God Is My Rock
I am Samantha Janes, from the United States. I am studying at the Christian Leaders Institute to become a First Responder Chaplain.
My Journey
God has been my rock since I accepted him as my Lord and Savior at the age of seven. I experienced a multitude of physical and sexual trauma in my childhood. The lack of a solid foundation at home polluted much of my adult life. I was ill-equipped to make many of the decisions that life requires. I learned from a young age to accept the physical and mental pain I experienced and leaned on the Lord to bring me comfort.
All my life, I have always enjoyed helping others. Further, I was never shy when it came to asking someone if I could lend a hand or if they would like me to pray with them. Despite feeling crummy for a large portion of my years, I have always known God had a plan for me. The suffering I experienced was part of His divine plan. Of course, I didn’t like the suffering, but the idea that it was for a greater purpose gave me hope.
Time for Healing
Over a decade ago, I had the opportunity to be mentored by a woman who was a third-generation family farmer. I did not know at the time that the Lord would use this education as a vehicle for the healing that my heart and soul were so desperately seeking.
Since that time, I have spent countless hours in the garden. A safe space to explore the pains of my past was long overdue. As I cultivated the land to sow seeds and reap the rewards of harvest, God tended to the garden in my heart. He tended to my broken heart as he opened my heart to forgive those who broke it. He sowed the seeds of love every time I donated vegetables and flowers to those who needed food or a smile. His grace, like a ripple in a pond, had a long-reaching effect. Having been shown grace, I was able to give grace to people who crossed my path.
Further Healing and Peace
One of my deepest pains in life came from when my father left my mother when I was a very young child. For years, I asked the Lord to give me forgiveness for my dad. I didn’t want to keep carrying the burden that had cut so deep into my heart. In the spring of 2022, my dad invited me to come to live closer to him. He was aging and needed support to navigate his aging body within the healthcare system. I joyfully made the 500-mile move, saying goodbye to longtime friends and the farmland that God used in my healing.
My dad and I went to church together. We held hands and prayed. We laughed and cried and talked about the past. God ushered in a new phase of our relationship. The Lord healed both of our hearts from the past. My dad passed away four months after my move. I gave him his last hug on earth and watched as he took his last breath on his way to our Heavenly Father. I am so grateful God gave us that time to reunite and to heal.
CLI: First Responder Chaplain Training
The Lord led me to the Christian Leaders Institute training. Now, I can continue to grow and share the love of the Lord with my local community and begin my journey to become a First Responder Chaplain. My heart longs to share the love and grace of the Lord with those who are experiencing moments that feel unbearable. Phillippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Register a Study Account
Register for a free study account, automatically enrolling you in the Getting Started Class at the Christian Leaders Learning Platform. The Getting Started class will take you less than an hour to complete.
When you log in to the Learning Platform, you will notice that the Getting Started Class automatically appears on your dashboard.
The Getting Started Class will orientate you to the Christian Leaders Learning Platform and the Programs offered, including:
- Ministry Awards, Certificates, Diplomas, and Degrees with the Christian Leaders Institute.
- Minister Credentialling (Ordination) with the Christian Leaders Alliance, including local Soul Center registration possibilities.
Note: You can enroll in tuition-free courses or mini-courses immediately without finishing the getting started class.
Find out more about women in ministry here.
Stay with God
I’m Nathaniel Buah from Ghana. A young man of 26 years with five siblings (three sisters and two brothers). I have been married for two years to my wife, Vida Buah, and we have no children yet. The ministry classes and leadership courses at the Christian Leaders Institute are equipping me to be a minister in good standing.
My Story
I attended Gwiraman Senior High School at Bamiankor in the Western region of Ghana. I was the first student as the school chaplain from 2015 to 2017. The school church service held every Friday for worship was founded by me. Further, I trained five students to become chaplains and prayer tower leaders as well. Now, two of the students I trained are associate pastors in their local church. Pastors Francis Morkeh from Ghana Baptist convention church at Nzema in the Western region of Ghana was one of the students. Nathaniel Buah is a young man also in the ministry of the Gospel in Ghana. He attends the Assemblies of God but is not a minister in the Assemblies of God, Ghana.
I’m very interested and delighted to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. I handle two local churches of Assemblies of God in the Western region of Ghana. Through my late father, Isaac Adarkwa Buah, I have been in ministry for eight years as a leader and pastor. I have come this far by God’s grace. Further, I was ordained on September 21, 2021, by Apostle Dr. Annane at Levites Theological Seminary and College.
Challenges and God’s Grace
One time, I was in the church holding a service when my senior pastor came and told the members that I was not a pastor in that church. Therefore, the members should not come to me but they should go to him as the senior pastor. This conflict made ministry a challenge when I went to the church for service. Sadly, it nearly destroyed the church. However, through prayer, the Lord asked me to humbly rely on Him.
Now, by the grace of God, everything is going well and the Lord is building His church up again. Through this experience, I gained knowledge and understanding while serving under someone in ministry. The church is on the journey of sixty days of fasting and prayer led by me. Further, my senior pastor is now happy about the growth of the church and my service.
Therefore, in the Lord, I faced that challenge with God through prayer and now things are moving again to the glory of God.
Ministry Classes and Leadership Courses at CLI
I found the Christian Leaders Institute when my heart longed to study ministry classes and leadership courses to have a good standing in ministry. I’m so happy to learn at the Christian Leaders Institute for the betterment of the call as a minister of the Gospel. I bless the name of the Lord for the Christian Leaders Institute, equipping me to have good standing in the ministry of the Gospel.
God bless!
Register a Study Account
Register for a free study account, automatically enrolling you in the Getting Started Class at the Christian Leaders Learning Platform. The Getting Started class will take you less than an hour to complete.
When you log in to the Learning Platform, you will notice that the Getting Started Class automatically appears on your dashboard.
The Getting Started Class will orientate you to the Christian Leaders Learning Platform and the Programs offered, including:
- Ministry Awards, Certificates, Diplomas, and Degrees with the Christian Leaders Institute.
- Minister Credentialling (Ordination) with the Christian Leaders Alliance, including local Soul Center registration possibilities.
Note: You can enroll in tuition-free courses or mini-courses immediately without finishing the getting started class.
Find out more about women in ministry here.
God’s Faithfulness: My Spiritual Journey
Hello, my name is Ruth Anderson, and I live in a small town in southern Minnesota, USA. I’m a business owner, wife, mother of five adult children, and many others who like to think of me as mom or Nana. I have been in various ministry roles in the church and community through the years. Further, I am studying Minister credential training and Bible courses at the Christian Leaders Institute.
The Early Years
My spiritual legacy began when I was a toddler. My parents sought to know God more personally, and He used me to demonstrate His power. I suffered a severe accident with a toy box that caused brain damage. The doctors told my parents there was little to no hope of me surviving or waking up when God miraculously touched and healed me! Later that evening, I told my mom what happened and that Jesus was watching me. There were no signs of brain impairment, but I grew up knowing God had a purpose and plan for my life.
I placed my faith in Jesus at seven. After graduating from a Christian high school, I attended Christ for the Nations Institute, earning an Associate Degree in Practical Theology.
Spiritual Dreams
I felt the call of God on my life to be in ministry from an early age. I thought I would marry a pastor or a missionary. However, when I graduated from Bible school, I was still single. Therefore, I traveled with a Christian drama team for a while, doing street evangelism and church ministry. Then, I became engaged. However, I took a short-term mission trip to Mexico while doing wedding prep. I realized that marriage to that man was not in God’s plan for my life there. After the breakup, I returned to college at the local university to study Elementary Education and minor in Spanish, thinking God would send me to the mission field.
However, God had other plans! While I was in college and involved in leading a singles ministry, I met my husband. We’ve been married for over 30 years. Further, we have been actively involved in volunteer ministry in the upper Midwest.
Bumps in the Road
Life hasn’t always been easy. I’ve had many tests on my faith. In college, I suffered a traumatic event that I had to work through with a Christian counselor. During that time, I also developed an eating disorder and suffered from depression to the brink of suicide. But, by the grace of God, my life was spared, and I found healing.
After I married my husband, life didn’t go as we expected, either. Our daughter was born a year later – just two weeks after I graduated. Therefore, I did not become a classroom teacher but a stay-at-home mom. Over the next few years, we had two boys. However, that second pregnancy had four months of complications before our son’s birth. I was content, but God still had plans for me.
My husband was offered a job in the town where I had that painful memory. I did not want to move. However, I knew it was where God was leading us. Pregnant with our fourth baby, as we were packing to move, I found out our baby no longer had a heartbeat. We would never see him take a breath. Oh, the anguish! Several months later, I was expecting again, with a due date on the anniversary of our loss. However, we had another miscarriage on the day of the due date of the other baby. I really struggled with grief for a while after losing both babies.
Meanwhile, living in a small town, I frequently saw the person who caused the painful memory from the past. As hard as it was, I know God’s purpose was for me to learn how to forgive on a deeper level so I could live in freedom.
Restoration
A year later, God blessed us with a surprise pregnancy! I trusted Jesus to carry us through. We passed the point of each of the miscarriages and the date of the history of complications without trouble. Then, my doctor scheduled an ultrasound to put my mind at ease. On that day, my youngest woke up with a fever. During my ultrasound, I found out I was pregnant with twins, AND we received our son’s test results that he was seriously ill with meningitis. I went through a whole range of emotions in the ambulance while we transported our son to another hospital! Through it all, God proved Himself faithful again! He healed our son, and my pregnancy went full term without complications. I raised two more boys who have also grown up to be men of God like their siblings.
Real Life
I could go on with more stories of God’s faithfulness throughout my life…through a spinal cord injury, a house fire tragedy, challenges in church ministry, getting another Associate Degree in graphic design/photography, battling chronic Lyme disease, starting a business, the death of my dad, devastating job loss, a lawsuit, severely injuring both ankles, etc. However, this isn’t the place for a book. Through it all, God is faithful! He held me and never let go! Yes, there were wounds and battle scars, but He is the Healer!
CLI Minister Credential Training
Recently, I’ve been working with a Faith-based Equine Assisted Philosophy organization. This position brings together my history and all my training in practical theology, education, and graphic design. It also fulfills a childhood dream of working with horses to help people heal from trauma in their lives. Redemption! All things work together for good! Nothing wasted!
My trainer in this ministry encouraged me to become credentialed, to have that “piece of paper” to show what I know. I wanted to find a credible place where I could study while still running my business full-time and paying off our debts. Thankfully, Christian Leaders Institute minister credential training and Bible courses are available online. Therefore, I can fit the minister credential classes into my busy schedule. It is also a blessing that it is affordable because with the other debts I have, and at my age, I could not afford college a fourth time! I’m very thankful CLI is available!
I hope to use the minister credential training and Bible courses I study here to continue to work with people coming out of trauma, in counseling, and wherever God leads! I know He has a plan and purpose for my life, and He is faithful every step of the way!
Register a Study Account
Register for a free study account, automatically enrolling you in the Getting Started Class at the Christian Leaders Learning Platform. The Getting Started class will take you less than an hour to complete.
When you log in to the Learning Platform, you will notice that the Getting Started Class automatically appears on your dashboard.
The Getting Started Class will orientate you to the Christian Leaders Learning Platform and the Programs offered, including:
- Ministry Awards, Certificates, Diplomas, and Degrees with the Christian Leaders Institute.
- Minister Credentialling (Ordination) with the Christian Leaders Alliance, including local Soul Center registration possibilities.
Note: You can enroll in tuition-free courses or mini-courses immediately without finishing the getting started class.
Find out more about women in ministry here.