Matthew Bell has been a High School teacher for four years and has been called to Ministry! He dreams of earning he Degree of Divinity, and he enrolled at Christian Leaders Institute to make his dreams a reality! Here is his story…
Degree of Divinity – Matthew’s Story
My name is Matthew Bell, and I live in the United States of America.
I wish to become an Internet Evangelist.
I was born and raised in Arizona (USA). My mother and father separated because my father was a heavy drinker. He never abused any of his children. In fact, I only have fond memories of my father from my childhood. Thankfully, he quit drinking when I started high school, and now we have a wonderful relationship. However, there was another thing that was missing from my childhood – God.
My entire high school experience was void of God. He was alien to me. But God knew me, and He was sending someone after me. When I graduated from high school, I was totally lost and without any plans or desires. I was lost. Then my uncle (Michael) came into my life and led me to Jesus. He sat down with me and showed me the Gospel of John. Then he walked me down the Roman’s road. He held up the Bible, and it showed me my reelection – I was a sinner. I had to repent.
Then he told me the greatest news I have ever heard in my entire life: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”
My uncle later baptized me.
Immediately I had a purpose in my life. I was saved, and I lived to serve the Kind of kings. I enrolled in Bible college and pursued youth ministry. I knew I wanted to serve the youth, I just didn’t know how. So I remained in the youth ministry program until I was required to take a teaching course. For the moment, I took that course everything became clear. I knew I was called to serve in public education as a high school teacher. I changed my major from youth ministry to secondary education with an emphasis in English. Later, I would graduate from Arizona Christian University as “The Most Outstanding Student in Education.”
I just finished my fourth year of teaching high school English. I got to serve not only the high school student but also the adult teachers surrounding me. At the same time, I continued to teach and serve the youth at my local church. I clearly see God’s providence in my life to call me into ministry in multiple fields: Public Education AND youth ministry.
Now I hear the call again. I feel led to deepening my understand of God by finishing my education in the field of Ministry. I long to go to seminary and graduate with a Masters in Divinity. I no longer want to teach students about Romeo and Juliet or The Odyssey. I long to teach God’s Word.
Teaching will always be a passion of mine, and (God willing) I wish to teach for the rest of my life. But God has also given me another wonderful gift – a family. I met my wife a year after being saved. She is the greatest woman I have ever met. She is loving and brilliant. Since we’ve been married, I have witnessed her do incredible things: she has served as a police officer for over five years, and now she is a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). But above all, I witnessed her give birth to three wonderful children.
I am not only a husband; I am a father too. And God has changed my passion once again. I have an incredible passion for evangelism. My goal is to become an Internet Evangelist. I want to evangelize to the common man. I average American that spends there time scrolling through Twitter and Facebook looking for something. I want to show them that what they are looking for is God. What they need is not another “Like” on their social media, but a Savior.
I want to create sharable, one-minute videos that proclaim to Gospel! I want to engage people exactly where they spend most of their time – on their phones. I don’t only want to evangelize to youth. I want to speak to fathers and mothers too. I want the entire family.
I will call this evangelism platform – American Christian
Your support and prayers in this endeavor would mean so much to me and my family. Please help me with this call of Evangelism.
CLI graduate David Murphy enrolled at Chrisitan Leaders Institute for the free online training that fit with his schedule. He sought a deeper understanding and education in ministry and utilized CLI’s Free Successful Ordination Training and Certification to accomplish his dreams in ministry. Here is his story…
Free Successful Ordination Training and Certification – David’s Story
Hi, my name is David Murphy. The Lord has blessed me with my beautiful wife Jane and three children. We now have five grandsons that help to keep us active. My wife and I live just outside of a small village, Adams, New York, USA were I was raised.
As a youth, I went to church mostly Sunday school but stayed for some services. My parents did not often go and having only one brother that was older I found myself the only one of the family in church. So by the beginning of my teens I stopped going. Found myself dismayed with what I call church politics so saw no need in going. I did get married in a church but still saw little reason to attend even after starting a family of my own.
Then one day I had a great tragedy enters my life and please forgive me because I do not feel that this is the place to give details of this event, it almost caused me to lose my life. It seems that it is at these times in life that Jesus shows up. After a long time of wrestling with Jesus I finally returned to church where in my late thirties I received Jesus as my savoir and lord. Being baptized not long after there were many powerful experiences in my life. Two to three years into my walk I had this great feeling that I needed and wanted to enter ministry in ways that I had not experienced before. Also at the same time my wife and I found ourselves with the feeling that we should home school our children. This turned out to be a good choice for us and have watched as our youngest now has a bachelors degree.
Through the course of time I have done different courses of study and even have been licensed by a local church I still found myself feeling the lack of a credible teaching. I have continued to preach and do bible studies because of the love for and of God and his word as well as a love He has put in my heart for people. Sometimes it can be hard to minister in the area you grew up in because of the people that have known you through the years. I am sure you know the type that I am talking about. Those who look at you and say your religious or ask when did you get religion but on the other side you also have those that tell you what a blessing you are. These people are the ones that help keep you going in the Lord. As for the region it self you find many things that make it good and bad well trying to serve the Lord. One of the good things is this is where God set a man named Charles Phinny into ministry as well as others like the founder of Woolworth Department Stores and Melville Dewy that started the Dewy Decimal system. While men like Charles Phinny were used to bring a great move of God to the area and beyond it also makes the area a target of the enemy. Witchcraft in different forms can be found strong here too.
This brings me to the part that Christine Leaders Institute comes into my life. As I was seeking the Lord for direction on ministry and how he might use me more and or better I saw an add for CLI. After checking it out I saved the site and started to pray about it. Now in my to often usual way I did nothing about it for months. Finally one day going through my favorites setting that I saved I came to CLI and decided to look it over again. I was a little unsure about signing up to take classes but very glad I did. CLI has strengthen my foundation in the Lord as well as the many things that I have learned through the courses. Some of the things that I was learning I was not so sure how important they were but as I completed each course I could how they came together for a better understanding. The bigger picture if you will.
With the CLI ordination I look forward to more openings in ministry and even returning as a trained pastor to a congregation that God would have prepared me for. As an ordained leader I believe that I would have others enroll in Christine Leaders Institute for the foundation of there training. This was a good experience for me. Please pray that I will more obedient and go where God wants me.
Thank you CLI and God bless.
CLI student Ogness Lambert enrolled at CLI to further his studies to teach better and pastor his community. He does not have the financial ability to enroll in a traditional seminary and feels blessed to have found Christian Leaders Institute’s Third World Country Ministry Training. Here is his story…
Third World Country Ministry Training – Ogness’ Story
My name is Ogness Lambert.I was born in 1964.My home country is Tanzania which is found in East Africa.In the North western part of my country there is a region which is known as Kagera.My late parents-a roman ctholic father and a muslim mother lived in this region in Karagwe district,where they brought me up together with my other two elder brothers and two elder sisters,since Iam the last born.
I am mrried to Reveliana Thadeo and God has blrssed us with three children up to now and both of us are secondary school teachers wth diploma an in education.
When I was in primary school, I came across with the correspondence course of Bible study that were offered by one of the Pentecostal churches in my region.I managed to study a part of New Testament(from Matthew to 2corinthians) before I dropped it when I reached in secondary school.These lessons revealed many things to my spiritual life,they brought to me a lot of challenges in my Roman Catholic faith,because up to that time I had known nothing about the word of God although I claimed to be a Christian.
When I joined the teachers, college (1985-1987) the students christian group used to evangelize to men.Because I had attained some knowledge of the word from the dropped correspondence course,I agreed with them in everything, but I did not know exactly what it meant by receiving Jesus.I came to receive Jesus in 1988 after my uncle( who is now a pastor) to introduce Jesus to me,whereby he used to preach to me, before he invited me to his church(Tanzania aAssembliesof God by then).On the first day I entered in that church, I saw the miracles of Jesus Christ. An old man was healed of esophagus cancer instantly in the service.I heard people speaking in tongues, worshipping, praising and doing many spiritual things that I had not experienced before in my church.I considered all those things as the manifestation of Holly spirit that I studied in the dropped correspondence Bible study. From that day, I agreed to receive Jesus as my Lord and my personal Savior.
Afte r receiving Jesus, I came to realize that Jesus Christ was the only way y to eternal life, the healer, the provider and that he was everything.For that matter, I became so sorry to many people who were being tortured by Satan and end up by dying in their sins.My ministry dream started at that time by seeking the ways of rescuing such people. In the course of time,I began evangelizing to people, preaching and teaching them the word of God, praying for them and helping them to know the true God.Sometimes I did these personally and sometimes in groups with other church members.When I was thinking of starting a ministry, my guardians used to encourage me that I should wait for God’s time.
When I started a job as a school teacher, I started to fulfill my desires of working forGod in various ways in the church testifying people outside the church.I asked God to show me my responsibility in the house of the Lord.,He answered me that I should teach the word.From that time on I teach the word in the service and the adult Sunday school classes. The specification in teaching could not stop me from doing other tings in my church.I preach, I sing and I lead as a church elder and once I led the church when our pastor was away for studies.Up to that time people inside and outside our church were feeling my calling.The calling of being a pastor grew up in my heart and I considered that the God’s time to serve him as a pastor was at hand.One of the bishops in my region decided to ordain me with the church of Pentecost International in 2014. Currently am in the preparation of starting a church.
In my area there is no unique challenges.My country offers the freedom of worship.There is a lot of Christian churches and ministries and other religious groups.
My local church and many of my friends who are pastors from different evangelical churches have been supporting me for instructions, guidance, cooperation, prayers and other supports.My lovely wife also supports me greately in my calling.She is a good singer, she organizes women and children groups in the church.Sometimes she preaches and her prayers are important to me and to the work of God.
The scholarship at CLI is of vital importance to my studies.In my family we have no other means of income more than the meagre salaries we earn.It is well known that in the third world countries expenditure is higher than the earnings.If I were to pay for fees I, would not be able.
Another importance with CLI is that, since I am a civil servant I have no time to attend the full time course in a college as a campus student,but now it is easy for me to study at my own time and space while working for governiment,for God and for my family.GOD BLESS CHRISTIAN LEADERS INSTITUTE.