Obtaining an M.Div
My name is William Bryan Davison.
I was born and raised in Pensacola, Florida USA. I grew up attending McIllwain Memorial Presbyterian Church as a child. At the age of five, I was witnessed to by my mother, and knelt down one evening and accepted Christ as my savior. So began my life with Christ. As a teenager, I grew interested in ministry and attended the theological institute offered by McIllwain. Shortly after, I was invited to preach at a local Baptist church on an as needed basis. My very first sermon was about biblical “friendship.” After graduating from Pine Forest High School, I joined the military and served in the United States Air Force. Returning to Florida after the military, I started a career in telecommunications consulting. I moved to Georgia USA to be closer to my family. It was during this relocation that I began hearing God speak to me about returning to ministry. I started working with children’s ministry in a local church. Two years later, some friends and I started a non-denominational mid-week ministry for high school and college-age students specifically designed for them. What started as a bible study type environment quickly grew into a complete worship service with an attendance of 30-40. We shared preaching duties, counseling, and theological teaching. It was during this time that I visited Harvest Church UMC. Shortly after that, the ministry we had started was growing and was later combined into a new church, which is still pastored by my friend. I joined Harvest Church -UMC as a member and began hearing the call to return to children’s ministry.
I started working with children’s ministry in a local church. Two years later, some friends and I started a non-denominational mid-week ministry for high school and college-age students specifically designed for them. What started as a bible study type environment quickly grew into a complete worship service with an attendance of 30-40. We shared preaching duties, counseling, and theological teaching. It was during this time that I visited Harvest Church UMC. Shortly after that, the ministry we had started was growing and was later combined into a new church, which is still pastored by my friend. I joined Harvest Church -UMC as a member and began hearing the call to return to children’s ministry.
I literally could hear God speaking to me, and pushing me into teaching children. The push was so strong, I could not resist, and I didn’t want to. I can only describe it as being 100% convicted, and convinced by the Holy Spirit that I absolutely must follow His instruction and go. It was an experience and decision that completely transformed my relationship with Christ, and has brought immeasurable joy into my life.
I quickly volunteered for children’s ministry and was mentored by Julie Ray, who so graciously spent the time to teach me, and to lead me in this calling.
To date, I am currently serving as a volunteer children’s minister at Harvest Church UMC, in their elementary program (K-5th) called “Kidstown,” where we teach and share the gospel and biblical life application to 400-600 children each weekend.
I am profoundly grateful to my pastor Jim and Jennifer Cowart for their continued guidance, counsel, and teaching, and for the opportunity, I have been given through the people of Harvest Church. I love each and every one of you, and I am eternally blessed by this mission.
As my current primary mission through ministry is the sharing of the gospel and life application of biblical principles to children, I am content and honored to be called in this role.
As a ministry “dream” though, I would like to continue to grow spiritually and faithfully as a director of children’s ministry or professional Christian education role, possibly even pastoral, with further opportunities to preach, lead, and help grow the kingdom of God through the guidance of our Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit.
There are challenges for me to achieve that ministry dream. Specifically the lack of funds, and education. This is the reason I chose CLI. For the first time, I saw a door opening to continue moving ahead, and I believe that God opened that door. That through this period of education, He will increase my knowledge, spiritual wellbeing, and devotion. God willing, I will complete my degree at CLI, and obtaining an M.Div or M.Th. Even though my personal ministry “dream” would be to move forward, I will faithfully submit to the will of God regarding whatever, or wherever he calls me in the future.
I’ve heard His call before, and I know what it brings to follow Him unconditionally. I pray that anyone reading my profile, regardless of where you are at if you hear Him call. GO IMMEDIATELY! May the God of all creation, who is everything that is righteous, holy, and just guide your every footstep.
Bachelor Of Divinity Opportunity
My name is Georgianna Stryker, I am from the United States. I am 29 years old. I am an only child and my parents are separated but remain good friends. I did not grow up in a religious home. My mother believed in God but never pushed anything upon me. I was not baptized as a baby because my father is not religious at all. But don’t worry I’m working on him. My mother always wanted me to make the decision myself. I officially accepted Jesus as my Lord and savior when I was 17.
It might sound silly but I received a Christmas miracle and that was what really made me believe. I had been driving a car to work and to college that was absolutely falling apart. It not only had many cosmetic things wrong with it but also barely functioned. Some the of the malfunctions were quite dangerous. Mechanical issues put me in danger of tires falling off while driving and it had a tendency to stall in the middle of intersections. I had no choice in driving this car though, I had to get to school and work and it was the only means of transportation in the small town that I lived in.
It was Christmas Day and my boyfriend Shawn and I were visiting at my grandparent’s house for Christmas dinner. After dinner, I went to leave and the car would not start at all. We were suppose to go to my mothers for the rest of Christmas and I was very upset that we were stuck. My uncle Billy came out of the house and saw me struggling with the car. He came and asked me about the car concluding that it was indeed a hunk of junk. He told me that I needed something more reliable for school and he had just the thing.
He literally drove to his house and brought a car back that was used but in beautiful condition. He gave it to me right there on the spot. He said that he had bought it for his daughter but she didn’t like it so I could just have it, no strings attached. I cannot even explain how taken aback I was. I was absolutely blown away by his generosity. I sat in my new car and I realized it wasn’t just my uncle I should thank. It was Christmas after all. I burst into tears and thanked God for this most gracious gift. That was the moment I became a Christian.
I wasn’t baptized until I was 23, I studied for a year or so and then was confirmed into the Episcopal church. For many years I went to an Episcopal church but I have never taken much stock in specific denominations. I believe that what is important is your relationship with God, not what you label yourself as. Now I actually go to almost every church in my area. I go to a different one each week. I like switching it up and seeing how others worship.
On May 19th 2012, Shawn and I got married. We had been together since we were teenagers. He died in a car accident October 30th 2012, only five months later. I became a young widow overnight. My faith was certainly shaken. I wanted nothing more than to be with Shawn and I couldn’t understand for the life of me why God had taken him and left me behind. I prayed to go home to heaven more than anything. The world moved on around me. .As time went on I had a friend draw me out of the abyss. This friend and I became closer and it developed into something more. My faith actually grew during this period and continues to grow today. Shawn’s death actually brought me closer to God in the long run. They do say that we must walk through fire to be refined.
I have wanted to become ordained for a while, but I was reluctant to do it online, because everything I found seemed too easy. Many websites cost a lot of money for what seemed to me to be no more than a piece of paper. I want to reach people and teach people about God. I already preach to my friends and family. I am thinking about starting my own church right out of my home at first. I want to give sermons that young people can relate to. I want to put things in their language so they can understand. I want to dismiss some of the formality and judgments that scare away many young people today. As I go to my various churches I am usually the youngest person there and one of two or three under fifty. I believe that we need to change our approach or there will a lot of empty churches in the future.
A scholarship to Christian Leaders Institute would help me to become ordained so that I am able to reach the people that I would like to . It would provide me with the proper training and not just a piece of paper. I would not be able to afford to go to a traditional seminary. I already have three college degrees that I was only able to get through financial aid. I have a bachelor’s in English and psychology and an associate’s in psychology and I have yet to be able to work in either field. Since I have already been through college I don’t believe I could get any more aid. This scholarship will enable be to further my religious studies. I am thinking about getting my bachelor’s of divinity as well. This will afford me a Bachelor Of Divinity Opportunity to become the person that God intended me to be.
Surprising Calling to Ministry
Greetings in the name of Lord Jesus! My name is Leah DesLauries-Stollar from Washington, USA.
I can honestly say I’m amazed at the way our Heavenly Father can take a mess of a person, and put them in a place of faith, devotion, and AWE for what the Lord can and does accomplish.
I didn’t come from an overly religious background. I pestered my parents to attend church for two reasons: 1. I was attracted to the art, architecture, and the feeling of awe in being in God’s house. And 2. My friends’ families always seemed to be so involved with their houses of worship, and I wanted that, too.
Why couldn’t I be more like them? My eight-year-old-self wondered. We couldn’t be like them because we were a completely dysfunctional family. Drug abuse, a co-dependent marriage between my parents and sister, who was older by eight years, whom was a perpetual runaway.
I credit what small exposure I had to God to my paternal grandmother, Ferne. She would take me to Mass, and then to the Grotto in Portland, Oregon. When we moved to Bothell, WA, I talked to my mother, and we started attending a Lutheran church there. Upon my insistence, I was baptized at the age of nine.
A few years later, my parents divorced after a violent episode. I was sent to live with my maternal grandmother. I felt very let down by God. Soon acting out in every abhorrent way I could think of. By the age of 20, I’d tried almost any substance to kill the pain of being abandoned, unwanted, and a useless human being. I was pregnant with my daughter. Her father was a dealer, and his mother was worse. So, with the help of friends, we left that abusive cycle.
Some years later, my daughter was attending church with her friends and BEGGED my husband and I to go. To make her happy, we did. Amazing! She found us a congregation who spoke plainly and made Jesus accessible! After attending for two years, learning the Gospel, the hope, and love that Jesus has for us, we three (daughter, husband and I) decided to be baptized. Now, my father who is a Godly man in his right, sat the three of us down before the next day’s baptism ceremony. He cautioned us that things were going to be more challenging from here on in. How soon that was proved right. Spiritual warfare stuck! We had no doubt we had received a surprise calling to ministry and we accepted that!
Time passes; new daughters are born, my mother became too ill to care for herself, my husband broke his neck, my pre-teens start testing boundaries. I was working two jobs to support my family. All these changes brought me to my knees. The living Word saved me from just giving up. Praise be to God.
My ministry dream has already begun in a sense. I work as a manager in a fast food restaurant, and I tend to be a mama to some of these lost children. We pray in the break room, hanging out the drive-thru window, and even in the walk-in fridge at times. The best time to pray is always now. It seems that I’ve become a mother, counselor, and confessor all in one place.
My dream is minister to those I meet, those I work with, and those I meet during my travels. I want to share the love of Jesus, letting them know he’s always with us. In everybody’s life, there are times when it feels as though all is lost. The living Word gives us HOPE.
I identify with the word Pastor the most, although my ministry tends to be more wandering than stationary. I travel extensively when the good Lord allows. The unique challenges in this area? We’re more or less rural, but becoming more citified every day. We have extensive substance abuse problems, the neglected children that are the unwilling victims of what that lifestyle entails.
My wonderful pastor is very supporting of me and always does his prayerful best to direct me in answers I seek. My family is also very supportive – as much as two teenage girls can be at those ages.
The reason the CLI scholarship is of the utmost importance to me is that when called to counsel, comfort or reassure, that through God, I can do so. Being a life-long learner, I pray to encourage others that they may too have God’s peace.