Hello, everyone! My name is William Reed, and my struggle of choice was alcohol. Here is my story of recovery and restoration and then free ministry training at CLI. I grew up in a home where my mother was an alcoholic, and my father was codependent. Even though the opportunity to drink was there from a young age, I chose to stay away from it until I didn’t. When I was 17 years old, after several disappointments, I caved and ran to a bottle. I attended a party and started to drink. When the party was over, I was the last one standing. It turned into some badge of honor.
Down the Drinking Road
High School graduation came and went with many parties along the way. I ended up joining the military and served in the Marines. We lived up to the stereotype 100%. If I was able, I was drinking. In most cases, it was nightly. This behavior continued for 12 years.
Through those twelve years, I racked up four DUI charges, two convictions, one hit and run charge, one felony fleeing charge, three vehicle crashes, and thousands of drunken trips down the road. Zero relationships that lasted more than 15 minutes outside of the list of drinking buddies. My relationship with God only existed in the sense of I believed. His relationship with me did, however, exist.
Gave My Life to God But Then Struggled
As a small child around the age of three, my parents allowed me to go to church with some men from the local church. They picked me up and gave me piggyback rides to the yellow church bus. I was young and did not remember much more. However, the act of those men living out God’s call for them would forever make an impression on me.
In my early teenage years, I had a group of friends that attended a local church, and through that experience, I gave my life to God and truly felt called into ministry. Being young and immature, I couldn’t understand why I had this new passion and desire to do what was right. My family had zero support for me. I started planning to attend seminary, and I needed my father to sign a financial aid form to apply for grants, etc., but he refused.
During this same time, we conducted a few fundraisers to go on a short trip for the youth. My mother was very drunk when I came home from school that day and mean. I told her off, and when my father came home, he defended her, punished me, and took away the privilege of going on this trip. That was the trigger and the anger I used to start down my insane journey to darkness and despair. Even with the choices I made, I am blessed with the opportunity to be here still. I also have the ability of hindsight, which showed me that as I acted out, God showed up.
Recovery Journey
My first experience with recovery and restoration was while I was in the military. I was ordered to ten meetings in 30 days; however, that didn’t work. The second time was after my first DUI conviction. They ordered me to a year’s worth of counseling. I spent about a year alcohol-free. I attended church again and had a pretty intense repentance experience.
The incident that caused me to revert was pretty severe. I totaled my vehicle and the one the police officer was driving. I immediately walked away from the accident, not realizing at first. It was a police officer I had hit. As I approached the vehicle to see if they needed help, I met a large number of police officers with guns drawn. God alone saved me from getting shot and from being charged with the accident.
After about a year of sobriety, I had a couple of drinks here and there. Before long, I was back to the same level as before, if not worse. It continued for about another year and a half before I hit my final bottom.
Final Bottom
It was a sunny July day. I was drinking and doing yard work. A friend was helping me, and we decided to get some lunch with several more to many drinks. By the end of the evening, I ended up at a party on the other side of town. The police pulled me over on the way home. According to the report, I sped up in an attempt to flee but then pulled over. They took me into custody.
I was granted bail the next day, returned home, and was soon greeted by a new set of police officers. They said I was wanted for a minor hit and run that took place eight hours before the DUI arrest. I was only cited with a notice to appear in court. Then they received an emergency call and didn’t have the time to arrest me. I hired an attorney, and the initial plea offer was five years in prison, five years probation, etc. I lost my career, my home, and all of my possessions. It took more than a year, but we were able to get a much better offer.
During this time, I continued to drink. I figured I was going to prison anyway, so why not. I was broke and borderline homeless. However, to my surprise, I only received ten days in the county jail, five years license suspension, two years treatment, and some fines.
“God Must Have Better Plans” for Recovery and Restoration
I mentioned it to a good friend, and he said something that stuck. “God must have better plans for you than the court system did.” Shortly after, I moved away from Jacksonville to Orlando. I got to start fresh. I went to church with the woman who would become my wife. That church had a CR group, and I was able to use it for my mandatory treatment. By the end of the two years, I was offered the opportunity to step into a volunteer leadership role in the group. It led me to consider step 12, my favorite. “Having had a spiritual experience as the result of these steps, we try to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs.”
My sponsor came alongside me on my recovery and restoration journey and walked me through the steps. He was firm but caring. As I became healthier, I began to make a transition from my past to my future. My walk with God increased, and I took the Great Commission seriously. However, before I went out to make disciples, I had to learn to be one. The more I learned, the more I sought direction. The more I found the word to be a place of both comfort and growth. I leaned on Ephesians 6:11, “Put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”
Growth, Called to Serve, and Study at CLI
I am not perfect. If I suit up in God’s armor, I am protected. If I wake up each day and place God first, the probability that I am going to win that day is pretty high. It took a long time to be in a place where it isn’t about me. It is pretty great!
I have a wonderful wife, and she supports me completely. It is an honor to be the father of our five children. God has shown me how to love. I should not be here, but I am grateful to be. I am thankful that I still have an opportunity. Now I am excited to study at the Christian Leaders Institute for free ministry training. I want to help others to work and live for God and find recovery and restoration. I want others to lean on Jesus and know that they are not alone. No matter how dark the night looks, there is light. You can succeed in the Lord. If I can, anyone can.
To live a life with Jesus, and my family is a gift. To live today, sober has been a blessing. Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will suit up and do it again. Lastly, I encourage others on a recovery and restoration journey to get involved in a home church. Find a way to serve, find a Bible study to join, find a way to keep growing. This summer, I celebrate 12 years of sobriety. God bless you!
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
Hello, my name is Janice Newman. I have a mission to honor God and help others, so I am excited to receive free ministry education online at CLI. Currently, I am a resident of the south suburbs of Chicago. I am a mother of three adult children and a wife to a wonderful husband named Philip. With a master’s degree in professional development with a certificate in Christian Counseling, I am a full-time, licensed special education teacher working with elementary school students. Further, I am also a self-employed real estate appraiser and broker for the past 20 plus years.
I had a traumatic childhood from being a product of an extramarital affair. Surviving my mother’s attempt to abort me, I had a heart attack at four years old. I suffered child abuse, homelessness, depression from my stepfather lining my family up as a teen threatening to shoot us. I was a foster teen working full-time to help support my family while going to high school.
God Was With Me
My childhood spiritual journey was limited in my younger years. My parents did not attend church regularly nor talk about God in the household. We lived in Chicago until I was ten, where I experienced a mixture of racism with neighbors threatening my family to move out of the neighborhood. We were one of the first minorities in the area. The neighborhood changed quickly from racism to violent gangs trying to break in our home, so we moved to the suburbs of Chicago.
I went to church once under the age of 12. However, I prayed on my own as a young child. How I learned about God, I do not remember. At a young age, I prayed and communicated with God regularly. I felt God was with me. With a love for people and for God, I gave my life to Christ at a young age.
I would say that my life was perhaps different after my heart attack at age four, stepping over a dead body as a young child while walking through a gang fight, or from a near miss from being shot at twice at the age of six. I wish I knew what defining moment in my life that I gave my life to Christ, but I cannot pinpoint a time as I was very young.
My Spiritual Dream and Journey
My spiritual dream is to share my love of God with others and help others come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior. I desire to develop my relationship with God, have stronger faith and wisdom to trust God, and follow His plan for my life. I want to fulfill my purpose in life to the best of my ability while overcoming fears and anxiety from my past and my lack of understanding.
Gifted with being quite intelligent and mature at an early age, I owe all my intelligence, gifts, and blessings to God because I am nothing without God. I was always put in charge versus my older sister. My parents needed my help with paperwork and finances before I was 12. It was I who took a stand against the abuse at home from my stepfather at 15 to help save my family. I was the responsible one, the logical one, and the one to count on. Sometimes that got tiresome. I had to learn about protecting my boundaries, but I went through two bad marriages before I realized that fact.
I knew from the age of four that my mother tried to abort me. Therefore, with being mature and intelligent for my age, I knew I was alive because of God. It humbles me to know that despite being unwanted by my mother, I was loved by God, who did, does, and continues to love me and want me. It puts tears in my eyes now as I write this. There is nothing I can do to deserve that mercy and grace. The best I can do is to honor and love the One who saved me. That is when God became real for me.
Challenges and Changes
I had brain surgery three and a half years ago. A day after surgery, an accident happened in the hospital. My nurse tripped and dropped me in a chair, and I hit my head. Within 24 hours, I lost all ability to communicate. Being unable to write or talk except for four words, I did not cry. I sat there and prayed and listened. God wanted time just for Him and me, for me to listen and communicate with Him. Everything was shut out so I could listen. So, I listened and learned a lot. Those who have ears let them hear.
By the grace, mercy, and blessing of God alone, my ability to talk and communicate returned in three and a half days, right before Christmas. I learned the value of the benefit of my voice, love, communicating, and helping others. At that time, my husband and I were only dating for two weeks. He committed to helping me recover.
After I recovered, God allowed me to start, sponsor, and run a summer youth group for two years in a row. I wrote a self-help book, started a life coaching program, completed a graduate certificate in Christian Counseling, and have a weekly cable television show focused on topics to help others to reach their goals reflecting on God’s perspective from the guest.
Free Ministry Education Online at CLI
The free ministry education online from Christian Leaders Institute will enhance my knowledge and ability to assist others to come to Christ. I hope to build a deeper relationship with God. The free training at CLI is essential for me because I want to expand my knowledge of Christ, ministry, and life coaching with the Christian perspective. I want to be trained to run a ministry and to help people come to Christ. I also desire to learn more about ministry and build my relationship with God. With an increase in my knowledge of God, the more I know, the better I can help others.
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
I am Thompson Emmanuel Anu, from Ghana in West Africa, and I have a mission ministry passion from God. I am a second-year master’s student at Shanghai Maritime University pursing M.Eng. Transport Planning and Management.
In my Junior High School, I encountered a gentleman who started praying and sharing the word of God with us. However, I never believed anything because I thought the foundation of the church he attended was not Jesus. Almost all the rich men in the town attended that church, and there were many miracles in the church.
Coming to Know Christ
After some time passed, I went to High School where a lady invited me to her church. And, to my surprise, it was the same church the gentleman was attending but a different branch of it. This time I thought okay and went on a youth camp meeting with them in the month of August in 2013. On the second day of the camp meeting, a lady preached about “remembering God in your youthful age.” I felt as if the lady was speaking to only me at that moment.
After her message, she made an altar call. Then, for the first time, I heard a voice saying to me, “Go and give your life to Christ, and let Him make your life beautiful.” Among more than 500 youths, I was the only one who went to the front. So, God saved me that day.
My Passion and Ministry Training at CLI
I have a mission ministry passion and enjoy speaking to others about Christ. I have been to countless missions, served as youth president and pastor. Currently, I am now serving as a university connect group leader in Hillsong Church – Shanghai Connect. I am also the President of the Ghana student group in Shanghai. Further, I have different youth mentorship groups.
I was looking for free ministry training online and found the Christian Leaders Institute. I am looking forward to seeing how God will use this training in my ministry life.
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.