God doesn’t promise us that after we come to him life will be flowers and roses. Sometimes we experience trouble… pain…. even brokenness. But it is in the brokenness that we can truly experience the healing power of grace.
Paula Furfaro was in a time of brokenness. For a long time she believed she couldn’t be forgiven. She struggled through pain, guilt, and doubt. But God was watching over her through the turmoil. He brought her to a new church where she was able to experience the healing power of grace.
I am a Japanese woman born in Brazil, with a Russian great-grandmother. After 15 years living and travelling all over the world, I am back in Brazil, the place where revival is happening daily in the local churches, in detention centers, and even on the streets. The fact that I am a Brazilian with an Asian face and an Asian with a Brazilian culture made me a citizen of the world.
When I was a teenager I used to hate Christians, how can they preach freedom if they are tied in old beliefs and traditions, I used to think. I attended all kinds of religions in a search for the truth, from pagan rituals to atheist workshops, until my mother was diagnosed with tumors in her uterus. My boyfriend then was attending an evangelical church that was very famous for healings and I decided to go by curiosity first, and later I invited my mother who got healed in the first visit. She has even the doctor´s files proving her miraculous healing. I never left Jesus after that.
My ministry dream is to show people that are like I used to be the real freedom that the Holy Spirit can bring, my heart goes to the single, divorced and widowed mothers and fathers who are often forgotten inside most of the churches. The ones that don´t fit well in the single´s ministry, but don´t fit well in the family´s ministry either. The feeling of “not fitting” can be overwhelming, making these souls leave church and Christ. I want to preach for these invisible part of the society, I want to pastor this flock to the living water.
I lived the desert of the divorce myself, the pain, the unforgiveness from both sides. I dealt with the constant attacks from the enemy whispering: sinner… sinner… and the other members inside the church telling how “Christ hates the divorce”, and talking about me on my back. Others would pursue my small children to ask them “inside information”. Women at the family´s ministry would not let me sit next to their husbands. I thought Christ wasn´t listening to me anymore, even thou I tried every book, I tried marriage counseling, I tried everything I could to save my marriage, but maybe I didn´t try well enough, so Jesus he probably hates me now, I used to think. I suffered for one full year until I found a church that sheltered my children and I, I broke in tears everytime someone asked where my husband was, several times, and got hugged and prayed for every single time. And with the help from the elders and the pastors I got healed. Now I want to help others to get healed too.
I attend now a revivalist church, and I got anointed a Pastor and I´ve been praying and pursuing training to be able to reach as many people as possible. And my children not only support me, my eldest want to become a Pastor as well, he is only 10.
As a mother raising children by herself, the scholarship of Christian Leaders Institute is essential for me to be able to learn and grow as a Christian, leading my own household and others to the Lord.
I humbly ask my brothers and sisters to pray for strength and wisdom for all the pastors in my country and for my family. And please, be loving people, remember to hate the sin and not the sinners and may God bless us all.
Perhaps you need to experience the power of grace. Perhaps you’ve been called to share the power of grace with others. If you believe that free ministry training could help you in ministry endeavors or just improving your walk with God, click here to enroll in free courses.
Preaching Christ to the destitute certainly isn’t a dream job. They don’t have much. If you pass a collection plate out, you might not have a penny in it when it gets back to you. And many of them are so jaded by life that they just can’t believe there’s a God out there that actually loves them.
But Debra and her husband Nickolas believe that preaching Christ to the homeless is what they’re called to do. They see the pain and suffering that they’re going through. They know there is One that can heal them. And He has called them to be His witnesses to the homeless, the outcasts, the deaf, the lame… They will be preaching Christ to those cast aside by society.
I am Debra Figueroa. I am married to Nickolas and we have a daughter, Joy, who still lives with us. We have six other grown adult children who live also in Milwaukee–a Midwestern city in the United States. I am being called by my awesomely, big and mighty God. He loves me so much as He speaks to my heart with a still, small, voice. I have heard this voice as a child and always had a choice, but chose not listen. I was scared. If I listened, I chose not to believe. When I believed, my believing was crushed because I listened to the discouraging words and chose not to trust. Instead I gave in to fears, doubts and negative thinking.
Wow! I was discouraged a lot but God is calling me to be an encourager and to live the dream and vision that He gave me. In fact, I was convinced at times that I didn’t have a voice of my own until recently. So I became a victim of my own thinking and circumstances. With that thinking how could I encourage anyone?
I did not realize the many challenges and obstacles I would have to face. With a blended family of 4 children, I stayed busy with practical everyday living and not liking many aspects of my life even though I was faithful in church. My husband and I had three more children together. He was not living for God and I was worn out from constantly fighting so many spiritual battles all day long.
Finally, I decided that it’s a heart issue and I was tired of the excuses and letting uncertainty control my life. God promised me life so abundantly and rich. He said he would bless me and my family exceedingly abundantly above all that I could ask or think. So I got tired of being a victim and chose to rise up as a victor instead. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. When I made bold decisions to move forward to believe and trust God I could see my warrior-self rising up to take authority and fight the real enemy.
So now I am ready to take the final quest and journey into the far reaches of His Kingdom. God has been teaching me to look for and notice patterns. He wants me to be a creative communicator and writer. I have had this interest for a long time. He wants me to creatively communicate in a way that makes clear the intended message He wants me teach. So my passion is combining these skills and to show people how to have a deeper and more meaningful relationship with God, their maker and creator and to live out that relationship by making a difference in their community, and serving God with their whole heart.
It has taken me a long time to be fully ready to give it my all but now I am ready and willing! I do have a vision that reaches beyond what I’ve ever thought could be possible because of how I limited myself in the past. It had to take a severe church hurt and a very rocky marriage, a death of a grandchild, some severe health issues, very hurtful relationships with others and us losing our house to bring me to this point. After serving in a church and doing what man wanted for 15 years and putting God’s vision of me evangelizing in the community on the back burner I am ready to step out in full faith to fulfill my purpose through Christ. I have been running from it long enough because of lack of confidence in myself. But God is building my confidence in Him. He is my confidence and strength. He is my stronghold and shield. My faith is in Him. He is leading me and directing me because of my willing heart.
God’s timing is perfect. My husband is now serving God with his whole heart. He is drawn to our new small church and the loving pastor. Our church is multi-cultural (so is our family) and is in a predominantly racially mixed and troubled neighborhood. But God is in control and He has a destiny and purpose for all of us. The Pastor is behind our vision and we support the Church’s.
My husband and I also want to help the homeless. I am moved by the plight of the single-parent families who are trying to make ends meet. Drugs, alcohol and sexual perversion dominate the lives of the people who are crying out for freedom from their bondages. Statistics show that homelessness in our area hits hard the single parents raising children on their own who can’t make it on low paying wages. How can I sit comfortably in my home with the blessings of God and not share my resources and the practical help that they need so much? It is with God’s love being demonstrated that they can finally receive the love of God for themselves and make a decision to serve Him.
A CLI scholarship would allow me to gain credentials to reach the homeless, broken, blind, lame, and deaf in this community. This scholarship is so important for helping me to mount up on eagles wings and to soar to new heights in Christ Jesus so that I can do my part to fulfill my calling. The time is now. I am so ready. I give God the glory. Amen.
Thank you for allowing me this opportunity so that I become more fully grounded in the Word in order to be better equipped to serve others. To God be the glory! Amen!
Can you see yourself preaching Christ to the poor in your community? Do you feel called to share the gospel with others? Christian Leaders Institute has many classes designed to help with preaching Christ to all people. If you would like to be better equipped for preaching Christ, or just for your personal walk with God, you can enroll now by clicking here.
There is revival needed in Puerto Rico. In a place where poverty abounds, many of the citizens are losing their faith in the church – and in God.
But God is faithful. He’s calling people of all classes and ages to lead His revival. And in Puerto Rico, Jan Ibrahim received his calling to be part of the revival needed in Puerto Rico. Jan is still a teenager, but the Lord used unexpected people to speak to him and assure him that he has been called.
Here is his testimony:
My name is Jan Ibrahim García Rivera. I was born on August 13, 1997, in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. My father is Edgar Garcia and my mother is Irma Rivera. I was born prematurely. If I was not taken out of my mother’s body that day, she could have died. But God had already given a word to my parents that I would be born and that I would live. At this time, I was in the NICU and the doctors were saying that I would not make it out of there. Thanks to God, I am alive and healthy.
I live in Puerto Rico, which is an U.S. Territory, and doing ministry here is quite varied and not that difficult to my understanding. Here in Puerto Rico, there was a revival in the 1930’s that started in Bayamon. The Holy Spirit came down to the churches all around the island. There have also been some great revival leaders and mentors which are Florentino Santana, he was the Pastor and founder of the Disciples of Christ Academy and also mentor of my pastor Peter Rivera Sr., and Yiye Avila.
I identify as a pastor because that is what God’s message was to my parents before I was born. In ministry dream I want to have a good walk with God so that I can help others to walk with Him also.
I have two key experiences to pursue ministry. The first one is when I was in seventh grade, I had an English teacher that was always calling my attention and I could not stand her. But I did not know she was a woman of prayer. One day she told me to stay after class and she asked me if I attended church, which I responded with a yes. She said well, because good has plans with you. I continued my life as a teenager in the ignorance we have at that age. But then in eleventh grade, my history teacher was in middle of the class and said my name to get my attention. And said, “God loves you, and remember you have a calling,” in front of the class.
In the area where I live there is poverty, lack of faith and the people do not believe in the church. They say they are thieves due to many pastors being vocational pastors. Only a revival will lead them to Jesus Christ.
I am a teenager so I really do not know if I am going to be a vocational or bi-vocational pastor, I need to pray for guidance in that aspect. That’s why I have not sought much support in the church, because I am waiting for God’s answer.
A Christian Leaders Institute scholarship is really important to me because I could get a high-quality education for free. This would be great because I’m already paying for a biology major but I still want to answer to God’s calling for my life. Maybe I would not be a pastor anytime soon, but I could help more with this education at the youth group. And it will help me with my walk with the Almighty One.
You could pray for the Holy Spirit to guide me with some important decisions in my life about school and ministry. And that My family and I can keep on our path of sanctification.
Perhaps there is revival needed where you live. Perhaps God is calling you to be part of that revival. If so, you may find the free ministry training courses at CLI will help you be part of the revival needed in your area. I invite you to enroll in our getting started course by clicking here.