Ministry Ordination
Ministry Ordination is important because the ordination sets someone apart who has the calling, training and affirmation to be an agent of the church in a local area. In many places, ministry ordination is not accessible because the cost of the ministry training is so high. At Christian Leaders Institute, there is no cost for the high-quality ministry training. Christian leaders, like Angela Scott-McReynolds, can now pursue their calling. The only cost is a small fee for the official documents, but the course training is free. Each candidate for ministry ordination must have three local endorsers from the candidate’s life and be connected to their local church leaders. Christian Leaders Institute guides the ministry ordination process so that the person is grounded locally.
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My name is Angela Scott-McReynolds, I was born in Buffalo, New York, but currently reside in Chattanooga, TN. I am happily married to a wonderful God- fearing man, and have two wonderful children, a son age 28, and a daughter age 31. I have served in the Army National Guard for six years, been employed as a church secretary for ten years and worked with the airlines for thirteen years (I had to take early retirement due to a merger of the airlines).
I began my faith in the Lord at a very early age but I knew that one day I would be called into the ministry. My spiritual goal is to be an anointed speaker, getting the word of God out to as many individuals as I can. Time is short! Having a scholarship with the Christian Leaders Institute has been a blessing to me. I had been in prayer about this calling and had asked the Lord to make a way for me to be able to study the word of God more and to be able to be ordained. I have a BA degree, but I would be overjoyed to have a degree in the ministry of the Lord. So I had been searching and searching online and praying that the Lord would lead me in the right direction, and, praise Him, He did! With prayer and faith all things are possible in Jesus Name!
As of April 24, 2015, I have successfully completed all of the courses for the Officiant Ordination Program, allowing me to officiate at ceremonies such as marriages, burials, baptisms and other sacred events. Praise the Lord! And He is guiding me and leading me further and further into the ministry!
Christian Leaders Institute is guiding Christian leaders into ministry ordination all over the world. If you sense the calling to be an ordained leader, enroll and start your journey into ministry ordination today.
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Being Prepared for Ministry
What I’m about to write isn’t my story, but rather, it’s God’s story. My life is just a minuscule part of the big picture of His plan. I give Him all the glory. As I look over my seventeen years of life, I stand in awe of the wonder of our God. I pray that as you read this you will clearly see the fingerprints of God.
I was born on July 16, 1997, in the beautiful city of Durango, Colorado. My parents were excited to welcome their firstborn into the world. Over the years, they also welcomed three more girls and two boys.
The first eight years of my life, we lived in Aztec, New Mexico, on a family ranch. Dad served as a youth pastor and assistant pastor. I grew up believing I was a real cowgirl. By the time I was four, I could ride a horse all by myself. My aunt, cousin, and grandparents all lived next door. My mom home schooled my sisters and I, what adventures we had!
The Lord then called us to move to Chappelle, Texas. While we were there I went to a “real school” for the first time. I also accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior after watching my sister grow closer to Jesus after she became a Christian. My Dad taught at the school I went to and also served as the assistant pastor. We lived there for two years. All was well until God threw a curve ball right at us. Tragedy struck when my dear Nana died suddenly in a car accident (We had lived next door to her). This was my first real encounter with death. I grieved, but the Lord helped me through that tough time. I took hope in the promise that I would see her again someday. “Do not let your heart be troubled…I go to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2-3
Then He led us to go through deputation to raise money for a ministry. So we bought a travel trailer, and all seven of us went on one adventure after another. I have such dear memories of those nine months. What fun to sleep in a house with wheels every night!?! It may have been tight, but I loved every minute of it.
Sometimes the Lord works in mysterious ways. After nine months of raising support, the doors opened up for us to live with my Granny and Papa. Mom was expecting her sixth and I was about to turn twelve. This baby was a big surprise. We lived there till my brother was born, then we moved to Carlton, Oregon, where I live today.
Oregon is a beautiful state but because it rains often, people struggle with depression, cutting and eating disorders. For five years we served at a small church, full of dear people. God taught me much about friendship, love, peacemaking, sacrifice, and serving Him, through leading worship over the years. I still have a lot to learn, but He is faithful. “He who began a good work in you will carry it out to completion.” Philippians 1:6
Last summer I had the amazing privilege of going on a mission trip to India, Croatia, and Austria. It had been a life-long dream of mine to go to India. While there I stayed at an all girl’s orphanage. At night I led devotions. One stands out to me, Jesus had told me to talk about His fatherly love, how He is the perfect father. Tears rolled down their cheeks. What an honor it was to be able to minister to their hearts.
Meanwhile in Oregon, the Lord was working miracles. He opened a door that we didn’t even think was a possibility. My parents followed Him, took a huge leap of faith, and moved to a church that had been dying for years. This was my dad’s first time as a full-time pastor. After two days of being back in the states, we had our first week at our new church. That was a little over a year ago.
During the past year, I’ve been leading worship once a month, teaching children, and leading worship at my youth group. My family and I have learned and grown so much through this experience. I love serving my Lord and Savior, in whatever ways He leads.
My ministry dream is to continue to serve in my church. One day I hope to become a faithful wife and mother. I would love to have a lot of kids, like eight. Ever since I was very little, I have felt led to lead worship, teach kids, and have a big family. In January, I’m going on a mission trip to Uganda until April. I can’t wait to see how the Lord will lead in my future.
Christian Leaders Institute is a huge blessing to me because it’s free, has sound doctrine, and is online. This makes it possible for me to get training while still being able to serve in my church and abroad. Please pray that I will have wisdom on my future choices and that I will follow the Lord wherever He leads.
Philippines Church Planting
I am Russell Cunning. My vision is to do Philippines Church Planting and to start a school in the Philippines. The school will offer free English lessons to the children who can attend. Having lived in the Ukraine, China and India, and having visited Poland, Turkey, Thailand and the Philippines, I can testify that people who speak English well will get better jobs than those with higher qualifications but poorer English skills.
As a child I attended a Protestant Sunday School and Church, and as a young adult a Protestant Church. When I was 24, I heard a man speaking about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and salvation in a way that was completely new to me. My heart was opened and I quickly came forward for prayer and made my first real commitment to God. Soon afterward I was baptized in an above-ground swimming pool! That was many years ago. For a long time I attended an Assemblies of God church in four different locations. After a personal crisis, which I was unable to handle well, I backslid for many years. While never losing my core beliefs, I did lose my faith. I had no faith to believe that God was seeing me through my trials, and chose to believe that I alone was ‘working through my problems’. It is only now where I am living in a predominantly Hindu culture, that I have begun to long for the Lord once again.
My step-mother is from the Philippines, and I have visited there on three occasions. My heart was deeply wounded each time when I saw the children on the street begging for food, even scampering past restaurant employees, to grab gnawed bones from the rubbish. I gave some cooked rice sometimes, but it was like trying to empty the Pacific with a thimble, the need was so great. I want to build a church and a school to offer free English lessons. I believe that giving a child some cooked rice will feed him or her for a day, but teaching them English will provide the opportunity to get a better job and to earn enough, so that their children will not need to beg.
Of the titles mentioned, I prefer pastor because it means ‘shepherd’. A shepherd is a guide, not a ruler. A shepherd helps and looks after the flock. It is through gentle and loving guidance, advice and counseling, as well as God driven prayer and teaching, that I see myself overseeing the church and the school.
During my years of doubt, I became a teacher of English, and soon realized that I was a natural teacher. I loved helping people to learn. I felt my lessons were the most effective when my students thought we didn’t study so much as enjoy our time together.
The Philippines presents some personal challenges for me, I am very overweight and if I didn’t feel led here, I would have chosen somewhere less humid and perhaps a bit cooler! Then there is the annual typhoon season which destroys buildings and crops, and kills many people. Another challenge is the presence of militant separatists seeking to create an independent Islamic state, and who target foreigners.
Being a properly qualified pastor is important to me, even though I know that this is a calling from the Lord. While it is God’s earth, he has put earthly rulers in place and they will want to see evidence of qualifications. I also want to ensure that during my time in the wilderness, I did not pick up any incorrect beliefs.
Though I feel like I have gained many strengths over the years, I have also become weak in other areas, so I would greatly value prayer to support my personal walk with the Lord. In teaching we have a saying: “To teach is to learn twice.” So often I have found greater understanding of something when I am teaching – and in my pastoral duties it is the same – as I explain aspects of Jesus or the Holy Spirit, I gain a deeper understanding myself.