Online Ministry Training Helps David Pearce A Trucker For Christ

Trucker for Christ

Most times when you think about online ministry training, you think internet connections at a home or internet cafe.  This trucker for Christ, David Pearce, and his wife study online while traveling place to place.  He is a trucker for Christ who proclaims the gospel wherever he goes. This trucker for Christ has an amazing story that will inspire you:

My name is David Pearce and though I hail from the Northwest region of the United States, two years ago I had a career change after having spent 30 years in the construction industry.  In December 2013, my wife joined me on the road as co-semi truck driver.  With our children grown, we put all our belongings in storage and live and travel on the road every week of the year.  From fellow truck drivers to waitresses to strangers we come in contact with, God has given us many opportunities to minister to those we meet in our travels.

I have a very Godly mother who has prayed for me my entire life and made sure that we attended church.  I was saved and baptized at the age of 9 and though there have been challenges and the ups and downs of life, Jesus has been my Savior and source of joy and strength throughout my life.  I found Him to be especially close during my six years in the military, where He began to use my photography skills and gift of encouragement to minister to fellow soldiers.

More recently, I have had the privilege of working with Pastor Phil Prietto and City Gates Ministry, an outreach to the homeless in our community. In addition to sharing Christ and praying with people, God used my photography skills once again to take photos of the homeless, add a meaningful caption, and give them the photo the following week to encourage them in their faith.  These photos were also used in sharing the work of this ministry with local churches.

Pastor Phil continues to have a primary role in my life as my ministry mentor throughout my training with Christian Leaders Institute.  I have an increasing desire to gain a deeper understanding of God’s Word in order to be a more effective minister of the Gospel.  Through the years, God has blessed me with many opportunities to develop the gifts and abilities He has given me – from puppetry to music to photography to speaking and evangelism; from hiking, scuba diving, and athletic training to a jack of all trades in home construction and repair.

My ministry dream is to use these gifts and abilities to share Christ with those who have never heard in my current job as a truck driver, on short or long-term mission trips to underprivileged countries, church planting and evangelism at home or abroad, distribution of the Jesus Film, developing a retreat center for troubled youth – the possibilities are endless.  My wife and I share this ministry dream together and trust God each day for opportunities and open doors to use us as He desires.  Taking courses at Christian Leaders Institute, reading God’s Word and praying together daily, our current ministry on the road, and even learning Spanish and French together as we travel is preparation for the doors God opens for us.

Because we travel for work, some of the challenges we face are staying in touch with those we share with and pray with.  We provide them a “business” card to give them an opportunity to stay in touch with us on our “Faithbook” (what we call our Facebook page), by email, or by phone.  We continue to pray for them but staying connected beyond our initial meeting is a challenge.  We simply trust that God will plant a seed and that He will grow their faith from there.  Staying connected to a local church can also be a challenge, but God has led us to local churches in the communities where we travel and we have met some wonderful Christian people who pray for us and share our excitement about our ministry.  We keep our family and friends up to date on ministry news through our “Faithbook” and when we return home for visits.

My desire to be involved in ministry has grown throughout my life as a Christian.  It was when my children were young and we led an eight-person puppet team that I began to experience the joy of ministry.  With each missionary I heard share their ministry experience, my heart was moved with a yearning to be involved in some way to spread the Gospel to those who have never heard.

We are blessed and consider it a privilege to support the ministry of Christian Leaders Institute on a monthly basis and having a scholarship from Christian Leaders Institute will provide me the in-depth study of God’s Word and the leadership training I desire to better equip me for sharing the Gospel and ministering Christ to those in need.

The online format is especially valuable since it would be impossible to attend school in a formal classroom setting due to my vocation.  My hope is that through the training from CLI, I will be able to effectively communicate the truth of God’s Word in a simple and clear way and that I will be used of the Holy Spirit to speak boldly of the hope and healing of Christ into the lives of those I meet every day.  Please pray that my life will be effective in promoting Christ and His Word; that as a married couple we will grow in like-mindedness and will be strengthened in our relationship for ministry; and that we will have the clarity and courage to follow God’s leading and the path He lays before us.