My name is Daniel Walker, and I live in Texas City, Texas, with my wife, Amy. The tuition-free ministry training at the Christian Leaders Institute (Learn more about online Bible courses, Click Here) is a blessing. It is preparing me for my calling to Youth Ministry.
I’m originally from Lubbock, Texas. My family went to church almost every week. But, we didn’t get much more involved than that. Once I was old enough to attend the youth group, I asked constantly to attend youth events. While I did go forward in the first grade to dedicate my life to God, it wasn’t until Youth Camp before my 8th-grade year where I actually understood what it meant to be a follower of God. After that, I felt the presence of the Spirit in my life.
Calling To Youth Ministry
I am very passionate about Youth Ministry. It feels natural to me, and I feel my gifts of the Spirit (exhortation and shepherding) grow and flourish there. I first felt the calling to ministry during a college summer internship at my old church home. There the Spirit used me to lead six guys to Christ. It was an amazing moment. At camp, after lights out, the youth guys started asking questions and the answers coming out of my mouth were not my own. I was not aware of the impact those nights truly had until the drive home from the camp. The Youth pastor asked the guys what led to their decision for Christ, and the first guy to answer accredited it to something I had said in our talks. All glory to God!
In college, I was a member of Brothers Under Christ, BYX, at Texas State. There, I grew in accountability and fellowship. After leaving college without a degree, I joined Calvary Baptist Church in San Marcos, Texas. I was a youth volunteer and the ministry leader for the Landing, a youth recovery program through Celebrate Recovery. In the summer of 2019, I met my wife Amy and started a long-distance relationship that led to me leaving my church home.
Study At CLI For My Calling To Youth Ministry
After 17 years of volunteering in youth ministry, marriage relocated me. But, the Spirit has pulled me back to His calling on my life and confirmed it through my wife. Based on the desires placed on my heart, I strongly believe my calling is to be a Youth Pastor. I am eager to learn and gain the resources and credentials needed wherever God asks me to go next. I am so excited about the opportunities the Christian Leaders Institute gives me. I’ve been sharing it with those at my old church home and our new church home.
Hello, my name is Amber Bowers. I grew up mostly in Indiana with a few years in Michigan. The youngest of two children raised in a Christ-loving family, I don’t remember a time when God was not a part of my life. God and I have been through many things together. I have let Him down many times in word or deed, but He never lets me go! Recently, I sought biblical ordination training online and found the Christian Leaders Institute (Learn more about online Bible courses, Click Here).
My Marriage
I didn’t stray far from the path in my teens but had my share of trials and temptations. I knew God loved me, but my actions didn’t always show my love for Him. Then, I met my husband, David, in 1991. I was a senior in high school. He was 4 years older than me. We tumultuously dated for 3 years. We were married in 1994 and had our first child a year later.
Married life was a struggle for many years. We both came with baggage that needed unpacking. For many years, we struggled. Finally, we sought God and worked intentionally toward sorting out our baggage together. It was a tough time for not only us but our four children as well. However, God’s promises to heal our family if we kept close to Him were true! Nearly 27 years together, and we are very happily married. We have turned a 180 in our relationship. We also have good relationships with all the children, which is an answer to prayer.
My Work and Church
I have worked as a substitute teacher, as a PreK teacher, and as a private tutor. Once my youngest child headed off to school, I returned full-time to the workforce. I recently worked as a Program Director for a nonprofit early learning center in the northern part of Indiana for 7.5 years. Unfortunately, due to COVID, my center location shut down, and I am now searching for where I will go next.
My family and I attend Granger Community Church at the Granger Campus. We have attended GCC for nearly 18 years. We have served within the church on and off for those years, taking rest when needed. My husband serves on the worship team, and I serve on the small group leadership team.
My husband, David, is an amazing man of God and works for Utilimaster as a Product Support Technician. Married for nearly 27 years, we have four children ranging in age from 25 to 12.
Further Education and Biblical Ordination
I am currently finishing a Master’s in Educational Leadership and will graduate in August 2021. I wanted to get ordained to officiate weddings, but I wanted my ordination to be built on a foundation of Biblical principles. So, I started googling “ordination” and found the Christian Leaders Institute. I know God led me here.
I have now started feeling a nudge further into the ministry. Although I am not completely clear on my path, I know God is leading me.
My name is Richard Marshall from Cheshire in the North-West of the United Kingdom. I am not married but am very close to my family, which I consider a great blessing from God. I am called to church planting and ministry training at the Christian Leaders Institute (Learn more about online Bible courses, Click Here).
My Youth
I grew up in a Christian family. I attended the local Methodist church and was an active member of the church’s Sunday school. However, as I entered my teenage years, I allowed worldly influences to distract me from church attendance. At age 16, a close family member died suddenly, and this loss affected me greatly. She was a good, godly woman of faith. I could not understand how the God of love could take her away. As a result, I left the church and spent the next period living in the world.
Challenges and Salvation in Christ
I completed my university education and qualified as a High School teacher. This was a very stressful job, and all I was focused on was progressing my career. Further, I became very materialistic and judgmental in the process.
In 2013, my whole life came crashing down around me. First, someone made a serious accusation against me. Although later they found it to be a false accusation, the damage was done. Next, I had a severe mental breakdown which resulted in me suffering from acute depression and severe anxiety. I could not return to the job that I loved and felt I had lost my identity. Then, I entered a spiral of bad decision-making and an unhealthy lifestyle, the consequences of which were financial loss and ultimately homelessness.
At this point, I felt the only option available to me was to end my life. However, a phone call from a loved one when I was about to take my life changed everything. I realized that there must have been a reason why the phone call came at that exact moment. So I turned to God and asked Him if He was there. That was the moment that the Holy Spirit opened my eyes. I saw myself as I really was, a sinner who was broken, guilty, and in need of a Saviour. Then I saw the amazing power of God’s glory. I felt an overwhelming sense of peace, and I acknowledged Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour.
Called to Church Planting and Ministry Training at CLI
Since then, my life has been transformed. I moved to a new area and am financially stable once again with a permanent place to live. My faith has grown exponentially as I have studied God’s Word and turned to Him daily in prayer. I am a local church member and feel fulfilled when I lead Bible Studies and prayer meetings.
The Holy Spirit has given me the gift of teaching, and I feel called into a teaching ministry. I also feel called to church planting. Therefore, I am at Christian Leaders Institute for the ministry training I need to succeed in the church planting team. I have a real heart for sharing the Gospel with the people in my local community, in which there are a lot of social needs and a real urgent need for Jesus! I believe God has brought me to this place for a purpose, and I have surrendered my all to obey His sovereign will for my life.