Ready to Answer the Call – God Does Call You At Any Age!

Ready to Answer the Call

My name is Chuck Byers, I was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States.  I am 62 years old and married with 6 children and 13 grandchildren. My wife and I live in an old farmhouse we have renovated for the past 36 years in Wattsburg, Pennsylvania. The Lord has blessed us with 3 boys and 3 girls. All of our children have dedicated their life to the Lord and they, and their families, are serving the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ, or even religion, was never brought up in our house as I was growing up. Both of my parents were very abusive, which caused me to quit high school and join the United States Navy at the age of seventeen. From there my life went downhill. I turned to alcohol and drugs to try to forget the past. In 1972 I met and married my wife Brenda and from there things started to turn around. We began to go to church, though at first it was hit and miss.  Then in 1978, I was in a truck accident. I was thrown out of the truck and broke my back in two places. Even though I did not know Christ as my personal Savior, He was watching out for me. I was told I would never walk again, but two months later, I walked out of the hospital. I knew then that there was more to God than just going to church. In 1983, I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, along with my wife.

In 1984, God called me to prepare for full time ministry. I knew there was no way I could move to go to a bible college and still support my wife and four children so I didn’t go. But Christ was patient with me and never took the desire to pursue ministry away, and in 2013, He told me again that it was time to prepare. At the time I was 62 and thought it was crazy, but my wife and I decided that we could not say no again.

When I heard about CLI it was like a miracle. Because I am on disability from three cervical surgeries and two heart surgeries, I am unable to afford a college education. A donation based education from CLI gives me the chance to study and prepare for whatever God has in store for me and now, I am ready to answer the call to serve the Lord! All of my children are behind me one hundred percent and know that this has been my calling for years.

My desire has always been to be a pastor or an evangelist, but whatever God has for me, I will follow Him. This scholarship is very important to me as it will allow me to study Gods word at my own pace. I know that the Holy Spirit will guide me the whole way. I will need a lot of prayer to get me through the courses and would appreciate all the prayers I can get. Thank you for the opportunity to pursue God’s call on my life.