Recently someone challenged me on the reason high quality ministry training is free at Christian Leaders Institute. This person was very impressed with the curriculum. He thought the quality of our accredited professors would be a quality line up in many accredited Seminaries. He believed that students should be paying seminary tuition for these courses.
I mentioned that generous supporters give almost $700,000 annually. Included in these numbers are the donations of students. I told him that in December of 2013 over 200 students gave nearly $10,000. I really thought that this would impress him. It certainly impressed me. He responded by challenging me with more questions.
The Challenges to Pastoral Ministry Training Free of Charge
The questions he asked included: “Why are you doing this? Why are you keeping it free? What don’t you make the students pay a fair price? You have a great business model. You could monetize your assets. You could get a higher end student base, and you could sell them books and classes.”
I responded, “Jesus did not charge his disciples and Paul did not charge Timothy.” I really think that the Kingdom should give everyone the opportunity to be trained with the highest quality possible ministry training free of charge.
“You can’t save the world with your good intentions. If you make your students pay, you will get better students you do not have to strive to get donors to give,” He said. “You do all this work to try to get me and others to give so that you give this away for free.”
Why Ministry Training Should be Available Free of Charge
This discussion made me consider again the question of free. Why do I think the Kingdom of God should give every potential leader the opportunity for high quality ministry training, whether they are poor or rich?
I prayed and searched the scriptures seeking to identify my motivation. Is my calling to raise up leaders? Yes, clearly. Is it possible to do because we can use technology to keep cost low? Yes, that too. Did God gift me to do this and give to me the disposition to serve Christ this way. Yes, I believe that. Do I love big challenges, which include solving big problems including giving everyone the best possible ministry training for free. Yes. I love big challenges. Do I like systems where motivated leaders raise to the top? Yes. Do I think we need to raise up thousands of leaders to bring revival? Yes. Do I think that God will use pretty rough people who have no money or opportunity to be the future church leaders? Yes! Do I think that the “Accreditation” system is just simple unjust because it keeps high quality ministry training out of the reach of most called leaders? Yes, with no offense to my friends in the world of accredited academia. I believe that for the majority of called leaders this is true.
But the answer came to me when I was talking to one of our thousand of students. She is a widow with teenage children from Gary, Indiana. She lost her husband over a decade ago leaving her with no money. As I heard her story, I felt a deep and Godly love for her. I wanted her to have everything we offered free of charge. She told me of her calling to minister to other women who faced great harm and loss.
Honestly, I don’t want her to pay for anything. I really love her as a sister in the Lord. It is not just about calling to train leaders. I want to bring all my calling, passion and gifts to the table so that this woman warrior gets what she needs.
I believe she is a high quality student. The highest quality student is the one who is passionate to serve God with her life. It’s not money and resources that determines quality. Does God call people because they’re upper middle class citizens? No! God calls people because He has plans for them. If God calls me to offer free training for these called leaders, who am I to stand in the way of God?
1 John 3:17 But whoso has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him?
So when someone asks me why do you offer advance ministry training free of charge? I know that in my heart I love our brothers and sister in Christ who are called into Christian Leadership. I want to give them what ever I have! I have been given so much. I want to give them what they need!
And honestly, I feel like our students understand this at a level I many never know.
And when God calls somebody to preach the word, there is no choice for them! It doesn’t matter whether they have the money and resources to relocate to a seminary. The apostle Paul tells us, “ For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” If God calls people to Ministry in His kingdom, they will preach His word. They will seek training, because every called leader recognizes their need for training. But if they can’t afford training how can they continue in their calling? But how can they not continue in their calling? Who are we to deny the poor of this world, who God has chosen to be rich in faith, the opportunity to be trained for ministry in His kingdom?
And you know what? I have seen an amazing response from students to this gift. Students who have barely enough to survive have given 50 cents for the month because that was all they had in the bank. They were so grateful for the opportunity to increase in the knowledge of God and of His word that they gave everything they had to give to Him! How can I, in my abundance, look at this incredible spirit of giving and thankfulness to God and want to deny these called leaders ministry training?
God loves this world so much that he sent his only son. God loved me to bring me to salvation. I am called to love our brothers and sisters in need. The need for free ministry training is pressing! I want every called leader to not only be an “evangelist” but a “trained evangelist”. The love of Christ compels me and my love for my brothers and sisters inspires everything we do at CLI. I want to give it all away.
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Christian Leaders Institute Graduates
Graduates in the year 2013
Christian Leaders Institute exists with the purpose of raising up leaders within the kingdom of God. To this end, we offer ministry training to everyone in the world with an internet connection free of charge. Each of the courses that we offer is developed and reviewed by pastors with bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees in theology. We are able to bring this free training to students because of the generosity of our donors and the gifts of many students.
Christian Leaders Institute implemented our current Certificate and Diploma Structure in 2013. This structure allows students to obtain various levels of certificates and diplomas based on their individual needs. Each time a student fulfills the requirements for a certificate or diploma, they are able to immediately print the certificate from within their account. When they receive the Christian Basics Certificate, they are at the first graduate level.
So what is a Christian Leaders Institute graduate? Our first level graduate is somebody who has completed the course Getting Started: Christian Basics Certificate and earned the Christian Basics Certificate. This course goes through the basic concepts and principles essential to Christianity. This course features books by two of our professors at Christian Leaders Institute that are aimed at helping students understand Christian doctrine and how to live it out in their lives. Some students find that this course meets their needs and choose not to continue to any more advanced classes. Many students do not even complete this first certificate level. Out of more than 30,000 people who registered for the Getting Started class in 2013 just over 3,000 completed it.
Other people go on to complete further certificates and diplomas. Each class taken at Christian Leaders Institute is designed to teach students something about what it means to be a leader in the church. Each diploma level takes them deeper into their knowledge and understanding of God’s word and Christianity as a whole.
Who are Christian Leaders Institute Graduates?
Now that’s all well and good, you may say, but who is a graduate? What defines Christian Leaders Institute graduate?
I was chatting with Christian Leaders Institute graduates last night and spent some time conversing with Brittany. Brittany was a young woman of 23 hooked on drugs, sex and alternative music. She was looking to everything the world holds up as entertainment for happiness, but she was falling into despair. Yet, after several relationships void of love God saved her. She felt God’s call to reach other young people. She graduated at the Christian Basics Certificate level and continues to study at CLI. She is thankful CLI is free because she has two different student loans already and would not be able to afford to attend anywhere else to get the high quality training she needs.
I talked to James, a businessman, who has a big dream and a humble calling to plant churches. His schedule is crazy, but CLI fits. He loves that CLI is free to everyone and he supports it. He has graduated with his Continuing Ministry Diploma and is seeking his Commissioned Pastor Diploma.
I talked to Sonia, a Pakistani woman who graduated and is now studying for advanced diplomas. Her dream is to start a mentor center in her church in Pakistan. Because CLI is free she has the freedom to share this ministry training with other leaders in Pakistan.
I talked to Edwin in South Africa, who speaks three languages and is now a graduate student. Edwin is focused on being an evangelist in South Africa and fanning the spark of revival in his nation.
So who are Christian Leaders Institute graduates? How do you profile a student who completes various certificate levels? The answer, on the surface, is not simple. Christian Leaders Institute attracts students from all social classes. People from all over the world study at CLI. Some have money, others have no money. Some are pastors. Some are evangelists. Some are Sunday School teachers. Each person that graduates with the Christian Basics Certificate has a compelling story to tell about their call to ministry, and each story is very different. Yet all of them have one thing in common.
Every student that graduates with a certificate or diploma at Christian Leaders Institute has a desire and a motivation to serve the Lord that goes beyond their circumstances. Each of them has a passion that will not be quenched by the temptations of the world. Each of them is determined to overcome every boundary to preaching the word of God to a dying world. And each of them came to Christian Leaders Institute because we offer the training they need on their schedules and in their budget. Whether their budget is free, 5 dollars, or five thousand dollars, Christian Leaders Institute offers these certificates and diplomas to anybody who is willing to complete them. Graduates are more than people who completed a few courses. They are warriors of Christ who have been fully equipped to overcome the enemy and are headed out to the front lines to fight for Him.
Total Number of Graduates for the Year 2013
Christian Basics Certificate (7 Credits) 3280 Graduates
This certificate examines calling into ministry, walk with God and basic Christian doctrine. This certificate gives foundational knowledge needed to be a Christian leader. This certificate is also foundational for every student at CLI and opens the door to all the other classes and advanced diplomas.
Continuing Ministry Certificate (23 Credits) 285 Graduates
This certificate is perfect for pastors who are ordained but have little formal training.
Christian Leaders Certificate (23 credits) 198 Graduates
This certificate is perfect for church planters and new pastors. This certificate covers the basics of ministry.
Continuing Ministry Diploma (30 Credits) 150 Graduates
This is our first advanced training diploma which is perfect for pastors who are ordained.
Commissioned Pastor Diploma (37 Credits) 26 Graduates
Some denominations and associations require advanced training before ordination. This advanced diploma covers the requirements of most denominations and associations.
Diploma of Ministry (43 Credits) 11 Graduates
This advanced diploma is for those graduates that want to go deeper. This advanced diploma also covers the requirements of most denominations and associations.
Advanced Ministry Diploma (63 Credits) 1 Graduate
This diploma covers most of our courses offered at Christian Leaders Institute. This advanced diploma also covers the requirements of most denominations and associations.
Hey Graduates. Check out the new graduate network.
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Erick Florez is 28 and lives in Panama City, Panama. Panama is booming with economic growth. The Panama Canal is bring updated for bigger ships and much foreign capital has been flowing into Panama. There is a stunning opportunity for the gospel to spread. The need for leaders is increasing and most ministry training has become very expensive. There needs to be a high quality free Bible School in Panama. Christian Leaders Institute seeks to be that ministry training institution.
Erick was raised in a Christian family. He writes,
I grew up in a Christian family. My grandparents are the senior pastors in the church. Although I know the gospel from my childhood, I was away from God for a few years until God was in my search and He caught me with his grace and mercy. He drew me close to him by letting me understand the greatness of his awesome mercy.
I want to serve the Lord with my entire heart. I know God is calling me to preach and to be a leader in my church. God wants to do great things through our church so many people can know Jesus, build a relationship with him and praise God for the things he has done. My main dream is to build a strong Worship Ministry at our church. For many reasons it has weakened. I also want to teach people how to build a personal relationship with God in a practical way, how to go beyond belief to convictions. I want to be useful for church in as many areas as possible.
Free Bible School in Panama Gives Opportunities
Erick finds that Christian Leaders Institute solves two problems for him. First, this Bible School in Panama is free. The other schools are expensive and those options are not financially possible for him. The second problem is that he really needed an online Bible School so he could get the training he needed in his time frame. Erick said,
It has been a blessing to find CLI, I was praying for the opportunity to study in a Bible Institute to get prepared for ministry, but unfortunately the options we have here in Panama are too expensive for my actual budget. The other issue I have is time, so having the opportunity to get prepared online works great for me. I really appreciate having a scholarship from CLI because based on what I have seen so far, I am convinced that I am going to get well prepared. You can be sure that I am totally committed.
Christian Leaders Institute is solving ministry training challenges all over the world. Thousands of new students are signing up every month to receive this online ministry training. New students will immediately begin by taking the Getting Started Class that examines their calling into ministry, their walk with God and knowing basic Christian doctrines. After this Getting Started Class, students are awarded their first certificate called the Christian Basic Certificate. New students world wide are encouraged to find a local mentor to help them process their ministry training journey.
If you are in Panama and understand English, this free Bible school in Panama might be right for you!