Ministry Study Program for Free

Ministry Study Program at CLI

Hello, my name is Tim Garber, and I am taking the ministry study program for free at CLI. I live in Carson City, NV. I am happily married to my wife Brittany, and we have four children. Our oldest is from a previous relationship of mine, but you would never know it if you asked my wife. I knew about God at the age of 5. I attended a Christian school from kindergarten to second grade, but I gained little knowledge of Christ. Moving around a lot as a child, I never had any consistency in church.

My Early Years

At the age of 16, I started attending youth groups and church, mostly for a particular girl that I liked. But the Lord had other plans for my life. I was baptized and surrendered my life to God, or so I thought. The little information I had didn’t keep me close to Him for very long. No one told me about the trials and tribulations that would come with my salvation. The only thing I knew was if I didn’t want to go to hell, I had to say the sinner’s prayer. Seemed magical. Almost too good to be true.

I spent the rest of my teens and all of my twenties upset with God. Why were these things happening to me and why wasn’t He doing anything about it? I found solace in the bottom of a bottle, drugs, and promiscuity. At this time, I met and married my wife. It wasn’t until she stopped asking me to go to church that God dealt with me. I remember one night in drunken anger crying out to God, “If I don’t look after myself, no one else will.” To my surprise, God responded, “You take care of your family, and I’ll take care of you.”

Getting My Attention

I started attending church, but old habits die hard. Seven years into my marriage, my wife asked for a divorce. She said she couldn’t sit by and watch me kill myself. She couldn’t bear to receive a call saying something had happened to me. I told her that I would do whatever it took to change. I started attending a recovery program at a local church. Then we started attending the very same church.

It wasn’t until I had to do some self-reflecting that I realized why I was the way I was. It wasn’t until then that I realized God had been with me all along. There was no other way to explain why I was still alive. Just because I wasn’t listening for or to God, didn’t mean He wasn’t there.

Called by God and Ministry Study Program at CLI

At the time of this submission, I am five years sober, my marriage is intact, and God has called me to preach His Word. I don’t know where God is going to take me, but I know He has a plan for my family and me.

I’m thankful for the Christian Leaders Institute for making available this ministry study program that works around my schedule and my wallet. Therefore, I can receive ministry training to fulfill God’s purpose for my life.