Ordained for Ministry in Germany
My name is Bernd Armbruster, and I come from Germany. In my teenage years, I thought of Christianity as an outdated concept and decided to turn my back against the church. I couldn’t understand how church rituals could have any positive effect on my life. Consequently, I not only stopped attending church, but I also started hating Christians in my heart.
After graduating from University in 2004, I went to China for what I thought would be an extended holiday. Little did I know that God was waiting for me there. In Shanghai, I met people who were madly in love with Jesus. They attended Shanghai Community Fellowship (SCF). They made Jesus so attractive to me that I became a Christian and ended up staying in SCF and Shanghai for 12 years.
Also in 2004, my wife Ryoko from Japan, and I met at SCF. In 2006, we got engaged and married. Now we have three amazing children: Anna (8), Noah (6) and Abigail (2).
In 2006, I also accepted the role of Outreach Director at SCF as a volunteer. At the time, I had already known that God wanted me to move towards full-time ministry. One major step in that direction was when my role as an Outreach Director was elevated from volunteer to full-time position in 2011. For the next five years, I was able to work full-time at SCF. Those were five fantastic years. We saw dozens of people accepting Christ every single year through this outreach ministry and joining our church community long-term. Many Christians who joined our team were completely changed. Some of them have now become ministers or missionaries in other parts of the world. Our favorite story is that of a man near retirement age whose complete Christian life at the time consisted of reading a daily prayer from a Christian calendar. He joined us to help others find Jesus. But during those months, his life was completely transformed. To quote his words: “I had the time of my life!” After spending one year on our team, he was a completely different person. His marriage was also revived. Once he reached his retirement, he decided to work for a Christian organization, and his passion for Christ has grown ever since.
The years at SCF were wonderful and fruitful years. But I always knew that this was still training ground, preparation for God’s long-term calling.
I knew that God wanted me to preach, teach and lead. That’s what I loved doing; that’s what I was good at. Theologically, I always had two big passions: one was for outreach. The other one was for relationships, marriage and family (My wife and I even wrote a book on this topic: www.simplesecrets.info). However, God had to do a lot of work in me before releasing me in my calling. He had to rid me of my immaturity, impatience, self-righteousness, judgmental attitudes, gossip, covetousness and lust. On the flipside, He had to develop gifts of compassion, teaching, sensitivity, care, love and forgiveness. I still fall terribly short of God’s standards. But the Holy Spirit has changed me over the years. And I can see God’s hand in all my past life: every major life experience was about getting me ready for being a Pastor.
The years at SCF were instrumental in preparing us for this. SCF has invested a lot of time, money and energy in developing us as leaders. They encouraged us to explore and develop our gifts. They mentored us and allowed us to learn from failures. Without SCF’s investment and encouragement, we would not be ready today for God’s call on our lives.
Around 2 years ago, God gave me a heart to pursue ministry education. I was excited, but finances did not allow me to pursue Seminary. Then I stumbled on CLI’s website. “Free ministry training and ordination” sounded too good to be true. But I gave it a try. And I quickly knew that this was how God was answering our prayer. What a great decision it was to study here.
In 2015, God started bringing it all together: He called us to Germany, to start and pastor a new church. (Aletheia International Church Munich (AIC), www.aicmunich.org). When we told SCF that we felt this call, we received even more support and encouragement than before, both from the leadership and the wider congregation. Many people there still pray for us. While we are not officially affiliated with SCF any longer, we do see AIC as an overflow of SCF’s great work.
So being obedient to His calling, we left SCF and moved to Germany in June 2016. Now we have just started our first small group with currently eight people. We are excited about what God will do from here.
Now about Germany: In my country, the church faces the challenge of religion. Many people think they know Christianity. But actually, they don’t. It is hard to break through those misconceptions, since many already made up their minds with wrong conclusions about Jesus and don’t see the need to reconsider their opinion.
Due to these common misconceptions, it is our desire that people hear the full, true gospel through AIC. Not just a feel-good-gospel, but the full gospel. We know that many people will not respond favorably. But we will proclaim the truth to as many people as we can, and disciple those who respond to Jesus’ invitation. That’s why we are here. That’s God’s calling on our lives.
The classes at CLI have greatly helped me prepare for this calling. The studies have put the different aspects of our Faith together in my mind. Some classes were pretty basic for me, having already worked in the church for years. However, other classes taught me things I had never heard before (esp. the New Testament and Church History classes). The greatest difference now is that I can see the big picture of the Christian Faith more clearly. As a result, I can better understand and communicate our Faith. I am very much looking forward to taking further classes after this ordination and learning even more.
God grew and prepared me through CLI, but this ordination will also give our church more credibility. Ordained for ministry in Germany is better received when it come from a place like CLI. It will help people be more open towards our new Community with a Pastor who has an external approval as an Ordained Minister.
One of my favorite Bible stories is the parable commonly referred to as the Prodigal Son. In 2004, I was that younger brother: Coming home to God full of guilt, shame and embarrassment. But God showed me how much He loved me and rejoiced over my decision to return to Him. More than 12 years later, He calls me to be a Pastor. I’m not worthy of or ready for this calling. I can’t do it by myself. But I do know that God equips those He calls. I know He is trustworthy and a perfect Father. And that’s why my family and I continue to pursue this calling. Not because of us, but because of God’s love and faithfulness.
Our prayer is that God will use AIC to bring the full truth about Jesus to as many people as possible. We would be grateful for your prayer support towards this goal.
Thank you CLI for giving called leaders like me the opportunity to fulfill their calling.
In Christ’s love,
Bernd Armbruster
Light Among The Darkness
Living in Los Angeles is like living in constant spiritual warfare. Christians are a light among the darkness here. There is so much consistently fighting for our attention, it can very be difficult to find a place of solace where you can talk to God. I grew up in a suburban town of Los Angeles County. My father has been the minister of our church since 1986. Looking back to childhood, I cannot remember a time when I did not know the Lord. I grew up never questioning if Jesus Christ was my savior. My dad baptized me by my request in 1992, I was 9 years old. I knew I loved Jesus and I knew He was my savior, but I did not really understand what that meant. I had not experienced enough of the world to understand how badly we all really need Jesus.
As I grew into my teen years, social pressures and selfish desires began to sink their claws into me. Slowly, I was moving away from God. I was worrying more about pleasing my peers than pleasing my Heavenly Father. By the time I got to college my relationship with the Lord was leaning towards the non-existent. I dropped out of college and worked just enough to support my social life. Alcohol and vanity blinded me from what was truly important. Los Angeles is filled with innumerable opportunities for self-degradation. Every minute of every day, it seems, that our minds are being persistently bombarded with the temptations of sin. We need a lot more of Jesus in Los Angeles. I hope to be Lord’s aid in spreading that light among the darkness.
The Lord is gracious and He brought back me back to Him. Not only did He save me, He also gave me a husband who knows Jesus as his savior and was baptized by my father in our church. Together, my husband and I hope to impact the lives of many by bringing the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ. In 2016, just a month after our daughter was born, my dad was diagnosed with advanced stage Leukemia. It was this terrible news that the Lord used for good to call my husband and I into the ministry. God put it on our hearts to start some family outreach ministries and we have been blessed with church growth. My ministry goal would be to follow in my dad’s footsteps and keep our church alive and thriving, but I know that it is not always my choice. I submit to the will of the Lord and will pursue the paths that has planned for me. I may not know what God holds for my future, but I know that this is exactly where I am supposed to be right now.
This year, my husband became a deacon of our church and my father began mentoring and formally training us both to take over his roles in the church one day. The Lord lead me to Christian Leadership Institute and both my husband and I enrolled the next day. Upon completing my first certification, I plan to start a women’s Bible Study while continuing my education and training. It is truly amazing how the Lord works in our lives. The Bible says when Jesus Christ returns, He will come like a thief a night. That is exactly how He moved into my heart. My plans and life goals changed overnight. My view of the world changed overnight. My relationship with God changed overnight. Suddenly, there was a light among the darkness.
As I continue on this journey to fulfill the plans God has for me, I ask for prayers from my brothers and sisters in Christ that my family will remain strong and faithful in the face of adversity. Everyday, I resubmit myself to will of the Lord and try to keep my eyes on Him, knowing all I do will be for His glory and glorification of His kingdom. I see many lost souls everyday searching, reaching, hoping for something better, never to find it, never to feeling truly complete. As the world around them encourages further debauchery, they distance themselves even further from the One True God. I want to bring these people to the light, to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Only with the love of Jesus and Holy Spirit in our hearts can we ever feel truly whole.
Check out more CLI stories on the CLI Facebook page
Life in the Son
CLI student, Beth Stevenson, has realized her calling after running away from it for 15 years, Stevenson has started a ministry called Life in the Son.
Read her story below:
I am Beth Stevenson, I am from the United States, and I have lived here all of my life. I was the baby of six kids, in the small town of Alliance, Ohio. I attended church all my life but didn’t really come to know God, and have a relationship with Him, until 3 years ago.
My father’s death and a variety of other things, that God allowed to happen in 2013, lead me back to God and the plan He had for my life. Little did I know He had been calling me into ministry for approximately 15 years. God has a way of doing things in his own time.
God had given me a vision of what type of ministry I would be leading early on, but I ran from it. Finally, in 2015, I said yes to God and the plan He had for my life. Doing ministry, in Alliance, is such a great opportunity to reach the lost souls in the area. We are a free country and are truly blessed to be so. We understand that some countries aren’t as fortunate.
I opened up Life in the Son Ministries. Life in the Son is a coffee shop/soup kitchen that serves the less fortunate. We are a donation based ministry and run on the nickels and dimes that are put in our offering jar daily.
I am truly living my dream and I give God all the praise, honor, and glory for it. My title is Pastor. We don’t necessarily have a sanctuary in our building. The streets are our sanctuary. We believe in being the hands and feet of Jesus. We go wherever we’re called.
God has worked with me and has raised me up to be a conqueror and to be motivated to lead with compassion, but also with love. I’ve come through enough things that had the power to destroy me and the ministry, which has made me determined to do what God has called me to do, even if it hurts sometimes. When God calls you, He doesn’t let it rest.
I have unique challenges every day in the ministry I do. We work with a lot of less fortunate people by feeding them a meal, as well as the word of God. We deal with the mentally ill, the homeless, small families that struggle, veterans that fall through the cracks, and also city workers that need lunch and devotions.
February will be 2 years in ministry for us and we are just now getting support from our local church. I don’t get a lot of support from local congregations, being a woman in a pastoral position. I find myself trying to get the point across that we are ALL called, it doesn’t matter if we’re male or female. I do attend the local pastor’s meeting. At these meetings, I am respected for my position. I try to remember I’m not called to fit in.
My family has supported me greatly and I get a lot of respect for my ministering goals. My kids really love the ministry and have a heart for the clientele we serve. They have really taken part in serving in the ministry and that makes me happy. Our children have taken part in everything from painting, lettering windows, helping to serve meals, and even outreach events. It blesses me to see what God is doing in their lives, as we serve. The ministry has brought us together in so many ways. I thank God every day for the restoration he’s bringing. Someday, I can see us opening a second location and serving in another neighboring population.
CLI was literally a Godsend. I needed accountability in the area of studying and knowing God’s word. I was blessed to find the training offered here at CLI. I look forward to the doors that will be opening for me during and after my training is complete. God is so faithful to give the things we need, right when we need them. This scholarship is a big door that’s been opened and I thank CLI for everything. God Bless this ministry richly.
Please pray for strength while in ministry, as well as funding. Thank you.
Check out more CLI stories on the CLI Facebook page.