Ministry Aviation Call

God is the Potter, and I am the Clay

Hi, my name is James Campbell, and I have a bi-vocational ministry aviation call on my life. I grew up in Northeast Ohio in the U.S.A. I was born into a non-Christian home. We did Christianity things and modeled what a Christian family looks like from a worldview, but that is it. I attended public grade school, which spoke nothing of spirituality or God. My status in high school and college was an atheist. I developed terrible friends and influences. In college, I was just into hanging out with the wrong crowd. After this period of rebellion, my older sister invited me to move down to Merritt Island, Florida, to live with her and her family.

In 2005, my older sister introduced me to a local Evangelical church. So I worked and lived on the Island for about eight months. During my stay there, I spent a lot of time with Rick, my brother-in-law. Rick worked for NASA during the shuttle program years. Rick got me interested in Aviation. After I matured a bit, I moved back to Ohio. In 2008, I graduated from the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics. I then met my future wife. Together we started attending a small local Evangelical Free Church, and in 2009, at age 24, I became a Christian!

My Marriage, Family, and Growing in Christ

In 2010, Elizabeth (my wife) and I married and together moved to Pennsylvania for a job. There we attended a small congregation called Grace Reformed and then Christ Evangelical Free Church, near Strausstown, Pennsylvania. There on our own, I began to grow as a Christian. God matured my faith during our time there. God surrounded us with Christian friends and mentors. In the Evangelical Church, I learned the importance of faith, becoming a disciple, and the need for the gospel to go forth. In the Reformed Church, I learned the importance of solid grounding in God’s Word, Sovereignty, and Grace. Therefore, both of these churches have had a significant impact on my life that I cannot put into words.

In 2016, my wife and I had our first child. Being a father has grown me a lot. God has orchestrated that for sure. Though not perfect yet, I have an irresistible calling to learn and serve. I am still growing in my faith by practicing and applying God’s Word to my life. Then as God’s chosen, holy, and beloved, I put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience (Colossians 3:12).

Studying at CLI for My Ministry Aviation Call

I have daily prayed Psalms 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there is any grievous way in me, and lead in the way of everlasting!” I want to strive to have a humble heart, with Christ’s humility as an example for me. Though He existed in the form of God, Christ did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. He made himself nothing, taking on the form of a servant. Being born in the human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:6-8).

My previous education and work experience are Project Management, Certification; George Washington University; Aviation Maintenance Technology A.M.T., Diploma; Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics; and Maintenance and Aircraft Management.

Currently, my profession is Aviation Maintenance. It is my goal here at the Christian Leaders Institute is to complete a Divinity Degree for future bi-vocational ministry aviation roles in my call. I want to be more effective in my family life and in building the Kingdom. To preach the Gospel and the unsearchable riches of Christ are my desire.

Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.