Men Ministry Call: My Call to Faith

.From a horrid past, Raymond has come to know God and has answered His Men Ministry call.

Men Ministry Call: My Call to Faith

My name is Raymond Mallon, and my home is in Fayetteville North Carolina, USA. Being a Christian leader here means confronting homelessness and addictions. My brothers and sisters in Christ need encouragement to help those who need help living like that.

Spiritually my childhood was as messy as my physical world. My grandmother was a praying believer who tried to get me to come to the Lord. But I was too hate-filled to listen because my stepfather had been raping me for years. I blamed that on God. I couldn’t find a way to see past my hatred.

When I was in high school, I met Brother Roy. He brought me to Forest Park Bible Church. It was there that I started my baby steps toward faith. Yet I couldn’t resolve my past with my desire for belief in God and His love. Instead of running towards God, I ran away from him. I joined the Army where my hate finally caught up with me, and I was court-martialed.

It was in the spring of 2000 that I came to realize that I had become like the very monster who abused me. I realized that I couldn’t do this alone and that I needed Jesus. My baptism was the next Sunday. As I came out of the water, I promised God to go where He pointed me, and that was with a men ministry call. My spiritual dream is to preach the importance of being the men that God has called us to be and encourage those men so that they can stand boldly against today’s attack on men.

There were stumbling blocks aplenty in my coming to this point such as overcoming my own anger, temper, and pride. I had to learn how to get out of God’s way first so that He can work on my heart, soul, and mind to be the most effective tool to fulfill this dream. I had to learn that it wasn’t me that mattered the most but Jesus and my fellow man.

The event that humbled me was getting out of prison and ending up homeless. I lived among people who have addictions to alcohol and drugs, who live under bridges, in the woods, and abandoned houses. Often society looks down on them. This quickly taught me that I can’t rely on myself. I need God to be able to stand up each day and walk in this world. I need Him to find a reason to laugh and smile so that I can encourage the next person who needs it.

My Christian Leaders Institute training will help me to encourage the men of faith in my church. I want to encourage them to be the heads of their homes, communities, and churches. Then, they can stand up for what’s right according to God’s Word not society. The free training from Christian Leaders Institute is vital to me because I am a homeless part-time worker in a fast food restaurant which means money is of limited supply for me. The ministry training is essential to me because I see no other way I can afford to do this.

Discover how you can be Ordained in your ministry field at Christian Leaders Alliance.