“Receiving a christian leadership education training from CLI is considered a great blessing. Being a father of two in this economy is not easy, it can sometimes be very hard. But being able to receive this type of knowledge without a price tag helps me to work a full time job, provide for my family and attend classes at the same time. Many bible schools in my area are very expensive. Having a free christian leadership education in ministry truly assists me in the training I need to move forward in the will of God.” – Ricky Welch, student of CLI
Greetings to all my CLI colleagues, I am Ricky Welch. I was born in a small town in North Mississippi in the early 1980’s. My wife and I now reside in the state of Missouri with our two children ages seven and one. We have been married since November 2003.
Living in America is a blessing in many ways, but we do have our challenges. We have freedom laws which allows freedom of speech to publicly reverence Christ. One of the challenges is the many diverse religious beliefs that are practiced in our country. Many people are confused, and are reluctant to believe in the true gospel that Christ proclaimed.
I have always felt the presence of God, even as a child. My older sister and I were taught at a young age to believe and fear God and the power that He has. It was in 1998, the middle of my teen years, when I began to have a true relationship with Christ. My uncle who also became my mentor and pastor led me to understand the importance of having a relationship with the Lord. He also taught me the importance of accountability, and my actions as a born again christian.
I am a youth leader and desire to be a church planter in due season. My most important desire is to plant a church in my current city. I also have a vision of eventually planting a church in my hometown in the state of Mississippi and spreading it into a national ministry. We desire to boldly profound the gospel of Christ to the lost and broken souls.
I began to notice the special call on my life when I was asked to lead prayer at my senior high school awards ceremony back in 2001. Many teachers that had taught me in previous years were pleased to see the change in my life since receiving Christ. Some even asked me if I was considering ministry after graduation.
I am supported by my family 100% in my enrollment with CLI’s christian leadership education program. They have encouraged me to move forward in receiving christian leadership education. My wife and children play a major role in my ministry. Leading a family is very much similar to leading the people of God. I look to them for positive or negative feedback as they look to me for leadership and guidance. My desire is to make sure that each one of their needs are met both spiritually and naturally. I intend to use many valuable life lessons that I have learned to eventually birth our ministry vision.
I ask that my professors, classmates and other believers in Christ pray that I will fully accept the will of God in my life. I also desire prayer for continuing to allow God to be first and foremost in my every day walk. May God graciously bless each and every one of you!
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“I know that God has led me to CLI’s ministry classes to increase my understanding and to also mentor one of our members who is participating in the online ministry classes. I believe God will use the ministry classes at CLI to help me grow in knowledge and wisdom, and to be better equipped for the calling He has on my life. I believe God has opened up my schedule and provided this free learning tool, at this specific time in my life and I am very grateful to Him and to CLI, for this opportunity. I loved going through the Christian Basics Class and look forward to taking the advanced ministry classes as well.” – Carol Mora, student of CLI
My name is Carol Mora and I live in Zephyrhills, Florida. I currently pastor a church alongside my husband. It is my pleasure to share with you, who I am and what Jesus Christ has done in my life, and what He continues to do. I was born in Georgia, then moved to California and lived there till the age of nine, when we moved overseas to the Marshall Islands. It was there that I met Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, at the age of twelve. I was on fire for the Lord at a very young age and attended adult Bible studies and prayer meetings. I loved the Lord and was not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. At the age of fifteen however, I allowed compromise to come in, which altered the direction of my life for the next thirteen years.
During that time I got married and had two wonderful children. When my son was seven and my daughter was two, someone invited him to be in the Christmas play at their church. This was a turning point in my life. I went back to my Lord and Savior, and have not strayed from His side since. My life was radically changed at that point, as my values and desires changed towards the Lord. Unfortunately, my husband who was not a believer, left after sixteen years of marriage, and I became a single mom with two children.
During the next thirteen years I grew stronger in the Lord and in the power of His Might. I learned to trust Him and to allow Him to direct my paths. He led me to Bible school for one year while I worked full time in childcare. Then the Lord called me to work for my pastors in their business. I learned a lot from the Lord at that time, and was ordained as a Minister of the Gospel through the church where I attended. Then once again a BIG changed occurred in my life, after five years of employment I was let go from my job. I did not understand why this was happening to me. I was without a job, without a church to go to, and my friends were told not to speak to me. So, I pressed into the Lord. As I look back now, I know it was God closing one door in my life to open up another.
I spent the next nine months allowing God to strengthen me. During the years I was single, I had prayed and believed that God had a godly man for me whom I could minister with. In September of 2008, I took three days off work to be with the Lord and released all of my hurts from the past. I picked up an old broken shell and told the Lord that this is what I felt my life was like, but I would cast it into the sea and start anew with His help. Five days later my life changed forever! I walked into Panera Bread and met my husband whom God had prepared for me, for such a time as this.
He was a pastor at that time and had just been offered a church building to start a new ministry. We knew very quickly that God had put us together and we were married two months later. At our wedding the first thing we chose to do after being pronounced husband and wife was to pray for people as they came forward. We knew God had called us to minister together. Six years later, my husband and I are still pastors of a church in Zephyrhills, FL. We had a thrift store for most of that time but recently had to close it and move the church to a temporary location.
The mandate that God has given us is to worship, restore lives, and win souls. We desire to continue to grow in the Lord and in the calling that He has upon our lives. In the last few years God put a burden for people’s physical needs on our hearts, so we began Hands Helping Hands, which provides a free lunch once a week and a voucher to get free clothes. This is temporarily on hold while we look for a new building. We would ask you to keep this in your prayers and also that God would continue to give direction and provision for our lives and ministry.
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“I did not know where to start until I was directed to the Christian Leaders Institute’s online ministry school through a Google search. I instantly knew I was where I needed to be to teach me the skills to minister to others. My goal is to reach women worldwide through the internet and on a local level. However, I cannot afford the cost of a traditional Bible school making CLI’s online ministry school essential to fulfill to my calling.” – Shannon Salas, student of CLI
Housewife Seeks For An Online Ministry School And Finds CLI
My name is Shannon Salas. I am 34 years old and live in the great state of Texas just outside the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I am a wife and mother of three beautiful children who are growing in Christ each day. I home school all three children through Texas’ virtual online school and supplement their school with teachings of the Bible. As a family, we love to travel, take care of pets, fine tune our cooking skills, and woodworking.
I came to the Lord in 1994. At the time I was fourteen years old and my family had lost everything we had. My parents took the last remaining money in their pocket and traveled to Wisconsin to find us a new home. My sisters stayed with my aunt and uncle while I stayed with my grandparents so that we could finish off the school year. I had never given God much thought and, prior to having to move, my mother became involved in new age practices and magic spells.
One night after drifting asleep, I had a dream that I was standing naked in a dark void with a light shining on me. Standing before me was a large wooden podium and behind the podium was a man of great size, but I could not see his face. In the dream, I was scared because I did not know what was happening. I then heard a booming voice that said “Follow me!”. I awoke immediately after in a cold sweat and with a racing heart. The next day I found the old family Bible in my grandmothers closet and started reading. I read the entire thing from start to finish.
A short while after I had this dream, my parents called to inform us they had found a church in a small town who would allow us to rent their parsonage until they found a new pastor. After moving, I began going to church and accepted Jesus into my heart. I had never felt so alive and full of hope. I joined a youth group and made some really good friends.
When I was seventeen, I met a boy whose mother helped me join a commitment class through the Church of Christ. I completed the class, made my confession of faith and was baptized. What was supposed to be one of the most uplifting days of my life was quickly shattered by my mothers naysaying. My baptism started an endless number of spiritual attacks that left me doubting my own God.
The boy whose family brought me to my baptism, became abusive. I went to college, where I became attached to drugs, alcohol, sex, and cutting myself as a means to ease the pain. I remember one night while I was being verbally cut down by my boyfriend, I looked up to the full moon begging God to make it stop, and when it didn’t, I turned my back on Him. Life became easy again, because Satan had won the battle. It is obvious to me now what God had wanted from me – to turn my burdens over to Him and to have complete faith that He will handle those burdens accordingly.
Soon after I began practicing witchcraft. I met my first husband, who is an atheist, and we held a pagan marriage ceremony. I continued my pagan practices until one autumn my four-year-old daughter asked to attend church. My daughter had only been to one church sermon with my aunt, but she was hooked, and she would not cease asking me to go until I gave in. I found a local Methodist church and took the children the next Sunday. My son asked to sit at the front directly in front of the pastor, and I honored his wishes using every bit of willpower I could to make it to the front pew. It was there that I cried, sobbing at times, for the enormous number of sins I had committed against God. It took me four services to cease my crying. I eventually became a member of the church and my children were baptized.
Just over a year ago I was injured on the job which resulted in a long battle with the workers compensation system to repair the damage done to my knee. I was separated from employment during this time and my husband thought it best that I do not attempt to return to this employer. My whole life had been turned upside down and I was quickly thrown into the role of housewife. It was a difficult journey because I was not only injured, but I had to learn to manage the home, something I am not used to doing at this level. I originally started a blog to write about the struggle of being a housewife, but through small blessings that seem to just fall into my lap I feel God has called me to do so much more. He wishes me to minister to women in a way that will bring Christ into their homes and to their children.
Currently my family is between churches, but I have recently started attending Crossroads Baptist Church in Lancaster, TX where they have accepted me with open arms. It is here that I am sure I will find a mentor to help me through my ministry studies. Until then, I have the support of my husband, all three children, and my mother-in-law, who is an active member of the church and a great example of how to lead a Christian lifestyle as God intended for us. My prayers are that I fulfill God’s calling through knowledge, a stronger walk with Jesus, and the truth of God’s Word.
CLI’s Online Ministry School
No longer look at seminary college as your only option to receive ministry training! CLI is a free online ministry school where every bit of your training is done on the internet! Click here to be enrolled in our online ministry school! Our mission is build up as many revival leaders as we can. To send out the called into the battlefield to make way for Jesus our Lord and Savior. Spread the Gospel! God bless!
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