• strengthen your life skills and impact!

Create my study account to assess this life skills course

Free Life Skills Class – Become a Stronger and Healthier You 

by Professor: Dr. David Feddes

You are part of God’s special operations. Your mission is to reclaim the world for Christ. You have been saved and called to help. This class is about helping you to become a stronger and healthier you. This free life skills class is perfect for living a more confident and healthy life!

This free life skills class gives you Biblical insights and practical knowledge that make you stronger for your mission. Each topic is applied to your spiritual, physical, financial, intellectual, emotional, relational, and vocational dimensions of life.

Dr. David Feddes will bring you through the crucial areas of total fitness for you to thrive in leading others.

You will Learn and Grow in this free life skills class 

  1. Total fitness: hear God’s call to embrace practical wisdom and discipline for strengthening the whole person.
  2. Spiritual fitness: draw near to God and stand stronger against Satan through spiritual disciplines.
  3. Physical fitness: know why the body matters to God, improve bodily health, and use body language well.
  4. Financial fitness: earn a good living, escape debt, build wealth, honor God and bless others with money.
  5. Intellectual fitness: build healthy curiosity, sharp thinking, lifelong study, and courage to stand for truth,
  6. Emotional fitness: learn to face feelings honestly and discover God working through emotions.
  7. Relational fitness: heal from past relational wrongs and wounds, and interact with others in a wise and godly manner
  8. Vocational fitness: pursue God’s calling for job, career, and other tasks.

You are welcome to take this free life skills Class supported by generous vision partners. These vision partners include blessed Christian Leaders Institute Graduates, Kingdom-minded Christians and Foundations, and others.

Begin your free life skills course now! You will begin by taking a Getting Started Orientation class. Then you are encouraged to enroll in the Christian Leaders Connection Class which helps you get situated at Christian Leaders Institute. You are also free to immediately take this Total Fitness class by Dr. David Feddes.

Other Opportunities:

More Ministry Training Classes and Programs -These Ministry training programs will fuel your calling and increase your impact. Gather digital mission credentials or order official awards. These credentials are perfect for local ministry opportunities and ordination.

Ordination – Completing free classes opens you up to an ordination opportunity that is both locally and globally recognized with the Christian Leaders Alliance. Check out how you can become an Ordained Christian Leader. Low fees apply for ordination packages.

College Degree –  Earn your College Degree – Use your Christian Leaders Institute free classes for collegiate credentials. Earn certificates, diplomas and degrees. Low administration fees apply.

Create my study account to assess this life skills course

Marty Ozinga III Tribute: A Minister for Christ!

Marty Ozinga III Tribute
by Henry Reyenga Jr.

As I begin writing this tribute, less than 24 hours ago, Marty Ozinga III passed away in Naples, Florida, on April 26, five days before he and Melissa would have celebrated their first anniversary.

Marty and Ruth Ozinga

My wife Pam and I will miss this dear Kingdom friend, businessman, and volunteer minister. Thankfully, we have had the privilege to serve side by side in ministry with him since 1987. I rejoice he is with the Lord and reunited with Ruth, his first wife, and others who have gone before.

Marty Ozinga III Tribute – The Meeting

I was 26 years old when I met Martin Ozinga the third. Also sitting in the room were David Huizenga and Martin Ozinga Jr., Marty’s father. We met at the Ozinga Bros corporate headquarters on Alsip and 127th street, in Alsip, IL. Dave Huizenga and I had recently graduated from Calvin Theological Seminary and felt called to develop a church in the southwestern Chicagoland area.
We were invited to sit on a grey couch facing Marty III and Marty Jr. Marty Ozinga III asked about our calling to ministry, our families, and our vision for planting a new church. His father added some witty and encouraging observations.
We were there to ask for financial support for the new church possibility. After about an hour of getting to know us, Marty III announced that he and his wife Ruth and family were called to plant a church and wanted to partner with us in this effort.

Listen to Marty Ozinga III tell his Version of the Story.

We planted Community Life Church together. David Huizenga and I were ordained with the Christian Reformed Church shortly after this.

Community Life Church Days (1988)

In those days, just before cell phones and the Internet, one method for developing new churches was “telemarketing.” Churches would set up calling centers to make thousands of calls to the church planting target area. The phone calls took place at Ozinga Bros. headquarters. Ozinga Bros had the latest landline phone technology and over 50 volunteers, including Marty III and Ruthie Ozinga. Many other people that Marty and Ruth knew showed up to call 20,000 people.
We planted the church on March 13, 1988. Almost 200 showed up. I remember Marty Ozinga III that day. He set up chairs and enthusiastically welcomed first-time attendees like Jack and Lana Fisher, who became Christians at our church.
Marty III and Ruth valued the spread of the gospel. They did not just financially support the work. They themselves participated and included their family.

Marty Ozinga III Tribute – Meeting the Family

My wife Pam and I, with David Huizinga and his wife Diane, were invited to have dinner at Marty and Ruth’s house in Evergreen Park, IL. It was a stone’s throw from the first Ozinga Bros business location and a few doors down from Marty Ozinga Jr., his father.

Marty with his six boys.

It was summer. Their house was modest and large. The dinner was a combination of American and Greek food. Their six boys Marty IV, Karl, Justin, Aaron, Paul, and Timothy, were filled with playful energy. Timothy was a toddler. I remember picking him up and bringing him back into the house after he had wandered off.  We laughed and ate. We took a tour of the neighborhood. Their old home church was in their back yard, Evergreen Park Christian Reformed Church.
It was at this meeting that Pam and I noticed Ruth’s deep devotion to the Lord. Her father and mother were Greek immigrants who proclaimed Christ as Lord and Savior at every opportunity. Ruth calmly walked in that way, and together with Marty, they formed a powerful Kingdom witness.

Marty Ozinga III Tribute – Mentorship

The church planting years were wonderful. Marty was my first mentor. He placed in me a passion for finding new ways to reach people for Christ. He would say, “Let’s try that. We can always pull the plug on that if it doesn’t work and try something else.”
He helped me see the possibilities of the volunteer minister. In those days, the clergy were the people trained like Dave and me. We went 7 years to college and seminary. Marty III firmly believed in training, but he imagined a world where the clergy also consisted of volunteer ministers. Marty knew the Bible! He saw that the early church was dynamic and did not include the lay – clergy distinction. He quoted passages like this one from Romans 15.
Romans 15:14-20

I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.

So, I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.

He often reflected that God calls all of us to ministry. Every Christian has a calling! Every active Christian is a minister. This understanding of “ministry” influenced the culture of the Christian Leaders Institute, where everyone is invited to begin ministry training.
Our clergy program with the Christian Leaders Alliance includes volunteer clergy as well as part-time and full-time. There is no lay clergy distinction. This is a specific example where Marty Ozinga III’s influence will continue to speak. Today, nearly 3,000 clergy ministers have been licensed or ordained because of this early church understanding of clergy recognition. See directory.
He considered his business as a ministry to serve the crown of God’s creation, humanity. He also used his platform to bless countless other ministries, Christian Colleges, and individuals!

Marty Ozinga III Tribute – Laying the Foundations for Ideas and Others

Marty would say, “Henry, it’s about creating more stages.” He was a very creative man. What did he mean by creating more stages? To me, he meant, lead others in such a way that new ideas and new leaders can rise to the surface. Create opportunities for those ideas. Get out of the way of those ideas and the people who are called to develop them.
That is how he thought of his children. I respected that he passed his company over to the next generation well before he passed to be with the Lord yesterday. Many will reflect on his business legacy. He absolutely loved Ozinga Brothers and every team member!

Marty with his five sons and a nephew at Ozinga Brothers (his son Karl was not present).

Marty Ozinga III Tribute – Politics

We lived in Monee, IL, in 2004, and our neighbor Bobbi Peterson was on the Illinois Republican central committee. She alerted me to an opportunity to select a US Senator candidate after Jack Ryan bowed out because of a scandal. They interviewed many notable people. I suggested Marty Ozinga III to Bobbi Peterson. An interview was held in Chicago. Marty was not selected to be the candidate against Barack Obama. They selected Alan Keys instead.
This connected Marty Ozinga III to serving in politics. In 2008, he was the candidate for the House of representatives, the 11th district.  Debbie Halverson conducted a negative campaign. Marty did not win.
I once kiddingly apologized to Marty for connecting him to politics and all that negativity. He said, “It was fun.”

Marty Ozinga III Tribute – Legacy

In 2008, Marty and Ruth invited me to join them at Eagle Rock Church. I was there when Ruth passed away in 2010. People filled the church at her funeral. They testified to the powerful woman of God she was.
Marty continued to serve their Lord in the last 10 plus years of his life. One year ago, my wife, Pam, and I witnessed the marriage of Marty to Melissa at their home in Naples on May 1. Because of the Covid Pandemic, only the four of us were there.  Melissa brought great joy to Marty’s life!

May 1, 2020, Marty married Melissa in Naples, Florida.

Marty served on the Christian Leaders Ministries Board of Trustees. He served with distinction. He saw the future of ministry as bright. Marty believed the devil would be defeated as more ministers were raised up! He shared stories at the dinner table of serving with the Luke Society and other ministries.

Concluding Reflections

At his last board meeting, which he and Melissa hosted in Naples, Florida, in February of 2021, Marty challenged us to keep proclaiming Christ and raising up new ministers. He talked about the challenges he saw and the opportunities for new generations of ministers with new minister roles to meet the needs of a post-pandemic world.
I will miss Marty Ozinga III, but his legacy will live on. Building on the foundation he laid in me, I will continue to create new stages and open new doors of ministry opportunity. Like Marty, I will proclaim Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord until my last breath.
My last communication from Marty was brief. I shared that we had a record day of new students at Christian Leaders Institute with 424 new students. His response was: “Great! Praise God!”
When Marty Ozinga IV called me yesterday morning to tell me my dear friend had passed to be with Jesus, I had many emotions of sadness for the loss of a dear friend and the loss to his wife and family. But I can only imagine what Marty said when the Angel showed up to take him home to heaven: “Great! Praise God!”

Luke 10:17-20   The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Marty’s new wife Melissa cooked a wedding dinner for the four of us to share after the wedding last May 1, 2020. Marty led the prayer. He thanked God for Melissa, his new wife, and that God would bless their marriage. As he was praying for his children, Melissa’s children, and our children. I took this picture. Psalms 116:15  “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”

/by

Studying at Christian Leaders Institute

,
Studying at Christian Leaders Institute

I am Darren Fabilane, from the Philippines. Currently, I live and work in the United Arab Emirates. I have been married to Arlyn for 10 years. We have our only daughter, Faith. An Engineer by profession, I serve as a pastor in a local church. I want to share my story about why I ended up answering God’s calling and am now studying at Christian Leaders Institute (Learn more about online Bible classes, Click Here).

Exposed to Christianity Young

I was not born a Christian, but I grew up in a Christian community from 6 years young. It was the church where we as a family regularly attended Sunday worship service. As young kids, together with my sister and brother, we were taught by Sunday school teachers. Then I went to college away from my family and our hometown. Sadly, I also went away from the church. City life was way different from the place I grew up in.

During my college study, I seldom went to church and had no Christian groups to be with. However, I did not forget my beliefs. I knew I was a Christian even though my actions sometimes don’t back it up. I still believed what I believed though I slowly was consumed by the world.

Changes and New Direction

Then, after graduating from college, an opportunity to work abroad came up. The dream of a greener pasture enticed me. So, I left my family at a very young age. My lifestyle continued to change, not for the better but under the call of this world. Then I met someone by divine appointment. This person invited me to attend their Bible Study Group. It continued for weeks, then months, and without knowing it, I was part of the group (should I say family) for a year. Then I realized that even though I grew up in a church community, I had so much to learn about Christianity, Christ, and His sacrificial Love for me to have eternal life.

Since then, with the help of the Holy Spirit, I consistently grew in my knowledge and the grace of our Lord God. I committed to different ministries, attended lessons and training. Ten years later, God called me to be one of the pastors of that local church. I have been preaching, teaching, and encouraging everyone with God’s word.

Studying at Christian Leaders Institute

I do not have any formal education or a degree in my spiritual calling as a pastor. However, I have been attending seminars and free online classes to sharpen my mind and abilities, all for the Glory of God. Wanting to be better equipped, I came upon the Christian Leaders Institute website (divine appointment again). Now, I am studying at Christian Leaders Institute, sharpening the God-given talent for His glory. I pray to continue learning and doing what God has called me to do.

Therefore, I am optimistic because of God’s grace. I will update this testimony soon to encourage more people to study and be trained to reach out for more souls.

/by

Called to Ecuminister and Study at CLI

Called to Ecuminister

My name is Dr. Dena Michele Rosko, and I reside in Western Washington, the USA, with my family. God has called me to ecuminister. So I am studying ministry training at the Christian Leaders Institute (Learn more about online Bible classes, Click Here).

My Educational Journey

I received a Ph.D. in Organizational Systems, where I researched the story of the compassionate community of a local faith-based cross-sector social partnership. This ecuministry provides human and social services to our region through collaborating with local churches and government agencies. Previously, I researched my story of end-of-life caregiving with my maternal grandmother, a matriarch of faith in our family, for my MA in Communication and Organizational Leadership Studies. Before that, I received a BA in English/Creative Writing and Communications/Intercultural Mass Media Studies. I wrote and presented my senior thesis about Julian of Norwich, a medieval woman writer, an anchoress in the Catholic church. I showed how her writing style allowed her agency and through the church to help others. These together gave her authority not often granted to women.

Before all this, I spent one year at a Bible College. There, God invited me into prayer and developed my relationship with Him as a young person away from home. However, my grades stunk, and I didn’t feel that I fit in the rules until I made some older friends and served at a local faith-based nursing home. Shortly after that first year, I dated who would become my husband in a long courtship. I often missed the spark of that year and had unfinished business to complete my ministry training.

A Heart for the Lord to Minister

Both research projects share a heart for the Lord to minister to people across traditional group boundaries, including people who might feel ostracized. I share those stories with writing and photography. I knew what it felt like to be excluded. In high school, I enjoyed reaching out to students and staff whom others had counted out. I learned a heart for this from my childhood best friend, who I met in middle school. She was a new student, and I invited her to sit with me. We were best friends until she moved away and maintained our friendship for 20 years, writing letters. Around that time, I also began photography with a four-series flash pink camera from my aunt and write stories and journal entries. I was 12 then. Looking back, I can see God’s hand shaping my spiritual dream, hands, and heart.

As an adult, in-between the degree programs, I worked briefly as a technical writer, a counselor at a church day camp, started a communication consultancy, and provided caregiving for my family. I also ran a photography business as a freelance entrepreneur and fulfilled assignments with a local magazine and regional business newspaper. I worked as a writing tutor for international students and English Language Learners (ELL) for a community college and community relations for a university. These experiences contributed to my spiritual dream, especially to serve God’s church at the local level.

My Spiritual Journey

God saved me at six years old through the pulpit ministry of John 3:16. My dad prayed the “Romans Road” with me at home after church. I felt called by God to preach and teach since I was three. My mom says as a baby. I challenged her to get her to walk right with the Lord. My grandmother attended a Bible school and co-chartered the church of my childhood. I learned early on the importance of a gospel heritage.

However, this walk also came with healing from lengthy attachment abuse and trauma from multiple individuals. For years, I prayed to God to save my life, let me be a blessing, and restore my spark. However, I lacked clarity on what I lost. 1 John 4:18-19 and 2 Timothy 4:14-16 guided me.

Recently, I learned that my childhood best friend died by suicide on Holy Saturday, 2019. Heartbroken, I wondered how I could have better ministered to her. Now her mom and I encourage each other. God is reminding me that the need to minister to others could save a life, ultimately his work and our responsibility. God restored the spark. That spark was God’s call and anointing on my life to encourage others but to always credit God and take time to explain the gospel. It’s not for me to glorify myself but share how God walks with us by welcoming others to his spiritual family. “God sets the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:6).

My Spiritual Dream

With my call to ecuminister, my spiritual dream is to serve as an ordained Ecuminister at a co-housing retreat center. There I will facilitate heritage circles for caregivers and dialogue retreats for churches to better bridge the divides of our times.

My dream is to direct a writing center and start an ecuministry center for church partnerships as a bi-vocational minister. I also plan to publish nine books I’ve written about heritage care, formation, and theology. Also, I desire to teach what I’ve learned in online classes.

Finally, as a mother, I hope to instill the love of God in my son. I want to be a good example and co-write children’s books.

Called to Ecuminister and Ministry Training at CLI

I’m grateful for the local network, mentors, and loved ones supporting me. I’m grateful for the high-quality biblical and ministry training at Christian Leaders Institute. CLI offers tuition-funded programs in a flexible format for working parents. I’ve invested in higher education for years, and I’m relieved at the opportunity not to shoulder the debt.

Additionally, this model removes barriers and dismantles the elitism of so many expensive programs, however of value they may be. Time is of the essence. We’ve much work to do together until the kingdom comes. That work rests in God’s love while we yield to his call. “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt. 22:14). I’m grateful for the love of the triune God who saved my life through Jesus and the spark of the Holy Spirit. I thank God that he called me to ecuminister!

I’ve cherished the family-style church of my childhood. I feel called as an Ecuminister of a “We Story” for the gospel with that disposition. Will you pray to God to finish his good work in our callings at CLI?

/by