Strong Foundation
CLI graduate, Christina Morgan and her husband have built a life on God’s strong Foundation and hope to bring others to that strong foundation in their life.
Hello. My name is Christina Morgan, and I live in the United States. In 2011, I married a wonderful Christian man that I met through Singles Ministry. Before we married, we declared that God was our foundation, and I try to live that out through kingdom work. Though we legally have the freedom to worship, ministry in the United States is difficult because people are most content to ignore religion entirely and live for the day. I always dreamed of being able to volunteer and help in those many activities in which the church needs volunteers. Being single most of my life, I did not have time to commit fully to much. God has blessed me with a husband who finds my unpaid work for Christ more important than any other job I could have. Since we have the opportunity for me to remain at home, I have embraced all the ministry opportunities God has placed before me.
Christina Strong foundation was built at a young age and hard time in her life.
I have been a Christian most of my life. When I was in 1st grade, a VBS came to my school, and I accepted Christ into my heart. My parents had divorced before I was 1, and there were many difficult days ahead in my life. Those women who dedicated themselves to that Children’s Ministry gave me the armor I needed to be protected throughout my life.
Christina willingly wants to bring a strong foundation to those hurting in her community.
I currently work in several ministries in my community. I want to be educated and equipped to take these ministries as far as they can go. I want to have resources to grow the ministries and others within them. I am a small group and women’s ministry leader. I want to pursue every avenue God shows me to do my best work for Him.
I live in the American South or the Bible Belt, so I have the most openly Christian area imaginable. However, so many of the people here go to church for the social appearance and acceptance. Many claims to know Christ but only know about Him, and many are as close-minded and apathetic as everywhere else. The most challenging aspect of my work seems to be getting people beyond head knowledge and into heart knowledge. Most people have heard about Jesus most of their lives, have Christian examples in their families or friend groups, but just don’t want to put in any work to living a Christian lifestyle.
Christina’s mission and strong foundation are encouraged by her church family.
I have been blessed with a church that finds me worthy to teach and lead ministry work. I feel it necessary to do justice to their faith in me by learning and studying as much as I can to strengthen my leadership abilities.
CLI has given Christina the chance to built up her strong foundation further as well as grow in her knowledge.
Christian Leaders Institute will enable me to fulfill that goal in a way I wouldn’t otherwise be able. Thanks to the goal of CLI to provide free doctrinally sound ministry education. I will be more confident, more knowledgeable, more connected with others, and more effective in ministry to my Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
I ask for prayers in growing our volunteers and encouraging our women to be women of action. Pray that we are able to reach into our community and harvest fruit for Christ. I ask that I focus on what will glorify God and not external signs of success. Mostly, I ask for prayers that my heart, and those I lead, be open to the Holy Spirit and committed to following where He leads.
My name is Michael Owen; I am 52 years old, divorced with no children. I had lived in Syria most of my life till I was thirty years old when I left to come to the United States in 1993. I was raised up in a Moslem Society, but I was going to Roman Orthodox Church with Family and friends. Currently; I work in a restaurant as a cook to cover my expenses everywhere, and I am sure my Lord will help me finish all the way if that was His Will. I lost my Father in 1994 after he had a bad heart attaches at age 62 which is very young but it is God’s Will, no matter what, and nowadays, I live with my “angel” of a mother and she is doing great.
I was always close to Jesus deep in my heart and He was on my mind all the time until 2009 almost when I was graduating from College; I had that feeling that I should leave everything behind and follow Jesus, which of course was an invitation from My Lord I believe.
Recently, after long searching all over the internet; I saw online CLI, and I was very excited to find the help I needed to finish my ministry dream in America. It is so interesting to do ministry in America and so easy and enjoyable to be with The Lord.
One night I saw The Lord in either a vision or dream, as a person of light showed up in my room with three angels around Him, but I did not recognize that dream till after a few days. I was very happy that God was inviting me to become His child and servant, or at least I looked at it this way. Jesus and God and Mary always were on my mind, and I loved them so much, believing in the Holy Trinity and the Bible. Then I had that feeling that I should go to school and become a pastor to do something for Our God Who has done so much for us.
I got baptized couple of years ago at my 48th of age, and I wanted to live a life that is pleasing to Our Lord, so I decided to become a Pastor and a Servant Of God which is the word that I identify with most. So I started to live a life according to the Will Of God. I felt that my life is much better after giving it to the Lord, and I felt peace and joy and contentment like I never had. After talking and praying to God daily, and reading the Bible; I have a new heart, and I feel like a new person that I never met before and I am very happy with that.
The key experience in my life that prompted me to pursue ministry is my huge desire to lead people to the Lord, and to save whoever I can save of them.
No unique challenges in my geographic area, or at least I can not see anything that could hinder or challenge me to reach my goal.
My Church does not know about my study except my pastor who I will tell later because it is a huge Church, and I will tell the people I know about my scholarship because they will be happy for me.
My Family encouraged me too and played a great role in my decision that they think that is a great one for my future.
This scholarship at CLI is very important to my ministry dream,
And I want to thank CLI for it which change my life, because CLI is about to make my dream come true by becoming a servant of My Lord, so I will pursue this course to learn everything I need to know and to be ready for my task toward God.
Please; I am asking everybody to pray for me to be successful and make a good pastor that the Lord will be happy with me, and everyone would be proud of me especially my family and friends since they are waiting for me, and keep on asking about how things are going so far.
Born Again
To have eternal life, you must be saved and born again. CLI graduate Charles Chukwudi Philip was born again through God’s grace and has a ministry calling.
Hello everyone, blessings of the Lord to you all. My name is Charles Chukwudi Philip; I come from Nigeria. I was born in a Catholic family of six children, and I happen to be the third child. In my junior secondary school days, I lived with a Catholic priest and had wanted to become a priest. That changed after some time due to circumstances regarding my family welfare. Anyways, I migrated to Europe as an asylum seeker (refuge) to search for greener pasture. The thought and dream of becoming a servant of God in the ministry were totally out of the way as I lived in the world enjoying sin to its fullest.
God used the birth of Charles’s baby for Charles himself to be born again in Christ.
The Lord called me back again when the woman I met became pregnant; it happened that as the time for her to give birth to the child came there were complications. I began to pray and God, being a merciful God, heard me. The baby came out alive but with complications and needed to be in infants intensive care unit. After some hours of her birth, I was told to go to the infants unit if I would like to see my daughter. So I went to the infants intensive unit, and as I got in there, that was when my life changed and took another dimension. I saw infants lying down in a designed bed like incubators plugged into one machine or the other, and I saw my child too. I was speechless, and tears rolled down my cheeks and immediately God spoke, ‘healing ministry’. I came out of the hospital pondering what that voice may be and how to go about it. Afterwards, I gave my life to Jesus even before my child and her mum were discharged from the hospital.
Even though Charles is born again and has a new life in Christ, Satan still tries his tricks to cause Charles to be unfaithful, but God stays faithful.
Satan never gives up; he fought me with every weapon he can muster to stop me from heeding God’s voice that I’ve heard. It has been a rough, tough and painful walk, but the Lord has remained faithful, regardless of my weaknesses, missteps and mistakes. A lot of water has passed under the bridge, but to summarise it, my desire is to have an intensive study of the word of God. The training required was something I could not think of because my income could only take care of my family’s immediate needs.
Being born again, Charles starts to study the word.
I gave myself into studying the word with the help of the Holy Spirt, as well as listening to other preachers preach, which has been of a tremendous help. I am grateful for that. While I was searching the internet for a way out, I came across CLI, and I was overjoyed that at last I could have the opportunity to have a formal study of the word. It would equip me with the insight, wisdom and knowledge I needed to unleash that which the Lord has placed on my heart for His children.
CLI is allowing Charles to be able to have the wisdom and ability to move forward in his calling and his new life.
I believe that CLI will help me to become the leader the Lord would want me to be. It will help me to make a great ministry that will revive, win and bring healing to the people of God, of all ages, nations and race. I am grateful for this opportunity and I pray that God will continue to bless CLI for what they are doing in training leaders who will win the world back to God.