Ford Johnson –
“I live in Nigeria and doing ministry here is highly competitive especially for starters like us who may not have the fund to start. Nigeria as a country varies in different States and the State where I reside which is Calabar in Cross River State has the highest cost of living and as such it makes it cost expensive for upcoming Ministers like us.
“I had just returned from Libreville and resumed school in Umuahia Abia State Nigeria at Holy Ghost Secondary School. On the 25th of November 1994, I had been longing for something which I personally did not really know, but the only word which I can use to describe it was a vast void. As I walked into the hall of Scripture Union School Fellowship Nigeria that afternoon, I was amazed to see a boy of about my age preaching the gospel and for sure that was my first time of ever seeing that. Within moment I was convicted and I gave my life to Jesus Christ at the age of 14, then I was in my JSS class.
“My ministry dream is to build a Christian center that will center on prayer and the word. It will be like a fellowship center for all churches and all believers. Our meetings will be held during the week and not on a Sunday morning but once a week and a monthly interdenominational outreach program. It will also have an outreach that will major on Evangelism and crusades for rural areas. We will also partner with NGO’s for rural development. However our Vision is to see the body of Christ come to the knowledge that we are one body.”
Ford Johnson Receives a Scholarship
“It will give me a legitimate platform as a minister of the Gospel. And this is what I have longed for, for over ten years. Having the call of God in my life is not enough, but it is important that I undergo training that will enlighten me in discipline, improve my language skills, and give me the ministerial exposure and training I need for proper scriptural exposition. Truthfully, it will set me up and make me ready to serve God and humanity.
“I would like you to pray for me in three things: For God to give me the financial support I need to start, for God to give me the right boldness to preach the end time massages He wants me to preach, and that I will be duly empowered by Him.”
Ford Johnson has desired to follow the call of God to ministry for several years, but has not had the means to do so. Because of various factors in the area where Ford Johnson resides, it is difficult for a new pastor to enter the ministry scene. However, Ford Johnson has not given up his dream of ministry because of this. Ford Johnson knows that God has called him to the ministry field and that he cannot give up that calling. In searching for a means to pursue the calling, Ford Johnson came to Christian Leaders Institute, where a scholarship will give him the training he needs at no cost to him.
[wp_dp ar=cli_mission_donor subint=both]
Online Preaching Class – At Christian Leaders Institute, Students evaluate the online preaching class and share their reflections. In this class, students survey teachings from some of the great preachers in our era. I thought I would share one reflection with you tonight.
By: Justin Maier
HOW SERMON CONSTRUCTION HAS HELPED ME IN MY PREACHING
Sermon Construction and Presentation was a great online preaching class for me. I have learned a lot from it. It is now helping me in my ministration as a Sunday school teacher in my church, Personal preaching to people and Christian discussion with people to help their faith.
The Following are the things I learned in the online preaching class.
Online Preaching Class: FIRST WEEK LEARNINGS AND ACTION STEP
I learned here what preaching/sermon are and the different types of sermon that we have.
What is a Sermon: It is declaring the unchanging truth of God’s word in a fresh, new, and life-changing way.I Learned that My Sermon Must engage the biblical context, proclaims the gospel, Connects God’s word to the life my audience, Be well organized and Easy to understand, Engage the imagination of my audience, Delivered effectively and orients my audience towards life in God’s word. This online preaching class was very helpful!
I learned Different types of Sermon: Of all the various types of Sermon, i found expository better as it helps into expanding what the Word of God is to the hearer compare to others like Personal Testimony, Bibliography, historical incident, topical, textual, springboard etc.
Online Preaching Class: SECOND WEEK LEARNINGS AND ACTION STEP
I learned how to begin a sermon. In beginning a sermon, I must do the Following
- I must put God First and allow Him to guide me in the messages to preach so as to come out with a message From Him to my audience. I must pray before and throughout my sermon.
- I must pray my way through sermon preparation because I need guidance in what to say and how to say it to my audience
- Preach to the need of my audience
- Know the occasion. Is it birthday, Sunday service, funeral, revival, bible study service
- I must research
- Know where I am preaching.
- Gather sermon materials, select bible scripture
This online preaching class taught me that my sermon must have 3 things which are: The seed-the seed of the sermon is the word of God) ,The Soil-The soil of the sermon is the People Hearing the Word, and The Spirit-The Success of the Sermon is the Holy Spirit.
Online Preaching Class: THIRD WEEK LEARNINGS AND ACTION STEP
I learned studying and putting together of my sermon.The study for My sermon must have the following 5 things: The study of the culture of Christianity, The study of what it means to the first hearer, The study of what it means to me, The study of what the word means to others, The study of what the word means to me.
Online Preaching Class: FORTH AND FIFTH WEEK LEARNINGS AND ACTION STEP
I learned how important my introduction must be.
I have just 90 Seconds to convince my audience. During my introduction I must reveal the problem to them. Make them understand the importance of my message and why they really need it in their lives. I learning that I must use the 7 Gears in my Introduction which are:
- Opening Illustration(starting in their world)
- Personal Connection(Connect With them, preparing them ready)
- Reveal the Problem, the fallen condition Focus(FCF) that only Christ can Solved
- Scripture/Passage Connections. explain how the passage is God’s Word to them
- Series Connection: explain How this Message will fit into their lives and their needs
- Proposition; Providing Answers to the Problem
- Interrogative Questions: How to apply them to their lives
Online Preaching Class: SIXTH WEEK LEARNINGS AND ACTION STEP
I learned how to prepare the body of my sermon and the body language to use. I did not expect this from an online preaching class!
In writing my Sermon body I must
- Start with a sermon skeleton :I will begin by determining the title, theme, central idea, outline, and other elements that make up the framework of the message
- Put the Meat into the bones i.e. Provides Write up for my Outline
- Write for the Ear. What am writing must first make sense to me before my audience. As I am writing, I must think about those who will listen to what I am saying, not those who may read what I am writing
- Make it simple, clear to understand and properly edited.
- Put in Proper usage of my body language .e.g. Hands, Voice, feet, body etc
- I must watch out for pulpit plagiarism
Online Preaching Class: SEVENTH WEEK LEARNINGS AND ACTION STEP
I learned how to explain/illustrate my sermons. Here I learn that that my sermon must be/Have:
- Concrete: I must not be abstract in my word/illustration
- Connotation: I must start with the head to get to their heart and mind
- Conflict: I Must explain the Problem to my audience
- Conclusion: I Must Provide the Solution to that problem
- Connection: My Illustration must link to my sermon/Message
- Christ: My Illustration/Message must @ all or any time Point my audience to Christ.
Online Preaching Class: EIGHTH AND NINTH WEEK LEARNINGS AND ACTION STEPs
Here I learned about my Conclusion when writing or developing a sermon. The Following are my learning.
- I must have the sermon conclusion with my introduction in mind
- I Must end sermon with the beginning turned around i.e. I will adds a very simple twist .
- I must build a burning consideration within my audience or congregation. When am ending my sermon, I must end it in a way that it lives on throughout the week. This can be done through prayer and proper choice of Word. It’s the Holy Spirit that convicts; He will help when I call on Him.
- My Sermon must point people back to Christ and I must offer an opportunity to receive Christ and expect people to respond.
- My sermon must have an argument in it so as to anticipate the objections the audience might have and logically refute them.
- My Sermon must have warning in it so as to warn them of the consequences of disobedience.
- My Sermon must have compassion in it so as to express God’s love and concern for my audience.
- My Sermon must have vision. I must be able to Paint a picture of what is possible if they obey God
- My Sermon must have encouragement. This will tell them they can do this with God’s power.
- My Sermon must be personal so that the person listening will feel like I am talking to him or her.
- In My Sermon I must Use a compelling illustration so as to helps make the message memorable.
- My Sermon must have piercing question. This engages in processing and applying the message.
This was an amazing online preaching class for me. I highly recommend this online preaching class for those who are interesting in serving in ministry.
Check out this great resource for sermons, click here
Adam Larsen –
“My name is Adam Larsen. I am 33 years old. I am from the United States. I am thankful that doing ministry in the U.S. is free from a lot of challenges that other countries face. However I believe the Church in the U.S. faces many of it’s own challenges. I have been doing Youth Ministry the last few years and one thing I an consistantly seeing is a lack of the word in peoples lives. Even the ones that are professing Christians are lacking a true understanding of the Bible. This is one of the main reasons I felt called to enroll in this schooling. I want to make sure I have a true understanding of God’s Word and I want to be able to communicated it in an effective way.
“I came to the Lord about 13 years ago. I was not raised Christian and I was introduced to Church by my wife’s family. I read a wonderful book by Stu Weber called Tender Warrior and for the first time my faith became real. I accepted the Lord and began my walk. The Lord has done such an amazing work in my life and in my family.
“My ministry dream that has been placed on my heart is to be a Pastor or Church Planter. I had never had this desire until the last few years then the good Lord started moving dramatically in my life. Since then my family and I have been serving the Lord every way we can. We were the Jr. High Youth Leaders for the past 2 years at our Church and we are now the Young Adult Leaders (ages 18-30). I am not sure what the Lord has in store for us in the long run. I really feel he’s training me to be a Pastor at some point. My wife and I have also been talking about planting Churches after I retire. We are especially interested in Haiti but we’re open to wherever the Lord wants us.
“Our geographic area leads to many challenges. We live in California which is filled with many false teachings and false beliefs. We are consistently combating evolution, abortion, new age beliefs, gnostic beliefs, and many more. It reminds me of how Paul describes Corinth in a lot of ways.
“We have 4 children 3 boys and 1 girl. They are our 1st ministry. We try to involve them as much as possible in anything we do with our ministry or Church. I try to keep them involved with our Faith Family as much as possible. If we were to ever move to become missionaries or Church planters it would drastically effect their lives. I trust the Lord with this.”
Adam Larsen Receives a Scholarship
“This scholarship at CLI is very important because it will provide me with the knowledge and training I need to serve the Lord wherever he puts my family and I. This would also help in a great way because I won’t have the huge debt of a regular college. With 4 kids there isn’t a lot of extra funds.
“Please pray for God to lead and guide my Family and I and for us to be open to his direction, for my kids to never feel replaced by ministry, and that all this is done for his glory!”
Adam Larsen is called to ministry in the United States, where there is no official governmental opposition. However, Adam Larsen recognizes other barriers that exist even within the Christian culture. Teachings that are contrary to God’s revealed Word abound, and Adam Larsen desires to be on the front lines in combating these. To better equip himself, Adam Larsen is seeking a scholarship at Christian Leaders Institute.
[wp_dp ar=cli_mission_donor subint=both]