My name is Joe Meserve. I am a student at the Christian Leaders Institute online to get their Chaplain endorsement and certification.
My Journey to Christ
I am the product of James 5:16: “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” My grandparents were constantly praying for my salvation. Every summer till I was 16, my brother and I would stay with my grandparents in Texas for two months. We loved it. My grandparents loved it, and my parents loved it. Therefore, everybody won. My summers at my grandparents were the only time I went to church. Unaware of it then, those summers with my grandparents laid the foundation for my saving faith and salvation in Christ alone.
Finally, in the seventh grade, it all clicked for me. My sin. The consequences of my sin. My inability to pay the price for my sin. Christ’s perfect life as a sacrifice for the sin of man. A just, holy, and righteous God. It all made sense. Thereafter, I became a lover and follower of Jesus Christ that year and have never turned back.
Service to My Church and Fire Department
Since I became a Christian, I have always been committed to a local church. It was, and is, essential to my faith, as it is for every believer’s faith and walk with God. One of God’s gifts is that I am a jack of all trades. I can do it if no one can teach the Youth Wednesday night. No one to play bass guitar with the worship band this Sunday; I’ll do it. No one to lead a group of men in doing a workday at the church next Saturday; I will make it happen. God uses me to plug holes and fill voids until a more suitable person comes in and does the job. Therefore, I do whatever needs to be done.
I was a bi-vocational Youth Minister at my church for ten years. For the past two years, I was the bi-vocational Young Adult leader. I have a master’s degree in Christian Theology. A firefighter by trade, I am currently on the PEER Support Team with my department. Our job is to support our PEERS in the department in their times of need. Those needs include listening, financial advice, family issues, deaths, and PTSD. We are not licensed counselors. We are friends in times of need, willing to listen and guide them to the proper help, professional counseling, legal advice, etc.
Chaplain Endorsement and Certification from CLI and CLA
Our department currently has a chaplain. Further, I have worked side-by-side with him on numerous occasions. Several people in our department asked me if I wanted to be a chaplain sometime in my career. I always answer, “I just want to serve wherever needed.”
Obtaining my Chaplain endorsement from Christian Leaders Institute and Alliance will get me started in obtaining the certification and experience I need to serve as a Chaplain someday if God opens those doors. I want to live my life for Jesus Christ and use my gifts, talents, and resources to further His Kingdom.
Register a Study Account
Register for a free study account, automatically enrolling you in the Getting Started Class at the Christian Leaders Learning Platform. The Getting Started class will take you less than an hour to complete.
When you log in to the Learning Platform, you will notice that the Getting Started Class automatically appears on your dashboard.
The Getting Started Class will orientate you to the Christian Leaders Learning Platform and the Programs offered, including:
- Ministry Awards, Certificates, and Diplomas with the Christian Leaders Institute.
- College Degrees with the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
- Minister Credentialling (Ordination) with the Christian Leaders Alliance, including local Soul Center registration possibilities.
Note: You can enroll in tuition-free courses or mini-courses immediately without finishing the getting started class.
Find out more about women in ministry here.
Hello, I’m Amanda. I’m 43 years old and from Ontario, Canada. Recently, I began my studies at the Christian Leaders Institute (CLI) for more biblical training for ministry.
About Me
I grew up in Northern Ontario as the youngest in a family with three kids. We had a phenomenal childhood, running around the wilderness, as my parents ran a Christian family campground. When I was five, my parents were born again at the non-denominational church we attended.
Therefore, I grew up in the church. I watched them play music and be involved with serving, maintenance, hospitality, and children’s ministry. We thoroughly enjoyed our church family. In my early teens, we adopted a little guy with special needs from Cambodia. Then, our family was complete! It was incredible to watch God work in and through him, healing him and helping him be more than anyone ever thought he’d be able to be. Beautiful!
My Testimony
When I was 12, I gave my life to the Lord in our church’s Sunday school program called “Super Church.” However, my walk wasn’t very vital or alive. For the most part, the “Christian rules” suited me as a teen. I didn’t want to get in trouble, rebel, party, etc., but my relationship with Him had yet to become my lifeline. I continued to attend church, even going to a ministry school at 19. Then, I went on to being busy with life, always calling myself a Christian but doing little to grow or deepen my relationship with God.
In my later 20s, in the midst of the breakdown of an abusive marriage, while caring for an infant, my relationship with my Savior became my absolute everything. He became my oxygen, my hope, my safe place, and my Rescuer. I needed His grace and guidance every moment of every day to function. There were eight rough years as a single mother. I had multiple surgeries and was in and out of a wheelchair. I relied on God to make it from second to second. He has since blessed my child and me with a faithful, Godly man as husband, father, and head of our home. Together, we serve in our home, family, and church. He is also a CLI student currently pursuing a degree in chaplaincy.
Ministry
When I was about 10, my grandparents got me a box organ. I played endlessly with it. So much so that within months, they found me a beautiful antique piano at a yard sale and restored it. I couldn’t leave it alone, day or night! When I gave my life to Christ at 12, it was like this musical gift got supercharged. Over the next year, I taught myself how to play by ear, as well as read music. By 13, I was on a mission trip in Europe, leading worship in churches.
At 19, I attended a ministry training school. I also had the opportunity to lead worship in a large city church and all around Scotland. Throughout my walk, connecting to my Father through music has been an important part of my journey. I’ve had the opportunity over the years to work with several ministries, two church plants, and with other teams and local churches on community outreach events.
Vision: More Biblical Training for Ministry at CLI
For the past 11 years, I’ve been working as a music director with a church plant that has blossomed into a thriving ministry. Earlier this year, I felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to invest some time into more biblical training as the church grows. That is when I found the Christian Leaders Institute online.
I look forward to the growth, expanding, and stretching that come with learning and moving to the next level in both my walk and ministry. I hope to one day be at least part-time (bi-vocational) at my church. Further, I’m open to pursuing whatever level of education is needed as the Lord leads.
Register a Study Account
Register for a free study account, automatically enrolling you in the Getting Started Class at the Christian Leaders Learning Platform. The Getting Started class will take you less than an hour to complete.
When you log in to the Learning Platform, you will notice that the Getting Started Class automatically appears on your dashboard.
The Getting Started Class will orientate you to the Christian Leaders Learning Platform and the Programs offered, including:
- Ministry Awards, Certificates, and Diplomas with the Christian Leaders Institute.
- College Degrees with the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
- Minister Credentialling (Ordination) with the Christian Leaders Alliance, including local Soul Center registration possibilities.
Note: You can enroll in tuition-free courses or mini-courses immediately without finishing the getting started class.
Find out more about women in ministry here.
My name is Elise Noel Ngo Njock from Cameroon. I reside in Istanbul. Looking for a tuition-free Bible school online, I am studying at the Christian Leaders Institute to answer God’s calling.
My Journey to Tuition-Free Bible School Online
Once married, my last name was Nyemeck. I’m a divorced woman and a mother of two beautiful daughters. A teacher by profession since 2002, I felt compelled a long time ago to take a Bible study course when I gave my life to Christ in 2010. But I kept procrastinating: ‘’When I finish my Ph.D.’’ I said.
Time flies and years advance, so I decided to start this year if God brought me back to Istanbul. With an urge for family ministry, I want to begin a new career as a school chaplain. I discovered Christian Leaders Institute while navigating, looking for a tuition-free Bible school online since I work full time. Further, I could not join the Bible school at River Church in Istanbul. The One through whom I can do all things will bring me to completing this assignment.
From Religious to a Born-Again Child of God
Born in a Presbyterian family, I got all the fundamental sacraments as I grew up. I even served as a choir member and a cell minister. So I heard about Jesus at a young age. However, the law and rules I grew up with didn’t keep me from doing wrong things like lying and worse. In their eyes, I was innocent since I didn’t come home with a pregnancy as a teen.
I married for the wrong reasons after living in impudicity with my ex-husband. I wanted to be free from my parent’s control, and I had my first daughter before marriage. But, of course, that union that my parents and family forcedly accepted didn’t last. So I found myself divorced after barely one year of marriage at the age of 30.
God, in His mercy, sent Carole, a young colleague, to preach the good news of a transformed life in Christ Jesus to me. Finally, I understood what another sister from JAPE, Marie Gocker, was calling me to some years back. A call that I turned down, blaming her for confusing me with religious denominations. I saw how her life differed from mine and decided to follow her to her church. The way I was welcomed into Calvary Chapel Bamenda was without any judgment. Everyone was delighted to meet me and compassionate to help me grow spiritually. That welcome led me to willingly belong to Full Gospel Mission Cameroon’s extensive family of believers.
My Baptism and Study at CLI
My baptism came after God convinced me through His Word in the Acts of Apostles. Titus advised me to read Acts as I kept arguing about baptism. The transformation of Saul and Peter, his works as an Apostle, the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch, etc., captivated and challenged me to do so. Furthermore, I changed my name from Elise Ngo Njock (the daughter of the elephant) to Elise Ngo Nje (the daughter of the Lion of the tribe of Judah). Since then, I’ve never been the same. My urge is to win as many souls as I can to God. I still serve on the worship team.
I am excited about the tuition-free Bible School courses the Christian Leaders Institute offers online. It will prepare me for my calling from God. Thank you! God bless you!
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Register a Study Account
Register for a free study account, automatically enrolling you in the Getting Started Class at the Christian Leaders Learning Platform. The Getting Started class will take you less than an hour to complete.
When you log in to the Learning Platform, you will notice that the Getting Started Class automatically appears on your dashboard.
The Getting Started Class will orientate you to the Christian Leaders Learning Platform and the Programs offered, including:
- Ministry Awards, Certificates, and Diplomas with the Christian Leaders Institute.
- College Degrees with the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
- Minister Credentialling (Ordination) with the Christian Leaders Alliance, including local Soul Center registration possibilities.
Note: You can enroll in tuition-free courses or mini-courses immediately without finishing the getting started class.
Find out more about women in ministry here.