Semret Fessahaye – “My name is Semret Fessahaye. I am a single mother of two young children. I am currently the ministry leader over multimedia at my church. My son is 6, and my daughter is 5. My children gave their lives to Christ a few months ago without anyone pushing them. It was an exciting time for me. I became a believer when I was 17 years old. Before that I knew of God, but I did not really know him. We always went to church, and I learned a lot. Yet I had not given my life to Christ until I started college.
“My ministry dream is to minister to single mothers and share my testimony with them. I would also like to begin counseling. People tend to open up to me, and I want to learn to give them Godly counsel. I would also like to work with youth groups.”
Semret Fessahaye Receives a Scholarship!
“A scholarship will help me achieve my goals because it would enable me to be able to walk in God’s will. As I stated before I am a single mother. I do not currently have a job, but I want to raise my children in a different atmosphere that will enable me to nurture their gifts. A scholarship will help me tremendously. It will also help me focus on the things of God so that I may be a blessing to others.”
Semret Fessahaye has a dream! She wants to share God’s love with other single mothers! She knows they are hurting and need God’s love, and God has called her to bring it to them! Christian Leader’s Institute is helping Semret Fessahay live her dream. You can help her too! Your donation will help Semret Fessahaye bring God’s love to single moms across America!
Ministering – There are places in the world that most churches have abandoned. These places are stronghold’s to the Devils work. In these places prostitution, drugs, mental illness, alcoholism and crime are the pervasive culture. It is here that student Lisa Popejoy is ministering. Her church is This Ain’t Your Mama’s Church Community Biker Church. This church is headed up by her mentors, Pastors Eug & Gwen. This church has recently moved to an even more depressed area of 
Merced, CA.
Ministering Student Lisa Popejoy
Ministering To A Rough Crowd
Lisa is taking the Online Preaching Class, called “Sermon Construction and Presentation” at CLI. Her first assignment was to write a short sermon that she would give to the group she is ministering to. I am going to share her sermon with you. She writes about her sermon assignment, “This message would be for the audience of bikers, ex drug addicts and felons.”
STRONGHOLD OF ENEMY TERRITORY
by Lisa Popejoy
The term Stronghold means an area where a power exerts control over an individual, group or territory, and, in reference to an evil spiritual stronghold, it is in direct opposition to the will of God.
Satan goes beyond just routine harassment and temptations; his forces seek territory to establish long term strongholds in which they may dominate and hold captive. The evil forces of Satan search for people, cities and areas in which they are not resisted and where they can flourish.
Our new church home is smack dab in the middle of enemy territory. Prostitution, drugs, bars, drunkards, mentally ill, and the homeless have taken over that side of town, and with all the crime that comes with that way of living, the influence of darkness has flourished. You can see and feel it in the air.
The apostle Paul talks about what we are dealing with in Ephesians 6:12,
For we do not wrestle against flesh & blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
We all know the saying “You don’t come preaching in my bar and I won’t go drinking in your church.”
Many of us lived that concept when we were out and about in the world and that approach has worked well here at the CLI building on the nice side of town, until now, because This Ain’t Your Mama’s Church just changed the playing field.
We are moving in on enemy territory and we are establishing the presence of the Lord.
We are the army of the Lord on earth; you can’t go into Satan’s domain and cover up the problem. Soldiers do not go into a war and make everything nice; they don’t cover the battlefield with pretty stuff without the expectation of being shot down. You can’t cover up and mask the influence of evil by planting flowers and covering up the graffiti and removing the shopping carts and making it look nice and think Satan’s presence is gone. You have to get to the root of the problem and it’s a spiritual problem.
The enemy is not prostitution, drugs, mental illness, alcoholism or crime, the real enemy is Satan’s presence and his stronghold on that area. If you think you can wage a war against Satan and his army by making stuff pretty to the eyes, then you are welcome to plant a few tulips and see where it gets you. Just remember, when you come back beaten up and defeated, we tried to warn you that it’s not about flowers and fluff but about “spiritual darkness in high places “and all your efforts will have been for nothing.
We are going into battle, to conduct Spiritual Warfare on Satan’s domain. Our goal is to advance the Gospel, pull down the stronghold and bring people into the Kingdom of God. Matthew 5:14-16 we are to bring the light into the darkness.
We are not riding in with guns attached to our motorcycles and cars, helping the police to wipe out the bad and make it a pretty side of town, planting flowers, No, we are going into the midst of the battlefield with Power and Authority in Christ Jesus’ name to overcome the stronghold with SCRIPTURE & PRAYER.
It is not a mistake that our church is moving to that side of town, isn’t it fitting that God chose us to represent Him in that area? We are a peculiar people, we who were the drunkards and addicts, and prostitutes and homeless, all of us convicts and felons, we who have by the Grace of God been saved from exactly what we are waging war against. We are on a mission for God. It’s time to suit up and let’s go do some Kingdom business. Jesus gave us His marching orders. Are you ready to move April 13th?
Amen.
Lisa is thankful for the opportunity to study at Christian Leaders Institute, “You can pray that I will fulfill the direction that God is leading me. I prayed to God that I would find a school that would take me without money, and he directed me to your web page. So please pray that I will finish what God is preparing me to do.”
I am impressed with the calling of God on Lisa’s life. Ministering in the name of Christ is never easy, and when you are ministering in a blighted area, it can even be more challenging. At Christian Leaders Institute, we train operatives for Christ whose goal is spreading the gospel. These bi-vocational leaders are ministering taking on personal risk.They are fierce followers of Jesus who need our prayers.
Sudas Sharma –
“My Name is Sudas Sharma of Nepal. I am 45 years old. I have one wife (Leela) and 2 children (Priti and Samarpan). My daughter Priti finished senior high school in June 2012. My son Samarpan will be finishing senior high school in June this year. My wife is a house wife. I work in an inter-governmental organization as a knowledge management professional. I was born in a Hindu Brahmin family. My parents are still Hindu. My father is a Hindu priest.
I heard about Jesus for the first time at the age of 16 through a nursing student. She had come to our school to teach about health and hygiene as part of her field work. She secretly gave us small booklets to read. I read one of these booklets several times. The rest of my class mates threw them in the dustbin. I myself was a trainee Hindu priest, had studied Hindu theology, and was helping my father in his rituals and other Hindu practices. I found the content of the booklet interesting. It talked about another God that I had never heard of before. I was curious to know more about the God and Jesus mentioned in the booklet.
I decided to go to the place called ‘Church.’ I followed the address given in the booklet. Later, i was invited by one of my new friends to go to Christian Students camp where i learned more and understood the truth. I was introduced to the Way, the Truth and the Life. I sincerely prayed and asked myself, “is everything I am practicing as a Hindu priest meaningless?” I suddenly realized that all the idols that everyone in my house worshiped every morning and evening are worthless. They were nothing but stone, copper, and brass. I invited Jesus in my life as my personal Savior, and He came into my life in 1989.”
Sudas Sharma’s Vision
“My vision is to be an effective Soldier of Christ. I have never taken formal training related to His ministry. I want to be equipped with new knowledge and skills so that I can be an effective servant of Christ. My goal is to be able to lead the new generation to Christ. Leading the new generation to Christ is a big challenge in a materialistic world. I want to learn different skills to be able to teach better, evangelize better, and become an useful servant of Christ.
“Taking the course from Christian Leader Institute will help me to achieve my goal to become an equipped soldier of Christ. I will have opportunities to learn and grow in His words and teach others. I look forward to kind support, guidance, and prayers from you as I achieve my ministry goal.”
Thank you.
In His service,
Sudas Sharma”
Sudas Sharma completed his Christian basics certificate. He is now moving on to complete other courses with Christian Leaders Institute. You can help Sudas Sharma fulfill his vision by making a donation to Christian Leaders Institute!