Free Ministry Training at Christian Leaders Institute
Hello! My name is Rey Neuenschwander, and the free ministry training and opportunities at CLI are a blessing! I live with my wife and three beautiful children in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. I have been involved in the ministry of the local church for well over ten years now. Primarily, it has been in volunteer roles but also on staff as a worship pastor and behind the scenes as a facilities coordinator. I have an MDiv from Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University and BA in Ministry from Nazarene Bible College.
My Youth and Coming to God
I did not grow up in the church. My parents divorced when I was very young, neither went to church. My mother was hostile toward the Christian faith. In many ways, it was just me and my younger brother growing up. My father was aging, and my mother abandoned us for drugs and alcohol when I was in middle school. The only time I heard about Jesus was when an evangelist would come to the house or stop me and my friends at the park. The Truth of the Gospel that God planted in me from these individuals took root during my senior year of high school. It was after the sudden and tragic death of a close friend.
Shortly after I accepted Jesus as my Savior, I met my future wife, who grew up in the faith and whose parents had served in the mission field. When we became serious, she recommended we attend a church together. So, it was at that church, a Methodist church, I was discipled and baptized.
Called to Serve and Study at CLI
The military has always been close to my heart. I never served, but my father, brother, and all three of my brothers-in-law have served or are currently serving. I participated in Army JROTC in High School, and many of those lessons stay with me to this day. God has placed a call on my life to ministry to our military men and women as an Army Reserve Chaplain. I believe that God has asked me to put down roots in this area so that my family can grow in a stable atmosphere. Then, my wife and I can serve our local church. The Reserve will allow me to accomplish all that God has called me to in this season of my life.
The Christian Leaders Institute is instrumental in accomplishing this call because of the free ministry training and opportunities it offers. I am excited about becoming an ordained minister and for all the many courses that CLI offers at no cost. For a father of three working full time who already has student loan debt, the manner and method of CLI are vital to me. I will take full advantage of every learning opportunity and look forward to the day when I will be able to contribute to this wonderful ministry!
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
Following my Women’s Ministry call from God, I found the Christian Leaders Institute for free ministry training online. I am so humbled and honored to be a part of the Christian Leaders Ministries family!
My name is Jacqueline Crawley, and I am a servant leader for Christ. I am 28 years old. Originally from California, USA, God has moved me to Virginia, USA. Virginia is where I met my amazing husband, Josh. We recently moved to Williamsburg, Virginia, and God has blessed us with two amazing children of God.
I am currently a registered nurse and work in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.) I am a contract nurse for the government, so I only serve our military families, which is such a blessing.
My Introduction to God and Salvation
I did not grow up in the church and was not taught who God is. However, life taught me to search for God. In high school, I became pregnant. My parents kicked me out after I graduated. I had no direction or purpose in my life. I knew going to college was the thing I was supposed to do. The father of my child asked his mom if she could take us in. She was a believer and told me that God told her to take us in. It was my first time learning the word God.
Since we lived with her, she took me to church weekly. I enjoyed the service and music. At first, I didn’t understand the terminology they used, until one day I did. The day I realized what they were saying is the day that I gave my life to Christ. I asked God to reveal His plan to me. He directed me towards nursing school. He paid for my college expenses and allowed me to get help with daycare expenses.
Women’s Ministry Call
After graduating from school, I became heavily involved in serving the church. I fell in love with serving. As I served, I also shared the story of my life. I had no idea that the God of grace is who delivered me from drugs and alcohol. I began to share how God healed me from sexual assault and bitterness from being a teen mother and a single mother. My story helped to bring many women to have a deepening relationship with God.
God began to place a passion and burden to teach women the word of God. Currently, I am an intern at my church and serve in the Women’s Ministry. God has called me to pursue pastoral leadership for Women’s Ministry! I am so eager and thrilled to finally be pursuing God’s Women’s Ministry call! I am so excited to be joining you all and learning at the Christian Leaders Institute. God is doing mighty things in His Kingdom, and I am so honored to be a witness for Christ as well as following where God is leading me!
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 Ronnie Travis Vaughan, and I am 54 years old. I am receiving further Christian education free at the Christian Leaders Institute. I grew up just outside of the Washington DC beltway on the Maryland side. Dropping out of High School at 16, I got my GED. Then, I started working and ended up with a pregnant girlfriend by the time I was 17. By the time I was 19, I was married and in the US Army. I had already made what seemed like a lifetime of bad choices and was on a one-way street to nowhere fast, so the military seemed like the only choice for me.
I spent four years in the military. It taught me a lot. However, I continued to make bad choices and often got into trouble for the things that I did while off duty and drinking. I decided that the military wasn’t for me and blamed the rules for all my troubles. The thing is when I got out my troubles just followed me. Needless to say, alcohol abuse eventually caused marital and financial problems as well.
God Saved Me
Thanks be to God that it all came to a crisis point one day in 1993. I felt like giving up, and I turned to Christian radio for comfort. I heard Dr. Charles Stanley explain the gospel very clearly, and I gave my life to Jesus Christ that day! That was 27 years ago. I’ve now been happily married for 35 years. We have three children, three grandchildren, and one step-grandchild.
Being so sold out for the Lord, I ended up serving in various positions within the local church. I eventually ended up getting licensed as a minister by the Evangelical Church Alliance. Later, I got ordained by another non-denominational group while helping a friend with a church plant. Even so, I have never been in full-time ministry. All my ministry training took place in the local church while I worked and studied at the denominational level. However, I have also taken a few scattered courses for further Christian education.
Wandering
After moving around a bit and leaving the church I primarily served in for over 17 years, I started going to church less and less over time. I ended up backsliding into my former lifestyle. Eventually, I ended up with health issues that kept me from working as well.
God Never Stopped Calling
During the downtime, the Lord began to work on my heart again. Within the last few years, I have been getting back into regular Bible study and prayer. I’ve come to the end of myself and have started seeking local fellowship once again. To make a long story short, fellowship is proving difficult during this COVID 19 crisis.
Further Christian Education at CLI
Regardless, I’m setting out on a new adventure with the Lord while seeking to further my Christian education here at the Christian Leaders Institute (CLI). It’s my prayer that by entering into a formal program of study the Lord will keep me on the right path to serve Him once again in whatever capacity He chooses. And I said, “Here am I; send me!” (Isaiah 6:8)
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
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