Prison Chaplain
Jeff Deakins is training at CLI so he can have the knowledge to be a prison Chaplain and touch the lost souls he sees at the prison he works at.
Read Deakins story below in his own words
My name is Jeff Deakins, and I am a 56-year old husband (wife – Lisa), father of four (all girls), and a grandfather of 4 (3 girls and, finally, one boy). I live in Brazil, Indiana, which is located just 60 miles southwest of Indianapolis.
I was baptized at the age of 13, mainly due to the counseling that I received from a man who had been blind since birth. His joy for the Lord was authentic, and he was very excited about the fact that Jesus would be the very first thing that he would ever see.
I worked for a business that my father had started for 25 years. We sold the business in 2004, and I left in 2006 to pursue other ventures. In 2007, I purchased a sports training facility (without consulting with the Lord as to whether this is the direction that he wanted me to go) and by the spring of 2008, it was gone. The financial crisis of 2008 had taken its toll, and I had lost a considerable amount of money. My family and I were now struggling because I didn’t seek out the Lord’s will and direction for my life.
Later that year, it was brought to my attention that a state correctional facility for men (20 minutes away) was hiring. The Lord impressed upon me to take the position for two reasons: First, and foremost, my family needed the income in order to sustain us and help us get back on our feet. Secondly, the Lord filled me with the desire to show these men that there was a different way to think, act, and live. I spent three years at the men’s facility, working hard to be professional, respectful, and role-modeling Jesus’ heart (compassionate, understanding, caring) to these men. It was my prayer that the offenders would see Jesus through me. I experienced times when an offender would approach me and ask, “You’re a Christian, aren’t you?”. I would tell them, yes, and they would respond, “You can tell.” It was during those moments that I knew that God had me where he wanted me to be and was using me to influence lives.
In 2011, I transferred to a women’s correctional facility and in 2012 was promoted to Sergeant. Even though I was now working with women, my mission was still the same. After all, I’m still working with human beings and lost souls. People in need of support, direction, self-esteem, and a purpose for changing their thinking, habits, and lives. In some cases, people needing a purpose to even carry on. Again, my goal was to role-model Jesus and have him work through me to reach these women and get them to see the world differently. For them to know that they are loved far more than they could ever imagine and that their transgressions can be forgiven if they would simply ask Jesus (with an open and repentant heart) to take them away.
Recently, the Lord put on my heart to ask about leading a worship service at the facility. Little did I know that God was working on a bigger idea. Through my words and actions, most everyone in the facility knows that I am a Christian, and while speaking with the facility prison Chaplain about the worship service, he asked me if I would be interested in being a prison Chaplain at the facility. (I know, I didn’t see that coming either!) He explained that in serving 1,150 women at the facility, his duties were beginning to become overwhelming. There was a need for a second prison Chaplain. After praying and seeking God’s will and direction for me, I felt compelled to move toward this new challenge.
This is where Christian Leaders Institute comes in. Even though the Lord has provided for my family over the years and put us back on solid financial ground, I’m not in a position to pay for college/courses for myself at this time. My youngest daughter is currently attending Indiana University while living at the Christian Student Fellowship House (a tremendous blessing!) in Bloomington, so we are already paying for a college education at this time. CLI will give me the opportunity to prepare myself and gain additional biblical knowledge so that I can fulfill the mission that God has placed in front of me – to lead and biblically counsel the offenders at Rockville Correctional Facility.
This dream to be prison Chaplain would be impossible without the free classes offered at CLI. I will be forever grateful and will commit to being a CLI donor in order for others to realize their life’s calling from the Lord. I have also secured my church pastor as a mentor (as CLI recommends) over the coming year. I thank the Lord for directing me to the Christian Leaders Institute website and pray that he will bless those involved at CLI and all of those utilizing its resources.
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A Calling for Ministry Training
Brenda Duff-Izaguirre is surrounded by violence, drugs and destruction. With all this sin around her, she has gotten a calling for ministry training to reach the youth of her community.
“I am a Mexican-American, and I live in Brownsville, Texas,” Duff-Izaguirre said. “Brownsville is approximately three hours away from Corpus Christi and five minutes away from Mexico. The wall that divides Mexico and the United States is about ten walking steps from my church, Mision Divina. In addition, my home is approximately seven minutes from the infamous wall.”
Some of the challenges Duff-Izaguirre faces is the media’s influence and the drug atmosphere, but with Christ, Duff-Izaguirre knows she can do all things.
“Ministry in my city is at times easy and at times very difficult,” Duff-Izaguirre said. “I say it’s easy because we can do all things through Jesus Christ, but it’s extremely difficult when there are radio, television and newspaper warnings letting us know of the over-the-wall spilling of violence. You might ask yourself, what kind of violence? Well, since I live in a border town with a very influential drug-infested atmosphere, that can make it hard, at times impossible if that warning comes with death. If the ministry is being done at the church, which most of the time it is, it makes it extremely hard knowing that the border patrol agents and vehicles are roaming around church territory daily and at all times.”
Duff-Izaguirre was brought to church by her uncle. Little did she know that many years later she would have a calling for ministry training at CLI.
“I came to know the Lord Jesus when I was 13 years old,” Duff-Izaguirre said. “I was washing clothes outside the old fashioned way, by hand; there was no washing machine in my grandmother’s home. At the moment, I was singing teen bop songs and my uncle who is the pastor of the church heard me. I did not know that he was standing there listening. He proceeded to ask my mother if I could join the church choir. My mother agreed since she was having issues with me misbehaving in school. Another reason was that my father was in jail and there was no male figure in my life. My mother thought that my uncle could fulfill that void. I began going to church because I was bored and my mom made me go. As the months went by, I literally started to listen to preachings and to what I sang, and that made a difference in my life at a young age.”
Once Duff-Izaguirre was baptized, she left her life of sin behind.
“We have been known to be a revival church since we started back in 1985,” Duff-Izaguirre said. “Well, it became a reality to me when the Holy Spirit descended and baptized the children and youth of our church. In the first batch to be baptized was my cousin Patty – I saw and heard her – and I wanted what she got. I became very active after I was baptized, I became very zealous and passionate about Jesus. I was able to push aside with help of the Holy Spirit all the trouble that once followed me in school, which included fights with students and teachers. In addition, I was already selling drugs, which was the reason why my dad was incarcerated. I also had dug into the occult in supernatural demonic ways.”
Duff-Izaguirre’s dream is to reach the youth, and her calling for ministry training is leading her to accomplish this goal.
“My ministry dream is to teach the youth spiritual warfare, the importance of not allowing gateway drugs and gateway curiosity to push our youth into the abyss,” Duff-Izaguirre said. “I identify myself most with the term Small Group Leader; I believe that teaching is more effective in small groups.”
Through many careers, Duff-Izaguirre was alway supported by her church family.
“My church, Mision Divina, has continuously supported me in every ministry that I have chosen to fulfill in that specific time range in my life,” Duff-Izaguirre said. “I have been a secretary, an usher, a choir member, youth leader, Sunday school teacher for every age group including adults, prayer warrior, intercessor, church cleaner, ornamentation, photographer, translator, missionary to prostitutes, website designer. Honestly, I have probably done it all. As the scripture says, it is all dirty rags before God, but never the less my church has always supported me.”
Duff-Izaguirre is pursuing the calling for ministry training to finish what Christ has started in her.
Duff-Izaguirre said, “The scholarship from this prestigious school is very important to me because I would finish what once I started and left aside when my seeds came into existence. I have the outfield experience and testimonies, but I don’t have a degree. I need completion of what I once started because Jesus finishes everything he began in me.”
Duff-Izaguirre is excited for what a degree with CLI will mean for her ministry, but she still needs support in her spiritual work.
“CLI prayers will are needed in the area of spiritual attack. I get attacked spiritually weekly, and prayers are always welcome,” Duff-Izaguirre said.
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Ordained for Women’s Ministry
Charmaine Coetzee is a woman with a purpose she is focused in and didn’t let anyone or anything stop her from being ordained for women’s ministry in South Africa.
“I was brought up in a Christian home, and my mother was my role model of leading a Christ-like life,” Coetzee said. “However, my personal journey with Jesus truly began when I was a student at the North-West University, where I graduated as a Law Student. I joined and served in one of the student churches, His People (Every Nation Ministries). My eyes were opened for the first time about what it is to walk with God. I began to live for Jesus! I did not think of entering into ministry at that time, nor did I realize my calling to ministry.”
After coming to know Christ, Coetzee was a new woman, but it wasn’t until a couple of years later she started to feel a call to be ordained for women’s ministry in her community.
“After my graduation, I relocated to Pretoria and married my varsity sweetheart shortly after,” Coetzee said. “Unfortunately, after relocating, it took quite a while to get the “right” church again. We finally found our church family, Christ Generation Church Centurion, in 2014 and our whole lives changed. We started walking a path with our Pastor, who trained my husband and I to be the head ushers (deacons and elders) in the church. He laid a firm foundation for us out of the Word and understanding Grace. My hunger for knowing Christ was ignited again. This was the first time I realized my calling into ministry and my passion for it.”
Once Coetzee started to feel the desire to be a minister the Lord used death as a prompter for her to take action.
“The pivotal experience that prompted me to pursue ministry was the bereavement of our pastor,” Coetzee said. “He passed away at a very young age in April 2016, leaving behind his wife and two babies. His wife, our Senior Pastor, asked us to take over the church since she was left in a tough position and not able to proceed in the ministry although she still serves as a guide and supervisor to us.”
With the loss of her pastor, Coetzee and her husband have been made the main leaders in their church, and CLI has significantly help Coetzee with this leadership.
“My ministry dream is, therefore, to officially become a Pastor, alongside my husband,” Coetzee said. “Although I am already serving in this position, CLI assists equip me for ministry and make it official.”
Coetzee is now ordained for women’s ministry, but she still is a lawyer.
“It is probably two of the most contrasting occupations…A lawyer and a Pastor,” Coetzee said. “I would be my dream to enter into ministry full time, but until that is possible, I will use my passion for ministry in my law occupation to help people.”
Coetzee passion for ministry has lead to her starting her own ministry based in her church.
“I have recently started a women’s ministry in our church called Women of G.R.A.C.E. I want to use this forum to minister to women and to support my husband in the church,” Coetzee said. “I am trusting that the women in our church will grow spiritually, not only in themselves but also to lead their husbands and families and even the community to a mature relationship with God.”
CLI’s classes that are targeted for women’s ministry have been a blessing to Coetzee to achieve her dream to be ordained for women’s ministry in her church.
“The CLI Women’s Ministry course and Women’s Ministry Ordination course is truly helpful to reach this goal,” Coetzee said. “I have noted a lot of practical guidance on how to manage the ministry and things to be aware of. The teaching about women’s roles in the Bible also gave great insight.”
Coetzee is ordained for women’s ministry because she often feels women are the one that brings the family to church.
“Unique challenges in my geographic area are that there are a lot of churches and denominations,” Coetzee said. “Getting new members to visit and stay in the church is a challenge. It also appears that women are the forcing drive in bringing their families to church. A women’s ministry is ideal to introduce the women to our church and hopefully to bring her family here as well.”
Coetzee couldn’t be more thankfully that CLI has allowed her to be ordained for women’s ministry and give her the chance to marry couples.
“As an ordained minister, I will be able to assist people in my Women’s ministry to get married,” Coetzee said. “This provides the opportunity to work close with a couple and minister to them about the Godly institution of marriage.”
Due to the poor economic situation Coetzee wants to help more people get CLI training.
“Contrary to popular belief, South Africa is not a place where lions and wild animals roam the street,” Coetzee said. “However, we do face an economic crisis and poverty is a reality here and can prevent a person to obtain tertiary education. Sometimes, it is a challenge for people who do not have a computer or internet to complete CLI online courses. We have therefore decided to set up a space for interested students to use the church facilities to do the courses online on a weekly basis.”
Financially Coetzee couldn’t go to some fancy seminary. Thus, CLI has provided her with the ability to further her ministry education.
“I am a small business owner without a stable income, and furthermore, our church needs a lot of finances to sustain it,” Coetzee said. “Therefore, finances for further studies are not readily available. CLI made it possible to reach this dream.”
Supporting each other is key in Coetzee’s opinion.
“My family’s role in ministry training will be to be supportive,” Coetzee said. “My husband has been a pillar for the church after our Pastor’s passing as well as me. We all need to support each other, learn together and pray together for the ministry. It is also challenging for me to speak publicly in front of a crowd. My team of women have supported me every time I preach to become more confident.”
CLI gave Coetzee the confidence and credibility to be a minister.
“People do not always understand how you can be a Pastor without having any theological training,” Coetzee said. “I also had trouble referring to myself as a Pastor, since I did not have any training. Completing the CLI ministry training and receiving certificates, which is handed out in our church, also gives credibility to our ministry training. I will feel more at ease to call myself a pastor now, after completing this ordination program.”
Coetzee is equipped for the ministry she now only asks for pray.
“Completing the CLI courses assisted me to achieve my ministry goals and provided me with the tools required for ministry,” Coetzee said. “Thank you, CLI for making this possible. You can pray for my journey in ministry to become more confident in preaching and growing our women’s ministry and our church.”
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