“As I was searching for bible study schools, I came across the Christian Leaders Institute (CLI). On reviewing its mission and bible study courses, I found it to be very relevant for what I am looking for. I believe with my bible study at CLI, I will be empowered to be able to reach the unsaved with the Word of God as well as to nurture and mentor those converted to mature as Christians and for discipleship.” – Barbara Banana Mudanga, student of CLI’s bible study course
My name is Barbara Banana Mudanga born in Botswana at Francistown in 1957. I am currently living in Gaborone which is the capital city of Botswana. Both my parents are alive. I am a single parent with two sons aged 31 and 24 yrs. I was born and raised up in a Christian family and attended my 5 yrs secondary education in a mission school. Growing both in a Christian family and in a mission school influenced my beliefs and morale values which are based on Christian principles.
I am a nurse with diploma in General nursing, diploma in Midwifery, and bachelor degree in nursing education and Masters of Science in Nursing. I worked for 32 yrs at various levels of the Botswana health system, including working as clinical nurse, clinical nursing manager and national Community Care and Home based care program coordinator at policy level. I also have experience working with communities and civil society organizations on HIV /AIDS and other health issues including on palliative care for people living with HIV. My experience both from my nursing practice in palliative care programs and as a Christian revealed to me that many people need spiritual care and that many die before they receive Jesus. This poses a question to me on how can I help people to save before they day?
I was baptized in my youth age and I have always loved Jesus. However, for the first 17 yrs of my professional life I gave more attention to my professional work than to my Christian life. This was because of the nature of my work whereby I would either be on night duty or working during Sundays which eventually discouraged me even when I was off on Sundays. I again became more committed to my church services from 1998 when I moved from clinical health to public health care programs which I was no longer working on weekends. Since then I have been actively involved in church services. I was also encouraged by my family to take Christian life who often challenged me to be more serious about my relationship with GOD.
In the early 2000’s I was blessed by GOD, my sons became more committed to their Christian lives. They left my church and went to fellowship with different churches from mine. My eldest son would share the scripture with us when coming back from his church and during evenings. He also introduced our family to various TV Gospel channels such as TBN, Love World and others. Watching these Christian channels and sharing scripture from the bible became part of my family‘s life style and we gradually grew spiritual. I eventually realized that although I had been going to the church for so many years, I did not understand much on the meaning of Christian life. This challenged me to learn more about the gospel and Christian life.
My hobby has since grown to be listening to the gospel teachings, gospel music, reading the bible and reading books written by Christian authors. All these contributed a lot towards my understanding of the meaning of Christian life and that I also have the responsibility to witness Jesus’ love to other people. These observations have created a strong urge within me to preach the word to my church mates, relatives and to my colleagues at my work place. I have also realized that there are many people in my church who were regular church goers but still practiced some religious traditions that sustain them in the bondage of idolatry to the extent of backsliding because they lacked the understanding of being religious and being Christians and what God expects from them.
My ministry goal is to preach the word to the unsaved and mentor the newly converted to grow to be mature Christians. Therefore positions which fit me well are Pastor and Evangelist. At my previous church I was not a pastor but one of the elders of the church. I contributed to the church by serving in various church committees including the management committee. At that church people attended church services on Sundays only and for most of them that is the only time when they received the message from the word of God during pastors’ sermons. The church does not do bible lessons/bible study. As such many members of the church are regular church attendants and are very committed to conform to church traditions and programs with little understanding of the bible scripture, of Christianity and what God expects from them. As such many people are not growing spiritually and many new coverts backslide. Our church was not retaining many new converts therefore grew very slowly.
For the past three years I have tried to incorporate bible study in our church and that has not been easy. I have experienced some resistance from the leadership and to an extent that sometimes I was being accused of bringing confusion into the church. Despite the resistance and challenges, the pressure within me for preaching the gospel and mentoring new converts has been increasing. Therefore I have decided to respond to my call for preaching and mentoring new Christians by leaving my church and establish a new church called The Grace of God Church. Its Motto is “reaching people with the gospel to save their souls to glorify God”. The church is three months old. I intend to target people in urban areas because there are many social events and activities in urban areas that are sometimes obstacles for people particularly youth and middle age groups for going to churches.
The other reason for the concern about youth is that they are vulnerable to risky behaviors commonly found in urban area such as alcohol and other substance abuse, crime, early sexual debut including teenage pregnancy which expose them to many social ills. They therefore need to be targeted early with good moral values that will to help them build strong characters in order to overcome some temptations of engaging in some of these risky behaviors. The target populations will reached preaching the word of God in the church and throughout reach services. Since many people particularly youth may not have resources to go for formal bible schools to advance their understanding of the gospel I would also want the Grace of God Church to provide Bible study training as one of its services. These target groups will be reached through outreach services and through preaching in the church.
In order for me to fulfill my calling for the work of God, I am planning to retire from my current professional work so that I can have more time to preach the Word of God, pray with other people and mentor new Christians for Christian living including discipleship. To be able to do all these I need deeper understanding and knowledge of God, preaching skills, pastoral care skills and other relevant tools. To this regards, I need to take a courses in a bible study college.
In Botswana all people have the constitutional right and freedom to worship according their preferences. Therefore once I have the necessary knowledge, skills, tools and resources it will be easy to reach my target populations because the environment is conducive.
My prayer is to be empowered for preaching the gospel both adults and youth to be saved and for God guidance in my mentoring of new Christians for his Glory.
Free Online Bible Study Ministry Training
More than just a bible study, CLI provides full online ministry training for free to every student who enrolls! Would you like to advance in your biblical knowledge? Be a part of advancing the Kingdom of God? Preach? Teach? Evangelize to the lost? Then click here for our enrollment page and begin you free bible study training online today!
“I am so glad to find on the web this gracious free training for a gospel teacher through CLI. Wao! This is it! Thank you my Lord! As I do not have means to pay for a good and high Christian leaders training.” Ello Cleopas Taki, gospel teacher and student of CLI
Gospel Teacher Welcomes CLI in Côte d’Ivoire for Ministry Training
I am Ello Cléopas TAKI, from Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa. I am a lay Gospel teacher in my Church, but I sense the call to preach the word of God to people far from my town, in the bush, to deliver souls from the domination of evil and the power of satan.
I was born in a Methodist Church (1965) where my father (died 2005) was Choir Master and my mum (died 1968) a choir member. As a child my main game was to try a scene where I was a preacher and my friend a translator. Today, I notice that the simple game that I enjoyed was a “trap” that God made to lead me to ministry. On July 21, 1990, I met Jesus as my Savior and Lord and dedicated my whole life to him. Now I am founder of two small groups of believers who I teach the Word of The Lord.
My ministry dream is to make people become soul winners as I manage to win souls, leading them out of the traditional denominational religion to serve the Lord as disciples; organize seminars for ministers’ equipment and life to have success in ministry and church planting.
I consider I am a gospel teacher according to my call and the Lord leads me in those missions where I meet people I have never met before in the aim to plant churches and help them to worship Him.
The Lord told me one day of 2011 that I was worrying for my family and my children when the souls somewhere are going to perdition! I stopped my job (I was a cashier for Methodist Secondary schools) and went for a Gospel campaign in a small village where I preached to people.
My Local Church gives me no support for that. All my means are from God who called me. My children (2 boys and 1 girl) go to school at my charge. My wife stays with them when I go for missions.
With your prayers, I will sustain the new believers so that they can stay tuned the more closely to the Lord.
Train To Become A Gospel Teacher
With inspiration and leading on our hearts to prosper the Kingdom of God, become a Gospel Teacher and preach the Good News! Christian Leaders Institute can help fulfill your calling with our high quality classes given online for free! Yes! 100% free. Click here to start your journey as a Gospel Teacher for the Lord. Be a part of the CLI family as we bring revival across the world.
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“Imagine a teacher being cursed out every day by a 14 year old, taking it, and only responding by telling the student you’re better than that. Fast-forward 3 years and this now 17 year old sharing that your patience, encouragement, and efforts molded them and they now have a relationship with Christ. That teacher you just imagined was me.” – Richard Harris, student of CLI’s free online ministry college
Free Online Ministry College- Equipping To Educate, Expand, and Empower
My name is Richard Harris. I currently live in Raleigh, NC, USA. I was raised in a Christian home and started going to church at the age of 2. At an early age, I developed a love and appreciation for God’s Word and His people. As a youth, I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, regularly attended Sunday School and was an active member of the church. During my senior year in high school, I accepted the call to preach and was licensed to preach on March 7, 1999. I have a degree in Business Management from Howard University in Washington, DC, where I also played collegiate baseball. I have worked as a teacher, coach, and program director. I recently started my own business, Get Ready Athletics, in which we educate communities, expand skills, elevate performance, and empower lives through sport and fitness by providing resources and training opportunities for athletes, parents, and coaches.
The local church has supported my ministry calling by providing opportunities for preaching, teaching, leading, and serving. The local church has also trained me through classes, one on one study, and hands-on experience. I am grateful for the experiences the local church has shared with me to learn more about Christ and serve His people.
I have a passion for helping others develop into better people by effectively communicating, creating a positive environment, and teaching God’s Word. It is my desire to demonstrate God’s love, be of service, and assist in the spiritual development of others in a dedicated and energetic manner. My calling is to lead others in the saving grace of Christ, as well as help them avoid depression and mediocre living through the use of my Christian experience and experiences in sport and fitness.
The opportunity with Christian Leaders Institute’s free online ministry college will help me become better equipped to lead others and share God’s Word. Receiving free online ministry college training will afford me the opportunity to spend more time studying, deepening my understanding and application of the CLI courses instead of working additional part-time jobs. Many people are hurting and are choosing destructive paths over God’s way when they come to the crossroads of life. The spiritual, mental, and physical health of society is diminishing. The abundance of diseases, depression, and dysfunctional relationships is overwhelming. People are crying out, much like the 14 year old I mentioned earlier. Studying at CLI’s free online ministry college will enhance my preparation for impacting the communities I am involved in as I work to reduce the amount of diseases, depression, and dysfunctional relationships that exist.
I ask for prayers that I will have the courage to shine for God, continue to learn more of Him, choose His way, not my own, fulfill my ministry, focus on Him even in darkness, be open to those in need, and keep in mind His promises as I find the good things the bible speaks of.