Christ! Amen and Hallelujah!
As I said previously, I had been lost and blind for a very long time! Imagine that! Lost and blind! One day before I had completely given up on politics, I picked up the Bible with the superficial intentions of studying theology so that I could one day debate people and show them how smart I am. Well, little did I know just how miraculous and powerful God’s good word is! It drew me in. Ever since I started reading, I’ve been wanting to read more and learn more. I’ve been completely enthralled. The light of God was shining on me and he was trying to call out to me! This scared me a little, because Jeff, my husband, was a big time agnostic – not quite sure about God. I was afraid this would ruin our marriage so I did not really speak much about it to him. Well, that did not have to last very long. One day Jeff received a divine sign from God. I’ll save this story for another time. He, too, picked up the Bible and started reading, and our love for God grew together. We have both since acknowledged our sins and have repented to Jesus Christ, our beautiful Lord and Savior and have thanked him for the suffering and death he took on for our salvation.
Quite honestly, I do not know yet what I want to do with this ministry training. I pray to God every day to help guide me in the right direction. My plan is to keep moving forward with this training, God willing, until I receive his word one day on how I should proceed. My husband is also taking the training, so who knows, maybe we will minister together or maybe he will minister and I will be his little helper! Either way, I’ll be serving my Lord and Savior in one capacity or another and that’s the ultimate goal.
I welcome any fellow CLI students to contact me via email, as I am always game for making new Christian friends!
Peace be with all of you!
Tina M. Burris