My name is Emelda, and I am receiving free training for my marketplace calling at the Christian Leaders Institute (Learn more about Studying the Bible, Click Here). I am from South Africa and a graduate in Social Sciences. Being a Christian leader where I live takes a lot of commitment. While people believe in Jesus, and many of them are Christians, there is still a number who mix Christianity with ancestral worship. They do not understand why this practice is wrong because Christianity is deemed an “imported” western religion.
Gifts and Challenges in Life
I had a great childhood and grew up in a Christian environment. Both my mother and father took Christianity seriously for all their children. We children attended church even though my father would not. I started having prophetic dreams when I was five years old but did not recognize them as such at that time. My failure to understand what God was communicating with me led me to make mistakes in life. I grew bitter against my father for deserting my whole family. So, I lived a life in rebellion to him and also to God.
After a while, I discovered my father had cancer. God had shown me that this would happen so many times years before, yet I ignored it. I realized God also warned me about my father leaving us his family, yet I had not done anything about it. I prayed that God would heal my father and forgive me for the bitterness I had carried in my heart for so long. It had stifled the plans of God to use me as a spiritual watchman over my family.
Free Training for My Marketplace Calling at CLI
Sadly, my father passed on while he was away before we could see him. I blamed myself for a long time and could not forgive myself. Yet God forgave me and continued to communicate with me prophetically. To honor my late father’s life and make up for my rebellious past, I made a vow to God. I would honor what God wanted to establish in my life and obey whatever His Word commanded. As I sought the Lord more, He impressed upon me the great commission verse in Mathew 28 as well as a call to leadership in Isaiah 55:4. As God dropped these scriptures in my heart, I shook under God’s anointing call. I remembered Saul’s experience on his way to Damascus, and I knew I could not rebel against God’s will anymore.
My dream is to effectively share the gospel through evangelism and transform the marketplace by reforming it with Christian values. I had no idea about the marketplace calling. However, I knew I would be equipped to be effective both in ministry and in entrepreneurship when I came across the Christian Leaders Institute. Free training for my marketplace calling was essential for me. I have small kids, and I need the convenience and affordability that the Christian Leaders Institute provides.
I use my training to preach the gospel effectively and drive towards my goal of impacting the marketplace.
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
Greetings to you! My name is Patrick Robson. My friends call me Pat, but to those closest to me, I am Patrick. God sent me the free Bible college study opportunity at the Christian Leaders Institute (Learn more about Studying the Bible, Click Here). As 1 Timothy 1:17a says, “All honor and glory to God forever and ever!”
I am the eighth and youngest child to my surviving parents, and I am 54 years old. I was raised in the city of Windsor within the province of Ontario in the country of Canada. Windsor is the most southern city in Canada and shares a border with the USA by Detroit, Michigan. With a population of around 220k, Windsor has a diverse culture and a significant manufacturing industry. I am college educated in mechanical engineering technology and designated a Certified Engineering Technologist in Ontario.
My wife Hanan and I met in 2005 and were married in 2008. Hanan is an Iraqi born and raised woman who immigrated to Canada with her first husband in 1996. Together, we have five children ranging in age from 18 to 26. Hanan came to a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus in 2002 while embroiled in a bitter separation. She has walked faithfully in humble submission to Him since then.
Days of My Youth
My upbringing was quite typical of middle-class America in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. My mother and father were faithful to Roman Catholicism and intent on raising us in their beliefs, manners, and traditions. At 16 years of age, we began to study vocational directions in our RC youth group, and I felt the Call of God into ministry. With an elder sibling enrolled in our RC diocese seminary and exposure to ministry within RC’s example, I quickly suppressed that Call. The demand for chastity was also not a sacrifice that I could accept.
A few years later, while dating a Pentecostal girl in college, I was invited to a Christian concert at a nearby venue in Detroit. There the Spirit of God convicted me of my sin and my need for Him. I responded to His call at the altar. I’ve come to refer to this event as my near-birth experience as the next day, the enemy came and snatched away the Word that had been planted in my heart. Without further mentoring, discipline, or direction, I abruptly erected my walls of pride and independence. So, I wandered in darkness for the next 18 years. During this time, I succeeded in my career but was an abject failure in relationships. Even so, the LORD blessed me during this time with three children from two women. My eldest son, Zachary, my daughter, Victoria, and my youngest son, David,
Saved By God’s Grace
At 39 years old, standing before the wasteland of my second marriage, I came to the end of myself. I had planned and strategized for six months on how I would take my own life, and now the time had come. As I lay in a motel in July of 2005, feeling alone, abandoned, and betrayed, I was ready to execute my plan. BUT GOD intervened and whispered in my spirit, “That life is over, now I will live in you!” I cannot explain all that happened in a reasonable amount of time, but on August 10, 2005, in the sanctuary of Windsor Christian Fellowship (WCF), the Father met me, the Son forgave me, and the Spirit of God came to abide within me.
That’s more than 15 years ago now, and much has happened in my life and my walk. I could share testimonies of physical healing and deliverance. God continues to strengthen me and teach me through His Word daily. I enrolled and graduated from WCF’s School of Leaders and had hands laid upon me for ministry. My wife and I have served faithfully in WCF as baptism leaders and mentor group leaders for twelve years, with a group of nearly 20 hungry believers joining us to grow in the Word weekly.
Free Bible College Study Opportunity at CLI
All the while, I study giants in our faith like RC Sproul, John MacArthur, Ravi Zacharias, and Robert Morris. There has come a shift in me. The burden the LORD placed upon me years ago to attend Bible college to study and to grow in the knowledge of Him has become heavier. It has drawn me out from the ministries I was involved in to spend time with Him through His Word.
I could go on and on. But, it comes as no surprise to me that I have stumbled upon the offerings of Christian Leaders Ministries (CLM) at this time. CLM includes the Christian Leaders Institute, CLI’s Leadership Excellence School, and Christian Leaders Alliance. This free Bible college study opportunity is another of God’s vast provisions. I am looking forward to growing in awe and wonder of our blessed Holy Trinity. I thank the people behind CLM for responding to the Call of God on your lives to make it all possible.
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
My name is Maxine Lovell, and I am thankful for the free Bible School study opportunity at the Christian Leaders Institute (Learn more about Studying the Bible, Click Here). I am from the United Kingdom.
My Formative Years
I was not raised in a Christian home and spent my formative years in a children’s home. Then, eventually, I went to live with my grandparents at the age of seven. I don’t have any good memories of my childhood. It felt like being a second-class citizen and not part of a family unit. However, that all changed when I accepted Jesus into my life at the age of 18. He blessed me with loving Christian people who loved me and accepted me as I was.
Saved From an Untimely Death
Before my transformation, I was at a vulnerable point in my life. Often, I thought of committing suicide. My mental state was on the decline. I went through years of abuse, and I was at the stage of just wanting to die.
I remember the day well. It was a Tuesday evening in August of 1983. I slipped out of the house to go and see one of my college friends. I wanted to see her one last time before ending it all. On my way back home from her house, I meet a guy I had seen a few times at the college I attended. He said he was on his way to a prayer meeting and wanted to know if I would like to attend. The house where the meeting was to be held was only up the road from where I lived. So I said sure. I had nothing to lose.
It was the turning point in my life. I needed hope and something to live for. I found it that night in Jesus. Having Jesus in my life made my living environment bearable. However, I eventually had to move out of where I was living. So, I went to live with a lady from my church because my home situation affected my walk with God.
Restoration
Two years later, I met my wonderful husband at the church I attended. We married over 34 years ago now. We have three wonderful adult children and a grandchild.
The scripture, which says God will restore the years taken, has been a reality in my life (Joel 2:25). It took several years of receiving prayer and counseling due to the damages that I encountered as a child, the love of my husband and children, and the Church family. They have all been such tremendous support in my healing and deliverance.
Called to Christian Leadership
I am still growing and trusting in God. However, it is not always easy due to the complexity of life and the daily challenges I face at work, in my community, at church, and in my home life. God has opened many doors of opportunity. I have also been involved in teaching, preaching, counseling, prayer ministry, missions, and leading worship.
In 2001, I took a healing and deliverance course, which was a healing ministry for myself. Following my training, God instructed me to comfort those in any trouble by the comfort wherewith (I) we ourselves are comforted by God (2 Corinthians 1:4). This led me to work voluntarily for a Christian Ministry as an associate prayer counselor. A few years later, I got involved in mission work in West Africa, supporting orphanage work and women’s ministry.
Spiritual Dream
I went through a period of discouragement following an orphanage project I was involved in falling apart. At around the same time, I left the church I attended for some years with my family. I have since found it difficult to get back into God’s call or settle into a church family. Whether I left my church prematurely, I don’t know. However, I know that there is still a lot to do in God’s Kingdom, and I want to be involved in it.
My dream is to continue working with orphans and those that are in need. I have the opportunity in my day job to work with those that are at risk of homelessness or are already homeless. Although some people see it as just a job, it is part of my Christian service in the Kingdom of God.
Studying at the Christian Leaders Institute (CLI) will be instrumental in helping me find more of God’s purpose and plan for my life. The free Bible School study opportunity at CLI will help me serve in the church, evangelism, and the wider community. I am to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to those that have not experienced him.
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.