Bible College Education

Bible College Education

My name is Abner Chavez. I am grateful for the free Bible college education I receive at Christian Leaders Institute. I currently live in the state of Texas in the USA, in a border town to be exact. Ministry here is pretty special. Most of the residents of our town, like most border towns, are mixed in their culture since the highest percentage of them are Hispanic. This allows us to minister bilingual, in English or in Spanish. However, many speak a mixture of both languages. We call that Spanglish.

I grew up in a Christian home but did not accept Jesus in my heart until I was 16 years old. My decision to follow the Lord came with a little deal I proposed to Him. I remember saying, “If I follow you, please give me a way to at least play the guitar, and I promise to serve you with that all my life.” And it happened! I first served Him as a musician for many years.

Serving The Lord

Thirty years have passed since then and I have been serving the Lord in only a handful of churches. I have served as a musician, as a youth pastor, as an elder, as a board member, and now, as a pastor. My dream is to reach out to those that don’t know Jesus, especially in my area, and to also reach those that are hurt and disillusioned by Christianity. This class at Christian Leaders Institute has woken up my interest in being more devoted to serving my community better. It has also reminded me to be more disciplined with prayer and study of the Bible in my personal walk.

I identify myself more with a bi-vocational pastor. I have just planted my first church in January of 2019 and so far we have been growing on a weekly basis. This is a calling that I have had since I was young. In fact, the way my father brought me up did not help in pursuing that route. Instead, he convinced me that going to college to study something other than anything that had to do with the Bible or Theology was far better for me. He went on to say one day, “If you are still thinking of pursuing a Bible College, don’t do it. I have seen many preachers with hunger and struggling. That’s not what I want for you.” At that point, I had never told anyone that this calling was in me. I guess he figured it out when he saw me serving as a kid. As the years went by, the calling never left and the desire to pursue ministry got stronger and stronger.

Finally! Free Bible College Education at CLI 

One of the most challenging things for me and my ministry team here is the high percentage of the non-Biblical religious practices in our community. Therefore, we find ourselves going against the “common belief” or against the flow. My church has been super supportive. I have no complaints. We are believers in pursuing higher studies and getting educated. My wife and family have also been very supportive. I represent the first generation in my family to pursue Biblical studies and a ministry. That is why this free Bible College education at Christian Leaders Institute is a dream fulfilled of a calling that was suppressed for over 30 years ago. Thank you, CLI!

Learn about ordination opportunities with Christian Leaders Alliance.