Hi, my name is Vince Vos. This is my story.
In 1993, I was called into the ministry via prophetic word with my name called out of a congregation of about 2000 members. My dreams were shattered after this because I didn’t want to become a pastor. My life plan was to go make money, and I was already accepted at two universities in South Africa, top universities. Now God was interfering in my life, so I thought.
I went as an obedient child of God should do and a respected member of the community, I had just finished school with distinction and exceptional leadership accomplishments in various fields. I was not on my way to waste my life to become a pastor.
In 1996, the Toronto Blessing hit the world, the AFM Charismatic churches were drinking it in without hesitation. Then there came a problem in the charismatic churches in South Africa, and this was the break I was waiting for to get on that boat that did not go to Nineveh.
My journey of fleeing started. I got involved with a girl that I thought God sent, because, even though I was not in God’s will, I was sure He still looked after me and carried on. The relationship lasted two years and then it was over. Three weeks after it was over, she contacted me and told me she was pregnant. As family values go and due to family pressure (though I did not seek God’s will in that), we got married.
Eight years down the line, she called me one day and told me that she was unfaithful for three of the eight years we were married. But this didn’t stop me. I had money, businesses, and a lot more, except God, though I went to visit Him every Sunday. I thought I could fix this for the sake of the children, so we relocated to Johannesburg because the town we were living in was too small for this mighty businessman that got cheated on.
But there always was a hunger in me, I developed a complex of “WHY” …… why was I never good enough, why did it seem the more success I had in business the more my life went to shreds, etc. The devil knew exactly how to fix that; he brought me into contact with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Before long I was recognized as a leader, a head of security, a white collar gangster. I had lots of money behind me and a license to decide who, where and when people lived. I ruled Johannesburg South in almost every division. We were the gods of that town. People knew when we entered and when we left. Hijackers were my main meal, and I dealt with them in the worst ways possible. Violence was my tool of choice and torture was my specialty. My violence was fueled by the question deep inside myself, “Why was I never good enough?”
Separation and divorce from my wife were happening when I met a the woman that changed everything (deep inside of me I always asked God to send the right person that would help me out of this mess). This woman began to pray for me, every day for three years.
By 2012, I had been through a divorce, lost three businesses and was in the process of financial bankruptcy. The authorities were all over me. I had nine GBH cases against me, with eight of them as attempted murder. The backup and the money were gone. I only had my family that persecuted me, laughed at me and tried to get me in jail. Jeremiah 12:6 was a reality in my life.
The people I loaned money to, hundreds of thousands, disappeared from the scene. Only one woman stayed on her knees and prayed for me for three years. In this same time, her ex-husband wanted her back. He knew a lot of people, so in September he published a blog article on social media blaming me (with a photo of me) for not getting his ex-wife back. This accusation was untrue. I never interfered with his interactions with her. I was fighting a battle of my own to stay out of jail with the possible sentence of 15 years correctional.
Then in September 2012, her ex-husband shot himself and circulated a letter to every police station and every person he knew, accusing me of doing it. Overnight, I was in the spotlight again. My family believed the lies, and so did many others. The situations seemed hopeless. No one was there to stand up for me except for her. Through all the emotional turmoil, she was fasting and praying.
Mercifully, God took away all the cases. However, he allowed the consequences of my actions to break me down. In three years, I could not get one single job, even though I was a qualified IT, specialist. I sent 1097 cv’s to applications and had three interviews, but God closed all doors and windows so that He and He alone could heal, build and restore me.
I have never been so close to God as now, sometimes I can feel the Holy Spirit when he is moving, I received gifts from the Holy Spirit in wisdom and teaching.
The vision I have is to get the body of Christ ready for his coming. I have a vision to start my ministry where people will come for help, repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ. I have a vision for growth and revival in my area and throughout the world. John 4:24 IT IS TIME TO WORSHIP GOD IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH!
Currently, I don’t have any form of income, but I trust GOD cause He is my provider and my redeemer.
Madeleine has since become my helper in the ministry and my prayer warrior when we fight against the devil as we are instructed to do in Ephesians 6.
My journey has been one of many tears, blood, hurt, money, power, sorrow, and then new life in Christ. God lead me to Christian Leaders Institute so that I can grow in knowledge and be a more effective part of the body of Christ.
I hope this testimony blesses you. May you be enriched in God’s grace and truth. Until the Lord Jesus returns, shine for Him.
Shalom
Street Preaching
CLI graduate, Kimberly Eady, has gone from an empty life on the streets to street preaching in the fullness of God.
My name is Kimberly Eady, and I am 44 years old and I live in Detroit, Michigan in the United States of America. I have three grown children.
I am the Founder and Pastor of Preaching The Gospel Ministries, which is a small Ministry in Detroit, Michigan.
We have full outdoor church services in the spring and summer.
I was brought up as a Baptist, and I remember that my father used to take my sister Crystal and me to church almost every Sunday.
Kimberly ended up running away to the streets where things went bad fast. Kimberly experience of living on the streets has led her to street preaching years later.
As I became a teenager, I started quickly disobeying my father and began to hang in the streets of Detroit. I started drinking alcohol and quickly became an alcoholic. This brought me into being a runaway. I ended up living on the streets and became a prostitute. My life had seemed hopeless. But by the Grace and Mercy of God, my family got me out of the streets and back home.
As the years went by, I again fell away from God, and I became very depressed. But on September 4, 1994, my sister came to my house and invited me to go to church with her. Of course, I said no and she left me a small booklet that talked about Heaven and Hell. After she had left, I read the booklet and it scared me. Later that evening, I went to church, and during the altar call, I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. The very next week I was baptized and started attending church faithfully with my children.
Fifteen years after Kimberly became a Christian, she felt the call to street preaching so she could share the truth and her faith with others.
On September 11, 2009, God called me to preach. My children and I started handing out Gospel tracts, Bibles, New Testaments in the streets of Detroit, Michigan. Then I started a Homeless Street Ministry, in which we feed the homeless, preach to them and give them Bibles, New Testaments, etc.
A few years later, I started a tiny local church in Detroit, Michigan. We started having outdoor church services and started having services on the corner in my neighborhood too. The ministry that I started does not receive any donations or support, but God provides everything we need.
CLI has helped Kimberly to grow in her street preaching and the knowledge of God.
When I started my first class here at Christian Leaders Institute, I thought it would be an average learning experience. But I was dead wrong! As I got into my class, something just began to change in me. The training and knowledge that I have gotten just in my first class alone has been incredible. It has taught me how to become closer to God, to have a better prayer life and is bringing out the true leader in me. It has shown me that this Bible Institute is for real because it is structured and built upon God’s Holy Word. It gives you a strong foundation to stand on and goes deep into God’s Word.
I am so excited to have just finished my first class and am honored to receive my Christian Leaders Basic Certificate. Having this certificate makes me proud of myself, gives me a sense of accomplishment, and confidence. I am very excited about getting a scholarship to continue my education here.
Without Christian Leaders Institute giving me a scholarship, I would not be able to afford to go to a Bible Institute.
I recommend Christian Leaders Institute to anyone who wants to get a great quality education that is built upon the foundation and principles of the Holy Bible.
The last thing I want to say is: Please help and support Christian Leaders Institute because without them so many people including myself would not be able to get a good solid education.
Vision For The Youth – CLI Raising Up Christian Leaders
CLI Graduate, Samone Johnson has a vision for the youth to be mighty warriors for Christ. Samone has had challenges that have strengthened her vision for the youth for God.
I currently live in the United States of America, in the very liberal state of California. There was a time when you could openly evangelize and spread hope in through the Gospel, but now it is harder to say the name, Jesus, without someone condemning you or giving you negative feedback.
I came to know the Lord for myself in my early twenties, after living a life filled with sin. I was involved in drinking, smoking marijuana, and premarital relations. I knew of God as a child, but I didn’t grow up in a home with Christ at the center. I grew tired of living in a state of despair because of the sin filled decisions I was making, and surrendered my life and began pursuing discipleship and then a Biblical education.
Samone is starting to achieve her vision for the youth through being a mentor and author.
I currently mentor, and I have written curriculum for young people coming to know the Lord. It would be my ministry dream to work alongside my husband evangelizing to young people through conferences and concerts for the Kingdom. I also am an author, so I pray that I can continue to reach people through my books. I write Christian Fiction novels, with real life situations. I’d like to see one of those books reach the broken and make a difference in their life, the way that Christ has made an enormous difference in mine.
I identify the most with evangelist, small group leader, and youth leader. These are all roles that I have been in before and currently exercise my gifts in those capacities. I get the most fulfillment mentoring young women and even some mature women that are young in their faith and walk with God.
Samone’s vision for the youth has come from her growing up without anyone ministering to her.
After God got a hold of my heart and I stopped running from my calling, I knew right off the back that I wanted to work with young people. I wished that there had been someone that invested in me at a young age. I had tons of people around, but no took the time to invest truly in me and bring Christ and hope to my life. I love having the opportunity to sow into my kids at this time.
The challenges that I see in my geographical area are those that come with a purpose and identity crisis. Many young and mature people don’t know their true identity in the Lord, and by that, they do not have a clear vision for their purpose in life. So many fall prey to gang violence, prostitution, drugs, and alcohol, to soothe their broken spirits. Those are the ones that my husband and I so desperately try to reach through our ministry.
Samone’s local church as been encouraging her in her vision for the youth and giving her opportunities for her to grow.
My local church has supported my ministry by first grooming me to be a leader. I’ve gone through leadership training but never an ordination. I was able to work with young people, inside the walls of the church and also outside. I have been entrusted with a degree of authority within the leadership chain.
My family is my first ministry. Before any title is given, I am a wife and mother to three amazing kids. My husband and I share a ministry together, and we support one another on every level possible. Our children are very much a part of that, and in the home we introduce them to the love, knowledge, and Word of God. We pray together and also play together in ways that instill Christian values. Christ is center, in our home.
CLI, has given Samone the ability to get an education that will give her more knowledge as her vision for the youth progress.
Finding CLI is a blessing to me on many levels. I started pursuing a ministerial degree at one point, but I was hit within many years of sickness that lead me to step away from the Bible College I was attending. I acquire a lot of debt with student loans, for an education that I was never able to complete. Now that I walk in my total healing and a new season, I was aching to find the right opportunity to fit the lifestyle for my family and myself. I want others in the secular realm to know that I am certified in my studies. Also, I have the validation to back up what has been given through His Word and Spirit, and all that has been poured into me by others.
Please pray for support. My husband and I have labored for many years together and at times we get discouraged. Others use the resources, but never fully support the vision that God has given us to steward. We love to network and support other ministries, and we have yet to make lasting relationships to build from for the Kingdom.