God has given each of us a revival story. For some of us, it’s a story about coming back to God after straying. For others, it’s an experience of coming to God after years of not knowing him.
Benjamin’s revival story is one of wandering away for a time. He talks about wandering away from the faith. And coming back to the faith through the insistent pull of God on his heart.
Benjamin grew up under the care of a mother who was devoted to God. Despite being a single mother and very busy, she took the time to get her family together for devotions at least 4 times a week. She taught them to read the word of God. To approach the throne of God with thanksgiving in song and prayer. She taught them to hide God’s word in their heart so that they would always have His words to anchor their souls.
But because they lived in a poor town, they were only able to attend church once in a great while. And when he grew older, Benjamin at first continued this. In his years of college, Benjamin even decided that he would walk away from Christianity to try some other faiths. But by the time he finished college, the Lord had called him back to the family he really belonged to – God’s family.
On the road back to the deep things of the faith, Benjamin felt the call of God to become a pastor. But Benjamin was still very young in the faith. He knew that in order to be an effective pastor in the kingdom of God, he would have to get more training in the word of God. As he was looking for a way to do that without stretching his funds beyond his means, Benjamin came across Christian Leaders Institute.
If you would like to grow in your knowledge of the word of God or in your practical knowledge of relating to God and others as a Christian, click here to enroll in classes today. CLI would love to be a part of your revival story as God works through you for His glory!
You can read Benjamin’s story in his own words below.
My name is Benjamin Kobea Mensah, I was born 1991 in Accra, Ghana. Just after completing kindergarten my mom moved with me and my siblings from Accra to a town in the Central Region of Ghana called Agona Swedru. In our new home my mom struggled with some help from my stepdad to make ends meet. We only attended church few times a year because my mom could not afford to send us every Sunday, so she organizes us for morning devotion at least four times a week. As a single parent she tried to raise us in a Christian way. She taught us to read the bible, sing, pray and even memorize verses of the bible.
At a point a new Corp of The Salvation Army was established in our neighbourhood who we decided to attend to fellowship with despite the fact that we were Presbyterians. We fellowshipped with them for some time but lost morale due to hardships in life. By the grace of God I graduated from Basic School to Senior High school. From high school to the university, I attended church service only ones in a while at different churches. Whiles in the university I tasted other faiths including Hinduism mainly out of curiosity and I have learn a lot from doing that. Just when I completed my study in the University, I re-joined The Salvation Army Faith and have reconnect with Christ since then.
There has always being that natural feeling to connect with God which pushes me to seek for God in various different ways. I have always had the feeling to do the work of God and even in times when I was not fellowshipping with any church, I sort admission into a theological seminary which I was refused admission because I was not affiliated to any church or ministry. At the moment I have a strong desire to take up ministry as far as I can go with it.
Currently I am serving as the youth leader of my church. I see myself as a pastor even though I am not so much of a good at speaker. At the moment, I want to help revive my church by first reviving the youth ministry. I want to encourage my members to get serious about spreading the gospel and winning souls for Christ. In the long run, I want to encourage college or tertiary preaching of the gospel. Currently commendable work is done to spread the gospel among students on our campuses in Ghana but little is contributed by The Salvation Army Church which I want to help improve. I was surprised to hear there was a Salvation Army Student body in my school which I never heard of in my five years stay on the campus. Preaching the gospel of Christ, teaching the doctrine and propagating the rich culture of The Salvation Army among students on various campuses in the country is my major dream.
From the knowledge and experience that I have acquired, I have come to realize that the ultimate purpose of man on earth is to reconnect to God. Through the sin of our fore parents we have all being contaminated with sin that has created a gap between us and God our maker. It is therefore our duty to reconnect to that Supreme Father of ours and the way to do this is to please him with our deeds in all our actions and endeavours. I have come to realize that the mere attending of church services is not enough to reconnect us to the father but constant rendering of service in a spirit of devotion to the Lord is the only way. For this reason I opted to pursue ministry as a way of devotion to his service.
As a leader in my church, a need to get knowledge and skills in areas such as bible knowledge, speaking skills, preparation of sermon and other vital areas that my success in ministry will depend on. Aside that, a physical evidence (a certificate) that shows that one has acquired knowledge in ministry or theology has become so important and a scholarship from CLI will come in handy in that respect.
At the moment I consider myself to be a neophyte in ministry and it is my prayer and request that I grow in the spirit to become a great soul. I acknowledge that this endeavour is not an easy one and request that you pray for Gods mercies in my ministry.
Never Too Late to Become a Pastor
The fact is at CLI it is never too late to become a pastor with this training. Some people are called to ministry early in life with years ahead of them. They can go to a college focused on getting their degree in theology. They can get student loans for a seminary that can be paid back throughout the remaining years of their lives. But what if God calls people who are already well past the prime college years of their lives? It’s often very difficult for people who are called late in life to find training. They have careers. They have families. They often can’t obtain student loans for a seminary degree, especially since a full-time ministry position would often be a large salary cut for them.
Chong Cha Lo is one person that is called late in life. He initially felt the call of God on his heart when he was still young, but he chose to pursue a different career instead. Now, many years later, he’s been called to ministry. He experienced that it is never too late to become a pastor when God is leading. But like so many who are more advanced in life, Chong can’t attend a seminary. He works a lot of hours in pursuit of his calling already. He’s been thrust into a position that he wasn’t prepared for due to some unforeseen events. He needed training that would fit his schedule, not training he would have to fit his schedule to.
Chong found that when he discovered Christian Leaders Institute. All the classes were online, which meant he could study when he had time. They are funded entirely by donations, so he didn’t have to spend money he didn’t have. And he didn’t have to relocate or drive hours to attend a classroom location.
You can read Chong Cha Lo’s story in his own words below, but if you’re called to ministry training we encourage you to create an account and take the first class. Just click here to get started immediately.
My name is Chong Cha Lo and I live in California, USA. Although I have been a Christian since the young age of 13, I never took God’s call to serve him as a pastor seriously until recently. When I graduated from high school, I felt then a call to His service, but instead opted to attend college to pursue a different profession.
I spent nearly twenty-two years in the profession I chose, and although it was rewarding financially, I always felt that there was still something missing. I did not feel that I was doing what God put on this earth to do. Well, several years ago, my local church went through a difficult time and the pastor left with more than half of the membership. I volunteered to help give sermons to the remaining membership on Sundays. After two years, the membership asked me to get ordained and become pastor of the church. After much praying, my wife and I agreed. I feel now that I know what my life purpose is, which is to be an ambassador for HIm.
I feel that I still have a lot to learn as a new pastor and having not attended seminary, I needed an online program that will accommodate my work schedule. I found CLI through Web-search, as though God was leading me to you. Thank you. I hope to take more classes and gain valuable insight and skill to help me in this new role, of course, with the Lord’s guidance and provision. God Bless CLI.