From Idolatry to Irresistible Grace
My name is Todd Terpstra, and I am thankful for the opportunity to study online for free at the Christian Leaders Institute (Learn more about online Bible classes, Click Here). I am a 57-year-old father of 5 wonderful children. My home was in Chicago, IL, USA. Married for 33 years, my wife and I separated recently.
I grew up in Reformed church circles and was exposed to the gospel from infancy. I became aware of the work of the Holy Spirit in my heart around the age of 12. Convinced of the saving grace of God through Christ Jesus, I have been richly blessed with the gospel life since.
Struggles
Like the Israelites of the Bible, we accumulate idols over the years. However, we are much better at hiding them because these idols are of the heart. Such was the case with me. As a selfish person leaning toward the worship of myself, I fall into what the world calls depression, but it really is self-pity. My worship became so self-centered that my own needs, wants, and desires became most important. Most recently, my health spiraled downward with several surgeries as treatments for old injuries were ineffective. My marriage and family life fell apart. In self-pity, I withdrew from all responsibilities, and in frustration, became irritable and angry to the point of name-calling those I loved the most.
Instead of turning to my heavenly Father for help and seeking His Word for a light on my path, I turned away from Him. I did not seek God’s grace through the worship of God at church. I stayed home and worshiped myself and all those idols of the heart that I accumulated over the years. Instead of taking counsel with those God sent to rebuke and encourage, I dismissed them and their counsel.
Restored
After about a year of this bad behavior, my family asked if I would enter a program for help. I said yes. Or, rather, the Holy Spirit, who I could not quench, said yes.
A year ago, I entered the Gateway program in Holland, MI, and recently graduated. One by one, those idols of the heart were smashed with help from staff. New idols were quickly broken down. With help, I returned to active Christ-like service in the community. God restored hope and a close walk with my Savior. A new humility took root. A new and stronger trust in God’s plan has taken hold of my heart. The Holy Spirit once again has fertile ground in my heart in which to do wonderful work. How gracious is our God! His restorative work is powerful! How healing is His forgiveness! His grace is irresistible!
Doors opened for me to continue in a transitional program offered by Gateway. With my disabilities, I have part-time work and an opportunity to study further with Gateway. The Holy Spirit pressed on my heart ministry with the homeless and downtrodden in society. He has called me to help with my God-given gifts and qualities.
Study at CLI
The opportunity to study with both the Christian Leaders Institute and Gateway for mentoring, accountability and encouragement is a huge blessing! I now have new goals to reach certification in life coaching, perhaps even a degree. I find that the generosity of others in offering free schooling is enormously helpful. My own situation is very tenuous, and I trust God will use this opportunity to equip me and bless others! Thank you so much, CLI and Gateway, for being such a blessing to students such as myself.
I hope you may find some encouragement in my story. I pray for you right now that the Lord uses CLI to work mighty works in your life so that God may better equip you to do the work of His Kingdom! God bless you all and all glory to the triune God!
My name is Dallas Hillin. I grew up and still live in Henderson, TX. I’ve been married to my husband, James, and together we have five beautiful children. I’m a stay-at-home mom with huge aspirations to make a great change in my community. With their scholarship for free learning online, the Christian Leaders Institute is a blessing for me (Learn more about online Bible classes, Click Here).
My Youth and Challenges
I grew up in the Catholic church. On my father’s side, my grandmother always took us to church every Sunday morning for classes and mass. As a child, I enjoyed the classes. I was so excited when I got a reward for answering questions and participating. However, once my parents divorced, I lived with my mother. The weekly routine of the church was gone. Life with my mom was somewhat Godless as she struggled with her own demons. It left me with unanswered questions. Soon the curiosity went away.
Finding Jesus
It stayed like this throughout my childhood and into my young adult years. The demons my mom faced when I was a child crept onto me. I found myself struggling with depression, anxiety, and addiction. It wasn’t until I hit rock bottom that I found my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The moment I accepted God into my life, I found the love and peace I was always searching for. Most of all, I found the forgiveness I’d been craving for all my sins.
Learning at CLI
My spiritual goal is to help others who are in the same situation I was in. I want to be able to lead them to the path of Christ. I want to share the great joys and amazing miracles Jesus can make happen in their lives with them.
Christian Leaders Institute is a blessing. I’ve been looking at different schools and wondering how we could ever afford for me to go back to school. With five kids, any extra money quickly disappears. Once I found CLI, I was in disbelief that it was completely free. God answered my prayers! With their scholarship for free learning, CLI made it possible to further my knowledge and start building the bridge to my goals.
My name is Jason King, and I live in Long Beach, California, USA. I currently work in a homeless shelter as a case manager. I help men off the streets or out of jail get back on their feet to become productive citizens of society. Actually, I was a graduate of the one-year program here back in June 2016. So, I am studying discipleship ministry training at the Christian Leaders Institute to be equipped to lead others (Learn more about online Bible classes, Click Here).
My Youth
I was born in L.A. County in 1970. For the first five years, my parents did not get along very well. So, my father was forced to leave for Oklahoma with his parents to avoid jail time. For the next 6 years, it was my mother, sister, and me. We lived on welfare and under the table jobs that mom could get. My sister ended up in foster care due to our mother not being able to handle her. Eventually, she moved to Oklahoma with our dad.
For the next few years with my mom, she worked in a bar most days. I would be there with her almost daily. Around this time, I started getting into trouble. I ended up in juvenile detention on numerous occasions. At age 15, I ended up in a boy’s home program. For the next year and a half, I worked to catch up on school that I was failing out of.
Rock Bottom and Surrender to Jesus
At age 16 and a half, my father came back to California. My mother told my father that it was his turn to try to raise me. At this point, I moved to the desert with him. The first thing he did was introduce me to drugs and alcohol. From this point, I became addicted to drugs and alcohol. It got to the point that I was into and out of prison and homeless for the next 20 years.
I hit rock bottom and overdosed on alcohol that sent me to the hospital. A friend told me about a program to help me if I was willing. I did not know what to expect from the program. However, I knew that I was missing something in my life. It is a faith-based program. Even though I heard about Jesus before, I never accepted Him into my life. As I began learning who Jesus is, I started learning who I am to Jesus. I needed change in my life. So I started reading my Bible and paying attention in the classes to help me build a relationship with Jesus. I got baptized in 2016 through a church I was attending. My life has changed in Christ.
Studying Discipleship Ministry Training at CLI
Currently, I am working toward learning more about how God can impact people’s lives. With God’s help, I want to disciple and help guide others in their new walk with Christ. I am taking the courses here at the Christian Leaders Institute to further my knowledge of the Bible and being a Christian leader. With CLI’s discipleship ministry training, I can better impact the men I help. I am thankful for these courses!