My Journey to Becoming a Preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
My name is Israel Okolo. I am grateful to God for directing me to the Christian Leaders Institute for ministry and evangelism training. I am currently a resident of Canada but am originally from the eastern part of Nigeria. In my 40s, I am an engineer by training.
My Story
When I was born, both my parents practiced traditional African religion. My father was the chief priest of the community shrines, and my mother also had her gods. At a very young age, my father took my brothers and me to the community shrines during the festive period, and at any other time, they performed sacrifices to their gods. They served us food and meat sacrificed to the idols.
However, I noticed that any time my father was to offer sacrifices to their gods, he first raised the sacrifice towards the heavens while facing the heavens. He would thank the bigger God he called “Chiukwu,” which means greater God. After thanking the bigger God and asking for protection from Him, my father or any other priest would turn to the community shrines to ask for the same favor from their small gods. I became aware that there was a greater God who lived in heaven. I wanted to know that greater God more than the small gods that my community worshipped.
When my father died before I turned ten, my maternal grandmother took me to live with her. My grandmother was a devout Catholic. Becoming a Christian allowed me to offer my prayers directly to that greater God my father always referenced, the greater God living in heaven. Then, I received baptism in the Catholic Church. However, I cannot say I was seriously serving God.
Lukewarm Toward God
In high school, my uncle, a Baptist pastor, took me to live with him in another state. I received baptism again since the Baptist Church wanted me to be baptized by immersion. However, I was not seriously serving God at this time. I attended church to retain my Christian identity and not offend my uncle. What I needed was ministry and evangelism training.
I also switched from the Baptist Church to a Pentecostal Church during my time at university and a few years after my university education. During these years, I did not know God. I did not have a relationship with God. I was just a church member and a churchgoer. This inner voice deceived me, telling me I should first enjoy life and serve God truthfully and faithfully at an old age. I kept forgetting that it is by the grace of God that one reaches an old age. The owner of our lives can decide to take it when He wishes.
Even when I returned to the Catholic Church to marry, this lukewarm attitude continued until 2019, when everything changed. In 2019, I became seriously ill, and my illness was unresponsive to medical treatment. Every hope of living was lost. Before I knew it, I was battling depression and anxiety. Amid all these confusions, my mother died.
New Direction
In my struggles and the search for solutions to my problems, I came across a preacher who preached that our illnesses should draw us closer to God. Immediately, I felt that the message was for me. For the first time, I turned to God. I started studying the Bible with the desire to hear from God. My prayer life changed. I spent hours studying the Bible and listening to Bible messages. Again, because I had insomnia at the time, I used the more significant part of the night to pray and meditate on the Bible passages I read, asking God for mercy. I gradually started to forget about my illness and to focus on Jesus. My depression and anxiety disappeared. I became strong again in Christ Jesus.
After some months, I felt the urge to share some Bible passages with others. Then, I started sharing the good news of Christ in my community. It was mostly one-on-one evangelism. I aimed to speak to many people daily, but not less than two people. After three years of my walk with Jesus, I started making videos of my preaching, posting them on different social media platforms, and continuing with my one-on-one evangelism.
Finding CLI for Ministry and Evangelism Training
I was doing this when God directed me to the Christian Leaders Institute. My journey with the Christian Leaders Institute has taken me to a new level of Biblical understanding and interpretation. It has given me a new view of approaching prayer and fasting. More importantly, it has trained me to carry out my evangelical activities. I am grateful to God and also to the Christian Leaders Institute for the tuition-free program offered to me.
With my training at the Christian Leaders Institute, I now go out there with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit and carry out my evangelical activities effectively.
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The Getting Started Class will orientate you to the Christian Leaders Learning Platform and the Programs offered, including:
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