I moved from denomination to denomination seeking to understand their teachings. Eventually I got so caught up in one that I became so dogmatic that my relationship with Jesus Christ faded into a ritualistic and judgmental attitude (I had forgotten my first love). Due to this, I was looking at my works instead of God’s grace and I became so disappointed in myself when I would miss the mark in some area in my life and I allowed Satan to deceive me to the point that I could not understand God’s Word as I had. Everything had been mixed up. So I left the church and became “atheist or agnostic” terms that I use lightly because I believed in God and I knew Christ and had experienced the Power of the Holy Spirit but was just not focusing on that at the time. Psalm 14:1 was fulfilled in me where it says,
“He who says in his heart there is no god is a fool.”
Free Online Pastoral Diploma- God Qualifies the Called
My name is John Anthony West. I am the son of David Michael West and Rosa Marcella Price. I have two siblings, a brother named Jason and a sister named Angela (Angie for short). I was born in Marion on February 26, 1991 and graduated from Marion High School on May 28, 2009. I attended John A. Logan College from January of 2010 to March of 2011 where I completed some of my general education. I attended Paul Simon Chicago Job Corps in pursuit of computer service technology from September 3, 2013 through April 30, 2014. I came to Christ at age 7 and was baptized on Easter Sunday after having been taught the gospel by my mom and my paternal grandmother.
Growing up I had a very dysfunctional and unusual family environment. During my teenage years I struggled with smoking and drug and alcohol use, as well as pornography. In High School, I found a new church to call home at third baptist in Marion where I gave up my addictions to Christ and received the calling as a Pastor. I started making choices in my life that were crucial to my calling. During my spiritual growth, God laid the high priestly prayer of Jesus in John 17 on my heart and showed me that His family can sometimes be as dysfunctional and divided as an earthly one if His children take their eyes of off His Word.
After I completed Job Corps, God started reaching out to me. He started convicting me of what I was doing and reintroducing His grace to me. He started teaching me that having the knowledge of Jesus Christ is more than knowing a lot about Him, it’s knowing Him as a person in the form of an intimate relationship. And so, I started seeking this intimacy with Christ and He told me I needed fellowship with other believers, that Satan was isolating me to keep me from doing God’s will because I was a threat to his plans. So I started going to a little group that would meet at a house every Friday night and we would read the Word and pray and worship God, lifting each other up in songs and psalms as Scripture says. That group prayed that God would clear me of all confusion concerning His Word and bring me all clarity and understanding. So God has been calling me back to Himself and not only do I know His Word but I am in love with it and am letting it get into every part of my life.
So God has renewed my calling as a Pastor but also to break down denominational barriers and draw the body of Christ together so that Jesus might be glorified, and through that the world may see and be drawn to His Salvation. “By this they will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).
Lastly, a free online pastoral diploma with Christian Leaders Institute would help me greatly to accomplish my calling as a Pastor. I seek to study and show myself approved and strengthen my theological understanding and practical skills, but do not have the means to pay for a university. I believe this opportunity was drawn to my attention by God and is one of many steps to my growth and development in my faith. Keep me in your prayers as I seek God’s direction in every day life so that my place in His ministry will grow as He wills.
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I love reading the Bible and studying God’s Word. I felt God was wanting me to learn more but I could not afford the big name Bible colleges. I tried to take a class last fall and it really was too much financial strain on the family. I looked up free Bible college on the internet and Christian Leaders Institute came up. I believe this could help me be a better shepherd, as a bi vocational pastor, to lead the flock that God has trusted me with. I love the Lord and want to see souls saved and changed for the kingdom of God and to give Him all the glory!
My name is Michael Woodrum. I am forty-one years old and I live in Campbellsville, Kentucky. I have a full time job and am a bi vocational pastor. I am married to my wonderful wife, Marsha of 22 years. We are blessed with 2 children. Kelsey who is 16 and Blake who is 13. We also had one child, Brandon who went to be with the Lord at 5 days old. I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior when I was 27 years old. I was not raised in a church or in a Christian home. After being married for 5 years, my wife and I were not happy and going through a divorce. I had nowhere else to turn and went to a small country church. The Lord convicted me of my sins. I made my way to the altar, gave my heart to the Lord, and he saved me. He gave me my wife back and gave me life and hope.
About 5 months after receiving Jesus I had a serious accident; a horse threw me off. I had some superficial injuries however he kicked my ear off. I went through several surgeries near home and made several trips to Atlanta (six hours away) to have a new ear constructed. I have an ear it’s not like the original that God gave me though. I look back now and could see that I was not in the center of God’s will. At that time God was merciful to me, I could have been killed very easily.
Sometime later, God called me to preach but I ran from the calling for about 4 years. I was still very active in church. I never missed anything, but I finally surrendered to preach on August 22, 2006. I began to preach filling in at churches, at the nursing homes and jail. I went wherever I was called. Although throughout our journey, my wife and I thought were heading toward the mission field and could never picture ourselves stationary pastoring a church as a bi vocational pastor, but that is exactly where God put us. Having learned this lesson the hard way previously, I try my best to stay in God’s will and go where He leads.
We have been at our first pastorate for almost 2 years now. The church is growing and we have seen good things this year; salvations, re-dedications, people joining the church. We have someone new visiting the church at least a couple times a month. We are a small Southern Baptist Church which usually has around 50 on Sunday mornings. Although, like most we drop near half on Sunday night and even less on Wednesday. We are trying to work with the youth through the week in special mission studies. It has definitely been a change, and an eye opener.
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Even though I had a lot of personal issues growing up, I always seemed to be concerned with the welfare of people around me. I was tentative to their emotional, social, and eventually spiritual growth and I would often reach out to people and minister to them. Today I am a Lay Minister, at CRCG ministries in Flatbush Ave. Brooklyn. I work with my senior pastor and staff. Working with the members of the church is tedious work. It takes a lot of time, patience, and the love of Christ to work effectively for the members as well as the visitors in our community. In closing, I realized that God has allowed me and guided me through the phases of my life to strengthen, empower, and to equip me for Pastoral Ministry. God has called me to claim the lost sheep of Israel. Honestly this task is a task not for the faint of heart and I know if God be for me who can be against me! Today I am glad to learn through Christian Leaders Institute in their free tuition program. This is something I’ve been searching for some time now. I plan to support this ministry as I continue my courses.
My name is Donslow Brown. I am a resident of New York City. When I look back at my life (Now being 26 years old) I can honestly say I’ve been through a lot of personal struggles. Some were even emotional and spiritual. To people, I was either a ticking time bomb or damaged goods, not ever looking into the real me (as if I’d even let them). I was an enigma even to myself at times. Friends (and the ones I would acquire along the way) knew I had baggage but just didn’t know how to deal with me.
During my teenage years, I was known by some of my peers as Mr. Emotional. Everything seemed to either bother me or worried me. I needed help and even though I was attending a Haitian American church on a weekly basis, I knew of the God that was preached in a ritualistic/religious way but never had I realized the opportunity of being in a relationship with Him. I decided to take the Lord more seriously. I began praying more. I threw away CD’s and other worldly music. I attended more youth functions in my church and slowly God began peeling away at the tough shell I put up and He began to show me times in the past where old friends or teachers would tell me powerful things such as: “You’re going to change the world some day” or “You look like you can be a pastor.” He even showed me a time when I was in elementary and I was ministering to a young man about Jesus, and praying every night before bed. I’d realized that God was using me.
But as a teenager I had no intention of being a pastor, let alone in pastoral ministry of any kind. So I continued my walk with God into my 20’s and God started to speak to me about faith and how powerful it is. He spoke to me through preachers, scripture, and real life scenarios. I exercised my faith as the Bible states and I was baptized in the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues, and realizing a portion of God’s power in my life. Looking back I realize even now that God has always granted me a big imagination as well as big dreams. Dreams that were bigger than the $1.50 in my pocket. I thank God that He was growing my faith because if He hadn’t, I wouldn’t be on the path I’m on now seeking a diploma in pastoral ministry.
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