Philippines Bi-vocational Education

Philippines Bi-vocational Education

Join today and receive free training for Philippines bi-vocational education. Christian Leaders Institute (CLI) offers free high-quality online ministry training. CLI accepts any individual anywhere in their life to learn about Christianity. Read a student’s testimony below who found CLI and is using the free Philippines bi-vocational education to answer his call from God.

My name is Antonio Manaytay and I am from Ipil, Philippines where I do ministry and make home with my wife and children.

The town where I live and do ministry is one of the places in Southern Philippines considered by the government security officials as a “place of concern” where kidnappings, extortions, and piracy of the sea by Islamic extremists are rampant. It has a long history of conflict between Christians and Muslims in the past, the most recent of which was in 1995 when it was razed to the ground and ransacked by suspected Abu Sayyaf group leaving more than 50 policemen and civilians dead, and the town commercial district including several banks razed to the ground.

Doing ministry as a pastor of a Christian church in one of Ipil’s predominantly Muslim village is challenging: Fulfilling the mandate to preach the Gospel to all nations and reaching out to other beliefs in an atmosphere of respect and love is like walking on a rope. The small congregation I and my wife shepherded for the last eight years is a testimony to the amazing work of the Lord in my life and that of my family – my wife has been an able partner in this ministry entrusted by God to us, and my children who supported us on this journey. One of my sons has become a pastor after he finished his Ministerial Studies and is now the associate pastor of the church.

My Personal Journey, And Call To The Ministry:

My personal journey and the eventual call to the ministry was not without bumps and detours.

When I finished my high school studies at the local school run by Jesuits in our town, I was about to enter the seminary to become a Claretian missionary but the plan did not materialize. I ended up taking a science course in Silliman University in Dumaguete City, Philippines where I met my wife. After college, we decided to get married in 1990, which union is blessed with four boys and a girl.

The life-changing decision to commit myself to a loving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, after series of Bible studies and guidance by an evangelical pastor, culminated when I was baptized by water on January 17, 1992. That decision, however, was not without its share of trials.

Testing came and I was lost from the way of the Lord. For almost 10 years, that is 2000 until 2009, I was at the darkest hours of my faith. It was the darkest period of my life spending most of it in the valley.

The Lord Is True To His Word

The Lord nevertheless is true to His word, praise Him forever: “This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing but should raise it up at the last day.” John 6: 39 (NKJV). I was restored by the Lord after years of journey in the wilderness in the most amazing way.

The moment of restoration came to me and the whole household when my wife gave birth to our fifth child, a girl, on the evening of July 31, 2009. God used the circumstances surrounding the birth of the child as a moment for me to decide whom I will finally serve. By His grace, I was able to choose Life over Death on that evening. It was sweet and sheer bliss to have my Lord found me again.

The following year, 2010, was when the Lord called me into ministry through a vision. I refused at first because I do not deserve to be His servant but at the end I gave in to His call to “Rise, Go, and Preach.” In the same year, the church was established where my heart resonates with the tasks of a pastor, evangelist, and church planter.

The Lord Uses CLI

The Lord equipped me where I was weak – the lack of formal training in the ministry. I tried to connect with several online institutions for alternative education and training in the ministry. And I am thankful of those which the Lord had used to equip me. CLI has provided Philippines bi-vocational education. 

But the longing for deeper and quality studies never left me. I do not have the luxury of time to enroll in a formal seminary for lack of time as a bi-vocational pastor. So I continue to pray and search until God led me to the door of Christian Leaders Institute.

The lessons I learned in CLI are very relevant and a blessing to me. With CLI and the Philippines bi-vocational education, I am able to find the compass of the ministry. It helped to strengthen my walk with God more than anything else as it opens to me, at the same time, the opportunity to earn a degree and accreditation which I am in want of present

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