My name is Albert Tonye, and I am excited to receive ministry life coaching training at the Christian Leaders Institute (Learn more about online Bible classes, Click Here). A Cameroonian living in Abuja-Nigeria since 2013. I am married to Evelyn. We have three children. Actually, I am a French language teacher and a Sunday School teacher in a local church. I was rescued and saved by God to serve Him. This is my story.
My Youth
I was born in Cameroon in 1985. The last born of a family of six, I am the only son. I was four when my father died. My mother, accused by her in-laws of killing her husband, was sent out of our house with all of us. Without our father, our only support, life became hard. Seeing my mother and sisters doing all sorts of things for us to have a meal every day is something I can never forget.
My mother was a Protestant who wasn’t going regularly to church. We were going to church only on rare occasions like Christmas or Easter. We had regular family devotionals where we mostly praised and worshiped God with songs and prayer. At age 12, I lost two of my sisters in a mysterious way. I was the only one going to school because my mother couldn’t afford to pay school fees for all of us.
Challenges
Years later, I got admission to study chemistry at the university in September 2005. It was one of the rare moments of celebration in the family. In January 2006, my mother died. A few months later, the elder of the family died too. My world crumbled. For more than 5 months, I didn’t go to school. I wanted to die and didn’t want contact with anybody. I became alcoholic, rebellious, living in bitterness and sorrows. To please my sisters, who were devastated by the situation, I returned to school. I drank more and added smoking and fornication.
In 2008, after I miraculously survived a train accident, I knew that God is real. He wanted me to be alive. After any sinful act, I could hear a voice, asking me: “When are you going to stop doing this?” I didn’t know how to stop. I was not happy with the way I was living.
Saved by Grace
Then, I met one of my father’s relatives. She told me stories about how my dad helped her. She gave me support and advice. One day, she invited me to know her house. The day I went to her house there was a church service going on in the parlor. Being very skeptical about Pentecostal churches, I decided to stay outside and wait till the end of the service. Sitting outside, I felt peace of mind during the praise and worship ministration. The sermon was just for me. I was surprised how the preacher could say with precision what was happening to me. He said that Jesus is the solution to all my problems. That day, I gave my life to Christ. I got baptized and decided to stay with my aunt.
Ministry Dream
In 2009, I was a Christian full of zeal for the kingdom’s advancement. I enrolled in an e-mail Bible Study Course. Also, I was part of an evangelism program in some villages using football to spread the love of God and His redemption plan through Jesus Christ.
In 2010, after getting my degree in Chemistry, I started teaching Math and Physics in a secondary school. I did this to support my sisters and save money to enroll in a Master’s Degree program. After two years, someone offered me a job in Nigeria as a French Teacher, with a Master’s Degree program fully paid by the school once I learned English. However, after 6 months, the school ended my contract for security reasons without any compensation. I was about to go back to Cameroon when, in a crusade where I was invited to translate, God revealed to me the purpose of my life. I am to help people to get out of poverty and bondage using the Word of God through free coaching. That is my spiritual dream.
Ministry Life Coaching Training at CLI
After I married, I was looking for a way how I can use the Word of God in coaching. I went to a Bible school. The coaching training I found was expensive and not based on God’s Word and principles. Then, I found Christian Leaders Institute “accidentally” while I was searching online. I couldn’t believe that they offer ministry life coaching training and Biblical study. That was an answer to my prayers! The free scholarship is just a big help for me since paying for the courses and taking care of my family both here and in Cameroon will definitely be challenging for me.
God brings me here to learn so I can serve efficiently. Learning at CLI is a privilege. Thank you and God bless you all!
My name is Katie Thrush of the USA. I’m really excited to be on this journey of discovering my calling in ministry in the local church. I’ve been a Christian since I was a little girl. Now, I am a wife and a mother to two beautiful little girls. I graduated from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, with a degree in Christian Education and a minor in Biblical Literature. I’ve always been enamored with the Word of God. I love the way God communicates through His teachings throughout the Bible. Also, I love teaching and preaching, so that is why I am at the Christian Leaders Institute (Learn more about online Bible classes, Click Here). I am here pursuing further education to help hone my craft to become a better teacher and disciple.
Challenges and Struggles
Daily, I combat depression and anxiety. I also have dealt with some trauma. Thankfully, I have had the counseling and doctors to help me through incredibly tough seasons. I’ve found that God has been using my story. Now, I can connect with others around me who are struggling in the same ways. Mental health and Christianity are something I want to pursue more. Further, I hope to see change happen in the local church.
At CLI, I am hoping to accomplish the Intermediate Commissioned Pastoral Award. I have felt the call to go into vocational ministry and want to further my knowledge and education with these courses. As a stay-at-home mom to two little ones, this coursework is exactly what works for me and my family in the season we are in.
Thank you, CLI, for this opportunity to study. I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store!
Hello, my name is Sebastian Baxter, and I am getting more educated about faith in Christ at the Christian Leaders Institute (Learn more about online Bible classes, Click Here). I grew up in the state of Nebraska in the USA. Currently, I live here with my wife, our daughter, and my father-in-law. My wife and I married in December of 2018, and the Lord blessed us with our first child in October of 2019. I love my family very much, and apart from Jesus, who is my priority, they are the next most important in my life.
As a licensed plumber and work for a small family-owned company based out of Omaha, I appreciate the opportunity to minister to people through my labor and conversation. So, I’m blessed when I have the chance to do that in my work. I’m also blessed to have a job that allows my wife to stay home with our daughter. I thank God for that and wouldn’t want it any other way.
My Youth
My brother and I grew up with a single Mom and a Dad who wasn’t around much. He got in touch every once in a while. Then, we would connect and spend time together, but the struggles in his life kept him away more often than not. He died in 2008, while I was still pretty young, which affected me more than I realized.
At the age of 13, I started into drugs and alcohol. I quickly became addicted, and in a short time, I was completely consumed by that lifestyle. Around the age of 15, I became addicted to crystal meth. My life spiraled down so quickly that I didn’t think there was any hope of a future for me. I hated God and myself and was utterly hopeless. I was also just a terrible person living a terrible life. Actually, I started to lose my mind and see and hear things that weren’t really there.
My Salvation in Christ
In the winter of 2015, the Lord led me to a homeless shelter in Omaha called the Open Door Mission. There they presented the gospel of Jesus Christ to me. When I accepted the gospel for salvation, the transformation was so incredible that I can’t even describe it. I was born again, and God truly made me a new creation in Christ. My Mom said that I turned into a different person practically overnight. I got sober and have stayed sober. Nothing but the Lord could have done that for me. I also grew to love reading the Bible and studying it.
At this point, I’ve come to find that the two most important things in this world are knowing and loving Jesus and learning how to love others. I’ve been on that journey since salvation and will continue to be for the rest of my life. I thank God through Jesus Christ for saving the horrible wretch of a person that I am. And I thank Him that through Christ, I am made clean. Left on my own, I am so unworthy of God’s love and salvation, but He is just so good to me.
Wanting to Be More Educated About Faith
Since I’ve become a Christian, I have been diving into the Bible, reading it, praying, and trying to learn about God and how to serve Him in my life. I am far from perfect, but I know that He calls me deeper and deeper as I continue to walk with Him. My good friend Dustin and I lead a Bible study at our church, which is awesome. I love studying the Bible and teaching others how to do the same. I also feel like God may call me into some form of vocational ministry down the road. However, at this time, God has left the future somewhat of a mystery. I have felt a strong calling to become more educated about the faith, which led me to Christian Leaders Institute.
As a husband and a parent, with a demanding job, along with being responsible for a Bible study, I didn’t really know what options there would be for Christian education with my time and financial restraints. I hope and pray that CLI is right for me and that as I continue through these classes, God will begin to give me some clarity in His desires for me in the future. Even if that is just plumbing for the rest of my life, I want to be equipped to be a servant for His kingdom as best I can be.