Student James Saunders was brought to Christian Leaders Institute by friends, mentors and pastors in Scotland. He enrolled to help fulfill his calling of Revival in Scotland and formal ministry training that he could afford! Here is his story…
Revival in Scotland – James’ Story
Greetings, my name is James Saunders, I am fifty-four years old and live in a rural village outside Dunfermline, Scotland. I have been married to my wonderful wife for twenty-four years and we have a son who is about to turn twenty. He is currently in his second year of engineering as a junior officer in the merchant navy. I am working with a Christian charity now after spending many years in the British Armed Forces.
I come from a family who did not and still do not attend church; I, however, took myself to my local church when I was 12 years old. I know now, that after a difficult upbringing, I was looking for a family and the loving Father I did not have at home, and indeed I did find the most loving , forgiving father there is ! My family tells me that I always expressed from a young age that I wanted to become a minister, I do not know why or where this desire came from,but, I did not follow my heart and let life and growing up get in the way. I have experienced much happiness and tragedy in my life, and after a serious car accident that left me with a chronic neck and back injury, and finished my career I again began to focus on God. During my recovery, I became very aware of the blessings in my life and felt obligated to follow my heart and serve Jesus the best way I could.
I still have it on my heart to become a Pastor and have a calling to minister to the forgotten and ignored, the sub cultures and outlawed in our society. Scotland has become very secular and people chase a false dream of wealth thinking it will make them happy. They seek spirituality, but, follow and idolise celebrity and greed. Our organised church is failing and dying, preaching and teaching off scripture and doing more harm than good.
I belong to one of these so called sub cultures…. I am a biker; I have two main passions, Jesus Christ and motorbikes. I have a passion for putting these together for the glory of God and have been drawn to minister to people on the fringes of our society. This can be difficult and at times dangerous. I hope to lead and minister a church that will be different and relevant from our established church, to reach these good people and take to them our Saviour Jesus Christ, give them good and scripturally correct teaching, to set them on a path with a solid foundation and encourage their training.
I have discussed my calling with my church, Viewfield Baptist Church, Dunfermline, ho are very supportive and keen to help.
I also feel that to equip myself for this task I need to receive quality training to enable me to serve in an effective and lasting way, living on a pension I am unable to afford to pay the full cost of theological training locally. I was recommended to use CLI by a friend who is doing this course, I have also been encouraged by my Minister who has offered to mentor and assist me.
I also have the full support of my family and friends who believe that this is my calling and wish to see me succeed.
It is only because of CLI offering these courses that myself and other brothers and sisters in Christ are able to get quality training that will enable us to make a lasting difference in peoples lives!!
I ask you pray that our mission to bring Christ to those cast aside by society, to save and change lives, to bring about revival in Scotland and do this for the Glory of God and in Jesus name !! God bless you.
Christian Leaders Institute’s student Lawrence Yeanay enrolled to Bring Revival To Liberia by gaining a formal ministry education 100% free of cost. Here is his story…
Bring Revival To Liberia – Lawrence’s Story
My name is Lawrence S. Yeanay; I am from Liberia, Nimba County, Ganta city. I was born unto Mr. Nya Yeanay and Ma yah Flymo on July 2, 1986. I live in Karnplay with My wife Ruth Yeanay and two Girls Children. I graduated from high school in 2006. Later in 2007 I got born again through the influence of one Apostle Philip B. Martin. With out any help and founds to forward my education, I moved to live with the Apostle and his family in their home so as to have more time to focus on the things of God and to Learn more about the Bible. By the grace of God this year may 2015, I was browsing the Internet I God directed me to the web site of the school to enable me get more training for the work of the ministries. 1. My ministry Goal is to help bring revival in my country since we came from a 14 years of war, and most of our citizens are not spiritually transform. 2. It is very easy to do ministry in our Country since according to our history we were founded on a Christian principal and further more, we have majority calling on the Name of Jesus than Mohammed.
Allen Biddix’s ministry calling is in evangelism and pastoring, and after serving a sentence in prison himself, he felt called to start Pastoring To Prisoners. He enrolled at Christian Leaders Institute to fulfill his calling, and begin his ministry journey! Here is his story…
Pastoring To Prisoners – Allen’s Story
My name is Allen Biddix, and I currently live in South Carolina (USA). I first hear of the Lord while at the fair in 1998. A minister walked me through the sinner’s prayer, but at the age of 10 I didn’t understand what it meant. It wasn’t until I was 13 that I started attending church. During those days, I was mainly going to church to socialize with people my age. I was baptized Easter 2002 at the age of 14. At the age of 15, I was sent to a group home where I spent the next two and a half years of my life. While staying in the group home I began to have a feeling that I was being called by the Lord, so I began to study the Bible.
When I was 18, I was sent to prison due to my idiotic choices. While in prison the Lord showed me my calling. So I began to study more and this time the Lord began to open doors for me to minister to other prisoners. I spent sixteen and a half months locked up before I was released on probation for three years. Not long after my release I was locked up for two and a half years due to a violation of probation. This was when the Lord revealed the ministry He has called me to.
I mostly identify myself as both an evangelist and a pastor. I say, and evangelist because, in my younger years, I am called to minister to anyone or any church who wants to hear the Truth from God’s Word. Also, most of my ministry work will consist of prison, group homes, nursing homes, and orphanages outreach programs. I say a pastor because, in my older years, I feel called to settle down and shepherd a local church.
My ministry dream is to show the world that God loves them through simple gestures of kindness and to help them grow closer to God through His Word. I want to be a pillar for the Lord, speaking His Truth boldly even if it means I will be hated by the world. My pastor is my mentor, and he has been giving me opportunities to exercise the gift that the Lord has given me. My church has given me a position as an Adult Sunday School teacher. As for my family, my mom is a big supporter to my calling from the Lord.
It would be a great opportunity to have a scholarship at CLI because it will allow me to get some formal training and my ordination. I can’t afford to go to college because my past criminal troubles make it hard for me to get a decent job. What little bit of money I do make goes to paying my bills and I can’t afford to take on another bill that I know I wouldn’t be able to pay.
Please pray that the Lord will continue to enlighten me in His Word and that I will continue to speak boldly for the Lord as I strive to be a light unto this dying world.
Thanks for hearing my story.