My name is Larry, and I am getting ministry training and ordination at the Christian Leaders Institute (Learn more about online Bible classes, Click Here). “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
My Early Years
As a young child, my family was very involved in the church. Both of my parents taught Sunday school. During the week, my father had an occasional prayer breakfast with other men. My mother stayed at home. She was a babysitter, and other young kids filled our house. My mom would go over her Sunday School lessons with the kids. They loved the stories. It was a great way to present the gospel to them and for her to practice the lessons.
However, things changed in my teenage years. My parents put their faith to the side and began spending time in the bar – alcohol and partying replaced the Bible stories. However, they never denied their faith. They stop practicing it. It was this change in lifestyle that was detrimental to their marriage and our family. Eventually, it led to divorce – ending a 26-year marriage.
My Spiritual Journey
In the meantime, I had graduated high school and joined the Army. The on-again, off-again faith plagued me for several years. I always felt secure in my faith but lived in grace as I pursued worldly passions. I knew I was not living right. There were times I came back, putting the drinking and related lifestyle on hold to pursue my walk with God. Then, I would find myself weak and give in to the world around me. However, the Lord never gave up on me. As I continued to seek him and his will for my life, he revealed himself to me. The times I strayed became fewer, the joy I received from the world began to diminish. I wanted nothing to do with it.
Marriage
In 1992, I met Rene. She had a real heart for the Lord. She and I were kind of in the same place with the world. I loved her from the moment I saw her. Her desire to know more about the Lord resonated with me. We began to spend more and more time in God’s Word. When we met, I was training to be a Green Beret, which consumed a lot of my time. Rene had just completed four years of service with the Air Force. She came back to North Carolina for my graduation but then returned home and began school in Nebraska. I was heartbroken. I thought she would stay, and we would be married.
Rene and I had only known each other for six months. Four of those months, I was gone, training. Then, two weeks after she started school, she decided to come back to North Carolina. Two weeks after that, we married. It was a small ceremony outside in the rose garden of Fayetteville Technical College. We are approaching 30 years of marriage, have raised two wonderful boys, and now enjoy our grandchildren.
A Stable, Christian Home
My life experience convinced me that I wanted a stable, Christian home for our family. I knew I could not do it alone. It had to be her desire as well. God has blessed us. It has not always been easy, nor has it always been pretty, but we have provided that stable constant example of faith for our family. God willing, we will continue to do so.
I like to say that we grew up in the church with our kids. When they were in children’s church, we were involved with the ministry – spending time in the nursery and teaching. When they were in middle school and junior high, we taught those classes. The same with high school and young adults. Now that we are “empty nesters,” we sought out other ministry opportunities. One of which was starting the Asher Family Foundation working to support marriage and families. Our goal is to partner with churches and other ministries to support them as God leads.
Ministry Training and Ordination at CLI
The training I am receiving from the Christian Leaders Institute (CLI) is helping me to define my ministry further and prepare me for that calling. So far, I have completed the licensed wedding officiant course. Now I am nearing completion of the Deacon Ministry Ordination. The process of ministry training and ordination has been more beneficial than I imagined. We have examined our calling, discussed being tested, learned basic Christian doctrine, and much more. CLI is quality education, a worthwhile endeavor, and a true work of the Lord!
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost college degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
My name is Esther Chawinga of Malawi. The free ministry leadership courses at the Christian Leaders Institute will equip me to serve in ministry wherever God leads (Learn more about online Bible classes, Click Here).
In 1995, I married my husband, Muwuso. The Lord blessed us with two children. Currently, we live in Lilongwe, Malawi, Central Africa. My husband and I serve in our local church. He serves in the diaconate and evangelism ministry. I minister in the women’s ministry. Also, I serve in the intercessory ministry and praise and worship ministry.
My Christian Walk
I grew up in a Christian family. We all attended church service every Sunday. During my childhood, my family used to have Bible study every evening before going to bed. At the age of seventeen at a youth meeting, I made my personal choice to commit my life to Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. My church, my family, and my husband have contributed much to my spiritual growth.
Free Ministry Leadership Courses at CLI
Having a desire to study a Christian leadership course, I searched for free ministry leadership courses online. That is when I came across the Christian Leaders Institute. As a beginner, finishing the Christian Leaders Connections – Ministry Basics has been an outstanding achievement. Further, I hunger to study and to know more about Christian leadership. I want to be fully equipped as a workman of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”
Christian Leaders Institute will sharpen me and equip me to serve in my local community. The free online training that CLI offers will make it possible for me.
My spiritual dream is to serve in the women’s ministry and reach out to the unsaved. I also want to help people know God and grow in the knowledge of the Word of God. I am ready to be used by God wherever He leads me!
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost college degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
Changed By God’s Grace and Passionate to Serve Him and His People
Friends and family call me “Grace Umuhire.” Grace is for the grace of God. Umuhire is a word in my mother tongue, “Kinyarwanda” (from a beautiful country in Africa named Rwanda). It means someone who is “blessed, happy, and lucky.” For my education, I trained as a health caretaker and researcher. It is also related to my professional activities and current occupation. I am thankful to be receiving free Life Coach training at the Christian Leaders Institute (Learn more about online Bible classes, Click Here).
My Childhood
I grew up in a family with Christian values and traditions. Yet, there was no clear lead to having or developing a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. Growing up in different countries and cultures, I was also exposed to several languages and learned to speak some of them, including English fluently.
Meeting the Lord Jesus
About 20 years ago, the grace of God found me when I was losing hope and direction in life. Then, a friend shared with me how to have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved” (Romans 10:9-10). That decision changed my life by giving me an unfailing hope and purpose!
For me, some key verses were: “I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done” (Psalms 118:17). “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant and boundless mercy has caused us to be born again to an ever-living hope and confident assurance through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:3).
Ever since then, a fantastic journey has started for me. I know better the One who loved me first. Christ changes me in His likeliness and uses me in reaching out to others with love. “For Christ’s love compels us because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).
My Spiritual Dream
My spiritual dream is to be a Christian Life Coach. I want to help others and share the Good News with as many people as possible. I also want to encourage them to pursue their dreams (Genesis 12:2).
Christ is the center and the foundation of the life I live on earth. From the very beginning, Christ is the One who gave me a reason and a purpose to live. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
God patiently picked up all the pieces and the ashes of my life and made something beautiful. “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me […] to comfort all who mourn, […] to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair” (Isaiah 61:1-3).
Free Life Coach Training at CLI
The Christian Leaders Institute (CLI) training will provide a stronger foundation for my service for the Lord and His people. Ultimately, I will use it to become a Christian Life Coach. The free Life Coach training is such a blessing. I have looked around to find a good Bible college/school, and they were indeed so expensive. Having access to free training is such a blessing and relief. Furthermore, I plan to sow in CLI so that others may also benefit from the same gift!
