My name is Janice Lopez. I was born in Guayama, Puerto Rico, but I was raised from age three in Boston, Mass. My childhood was pretty tough with a lot of ups and downs. My family was poor. My mother and father worked hard to try to make ends meet. My home situation wasn’t ideal with parents that had a lot of marital problems among other things.
I always felt a desire to seek God. My parents weren’t churchgoers and did not speak much about God, but I always felt something inside me for Him. I tried to ask friends, talked with different religious people, and would jump on buses that came around our neighborhood taking people to church. I was somehow seeking him. It was hard with everything else going on, and as I got older, it became more difficult. My parents separated, and my mother and I moved to Florida.
As I became a teenager, I got into things I shouldn’t have been getting into like drinking and drugs, etc. I met my older daughter’s father when I was in high school and we fell in love. I got pregnant with my daughter at 18, and we moved in together. He passed away when I was 19, and I was left a single parent of a one-year-old. At that time I went through a period of depression and darkness. I got involved in a relationship way too soon out of loneliness and had a daughter by that relationship. Then I again was a single mother, now of two girls.
A neighbor invited my mother and me to a Bible study she held at her apartment with her pastor. My mother and I went to the Bible study and there I was saved. I will never forget that day. My life and the way I looked at things completely changed. I started going to her church and became active in the church.
Since then I have had my ups and downs, but I have always tried to keep active with church somehow. One day, I met the person who is now my best friend. She completely changed my life by having Christian fellowship with me. She would read me scriptures, and she would pray for me. She has made such an impact on my life. Now I am involved in a church where I currently lead the children’s ministry. I love the children’s ministry and feel I am called to this. But I also have a passion for speaking and reaching women and youth. I am a shy person when it comes to speaking in front of people or to a crowd, so I don’t know how I would lead because of this. But I do know that God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called. If this is something He is calling me to do, it will be done and he will equip me for it.
In the mean time, I will continue to learn and grow in the knowledge of God. I feel that the teaching at CLI will help me in getting me prepared for whatever God will lead me to do.I am very grateful to the people at CLI because without this free education as a single mother I would not be able to afford schooling like this. My ultimate goal in wherever God leads me is to preach the gospel and help those who are in need by showing them the love of Jesus Christ. My pastor and my church are amazing. I thank my pastor and his wife because they take the time to help and show me what I need to be equipped. They are such understanding and compassionate people that have such a heart for God and are active in making an impact on our city. They treat everyone like family and are there whenever any question or problem may arise. I feel God has placed many people in my life strategically. I believe my church and CLI are definitely part of God’s design to push me towards where he is leading me.
My name is Jerry O’Brian. I was born in 1981 in the small town of Paintsville, KY in the United States of America to a holy preacher and a stay at home Mom. I was the second birth of a set of identical twins. From the beginning of our lives it seemed we were destined to go on to do great works for God.
The church has always been a big part of my life. I was raised in a home with four others siblings, and we were taught from our youth the importance of giving our lives for the Lord and abstaining from the world and the evils it contains.
As time went on each of us kids starting contributing to the church. Each of us either started playing a musical instrument in church or singing or both. God’s hand was always on us. Looking back on it now, I didn’t realize as a kid how much that would play into the men and women that we turned out to be.
A significant turning point in our lives occurred when I and my twin brother were freshmen in high school. One night while traveling home, we were involved in a car accident when we were struck head-on by a drunk driver. The impact was devastating. But even through it all, we knew to call on the name of Jesus. After everything cleared, my mother, father, and sister almost died, and my twin brother was left paralyzed from the chest down. The individual that hit us died instantly leaving behind a young child back at home. I still feel for her soul to this day.
As we grew up, the scriptures and worship of God made more sense. The Spirit of God had over time revealed more and more of himself to us, making us stronger in our walk with God. We more openly testified in church and carried Bibles with us at the high school. Our musical talents increased. My twin brother was blessed with the ability to play a splendid lead guitar by the grace of God (God used his arms for his Glory). I was blessed to be able to play the drums for our gospel group.
It was during this time that I felt a strong calling for the ministry. I would be outside by myself, and I could hear the Spirit preaching a message to me. It flowed so freely! It felt so good, but I was afraid. Instead of embracing the calling, I ran from it. I had fears such as “What if I mess up?” or “I’m so young, am I sure that God is calling me?” Because of my upbringing I was never one to say that God did this or that without knowing for sure. And at this time of my life I wasn’t sure of myself.
Fast forward to 2014. I was now married to a wife that only God could give, and we had three beautiful children. I was still in church, playing drums, with my Dad and twin brother. All of my brothers are ordained ministers, and I was the only one that hadn’t stepped out into the calling. But then I again felt the calling to the ministry. The only difference was that I was older, more mature, and understood more about the Bible. I was filled with the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues, and best of all, I knew God was the one calling me.
I knew that seminary school wasn’t for me. How could I even afford it with a wife and three children? But I wanted to be ordained, and I wanted knowledge. That’s when I looked online for Bible schools that offer ordination. Now I didn’t want some place that said send me money, and we’ll make you a minister. I wanted a school that cared about training people and wanted them to earn it, not just be given it like the ministry was something the world could give. Ministry isn’t defined by a certificate anyway. It’s defined by the revelation from God upon those whom he chooses to “preach the gospel to every nation”.
That’s when I stumbled onto Christian Leaders Institute. Something about the organization spoke to me. They had a clear objective to train people in the ministry, but only if they were serious. And they weren’t concerned about your background or how much money you had. They were only concerned with your relationship with God and helping you to achieve what God wanted for you. They didn’t judge, they only expounded on the Word of God and taught what it taught. They didn’t try to change you, but only help you understand and follow God’s word.
This ministry training has meant so much to me. All of the hours spent in front of the computer, and all of the time spent listening to lectures and flipping through pages of the Bible has all been an incredible experience. It was taken something that God started long ago in a young man in Kentucky and helped it to flourish into the man God has always wanted me to be. I am eternally grateful to Christian Leaders Institute for their hard work and dedication to training people like myself to be leaders that God can use to reach the lost.
Since I started at Christian Leaders Institute in September of 2014 I have preached about six sermons and the knowledge that I gained here has helped me in my messages. It has been a little challenge as far as preaching in front of other ministers that have been doing it far longer than I have. But my mentor (my Dad) has helped me to see that it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been preaching because real preaching comes from above.
My plans as an ordained minister are to go on and one day start a church with my twin brother to help reach even more lost souls in our community. I also plan on extending my studies with the Christian Leaders Institute to at minimum achieve a Diploma in Ministry.
My request in prayer is that you would pray that I always abide by the will of God throughout my ministry and always look to him for wisdom, comfort and refuge in times of trouble. As sure as I am that God’s hand has been with me throughout my life to serve and do his will, I am equally as sure that he will help me continue my journey. And God has used Christian Leaders Institute as part of that help.
My name is Kevin Bloss, a forty-two-year-old husband, and business owner, living in Round Lake, Illinois, USA. My wife, Laura, and I have owned and operated a dog care facility (daycare, boarding, grooming, training and retail) for over eight years. We are blessed to be able to partner together in ministry, in life and as business owners. People often marvel how we can work so closely together every day, but for us it is a blessing. The Lord brought us together and made us a team, not only in marriage but in all aspects of our life. Granted there is tension at times, but we help each other remain focused on Jesus. We also try to be a light to people that we come into contact with every day, whether that is employees, customers or random strangers.
My wife and I haven’t always been Christ followers. As a matter of fact, I spent the better part of forty years living in the flesh; seeking only to satisfy the temptations of this world. At the time that I am writing this, I have only been a follower of Christ for a little over two years. However, in that [short] time, Jesus has grabbed hold of me and began a work in me that I can only describe as “fast, intense Holy Spirit transformation!” I did not grow up in a Christian home, nor did I have any exposure to a church of any sort. Following a safe and loving, middle-class upbringing and a subsequent college degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I found myself satisfying every temptation and carnal desire with no regard for myself or others.
I left a failed marriage in my wake along with countless run-ins with the law. In 2003, I found myself in rehab for an addiction primarily to crystal meth and alcohol. Following my time in rehab and living in a half-way house, I seemed to be “back on track.” I was able to salvage a career in banking and met my beautiful bride Laura. A few years went by, and we seemed to be doing a good job of managing our life. In 2006, we made the collective decision to leave our careers and take on our dream of opening a dog daycare. Unbeknownst to us, the Lord was getting ready to rock our world in a way to draw Laura to Him first, and myself six months later.
In January 2012, my secret double life as a sex-addict was exposed. To convey the depth of my addiction, I confessed to decades of sexual impurity from porn to prostitutes. This revelation was about to change both of our lives in a way we could never have imagined. By God’s grace and mercy, Laura did not leave me; He used her to help me. Initially, I sought secular treatment and my previous experience in twelve step meetings seemed a natural remedy.
After a few months, Laura was still struggling and sought the comfort that only Jesus could provide. She, with a similar “non-religious” background, sought out the Church. Laura gave her life to Christ, and He immediately began to transform her. As the “good” husband I now was, I encouraged her new found faith, but I maintained my distance. In the meantime, her new church family started to pray for me, and people began to be intentional with me. There were other subtleties at work, but I mostly noticed the change in Laura. I can still remember the day when she looked me in the eyes and told me she forgave me. Granted, she had said this to me earlier in the year, but this time it was different, and I knew that it was. Jesus was working in her life in immeasurable ways.
Christmas Eve 2012 I agreed to attend a Christmas Eve service to make her happy. I had no idea what was to come and certainly didn’t know that a partial raising of my hand, in response to a powerful and emotional altar call, would be all that it would take. I cracked open the door of invitation and Jesus kicked it in the rest of the way! In a few short weeks following that service, I was meeting with the pastors, listening to what they were telling me and found that I had an unquenchable fire for the Word of God. I was a new creation; the old life was gone, and a new life had surely begun!
Since giving my life to Christ on Christmas Eve 2012, I seek to know Him more and more every day, and I can’t get enough of His Word. I have since immersed myself in His church, and the leadership has invested more and more time in me and my growth. Christian Leaders Institute is helping to foster and advance that growth. Additionally, I have been tasked with putting together an internal seminary track for my leaders and pastors of our church. I am being groomed for a future executive pastor role, and CLI is helping to sharpen my spiritual gifts!
A scholarship from Christian Leaders Institute will help me pursue God’s plans for my life. I seek to raise up other leaders in the body of Christ and desire to share the gospel with unbelievers and young believers. I feel that God might be preparing me to help other people struggling with addictions that are seeking to interfere with a God honoring walk. I hope people can look at me, hear my story, and want what I now have: a life filled with contentment and joy that can only be found in Christ.
I ask for prayer for being a good steward of the fruit the Lord has blessed me with. I ask for prayer that I do not fall prey to my pride and arrogance that has dominated most of my life. I pray that I can help to raise up other disciples and leaders for Christ and continue to point to Him for all glory and praise