Small Group Leader

Small Group Leader

My name is Sarah and I currently live in the United States of America. Doing ministry in my country is much easier than in some other countries. Here in America, we have the freedom to practice whichever religion we believe in and to voice those beliefs. Our nation is falling further and further away from God and that is one reason that I know I am called to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to those in my country and serve as a small group leader.

I have known about the Lord ever since I was a little girl. I was raised in a church within walking distance of my house and attended this church until I was 18 years old. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior when I was about 7 years old and I was baptized when I was 12 years old.

My ministry dream is to spread the word of God to all people. I want to be a light for God in their lives. I have lived a “mediocre” life for the past 24 years. I believed in God and did my best to live a “good” life when it was convenient for me, but I am now ready to do more than that. I am ready to be a witness while pursuing God daily. My hope is that by my example other people will want to pursue Him as well.

The Christian Leaders Connection course has really opened my eyes to how much I still have to learn about God. My heart has changed through this course and my passion for ministering to others has further ignited. I am extremely excited to begin my next course as I continue training to be a small group leader.

When asked which word I identify more with, (Pastor, Evangelist, Small Group Leader, Youth Leader, and Church Planter) I suppose I would have to say Small Group Leader. My hope is to someday be a small group leader in a church. Whether that is with teenagers, married couples, or women, I think I would really enjoy preaching the word of God in a small group setting.

I feel that I have always been called to pursue ministry, but that I have been ignoring God’s call until recently. I attended a week-long conference in Michigan this summer that really changed my life. I met people at this conference and heard several testimonies that just jump started my passion for missions. I am at a place in my life now that I am ready to go wherever God is leading me.

I would say there are a few unique challenges in my geographic area. First, I live in a small population area. There are really only a handful of churches to choose from and if you don’t feel that your heart is being fulfilled at one church, you don’t have many other places to turn. Second, my geographic area is not largely Christian. Many of the people that reside in my area do not attend church and I know that reaching out and preaching the Word of God is something that is needed. I recently moved back to my home state and am still in the process of finding a home at one of my local churches.

Connecting to the Bible brings transformation to my life daily. Reading God’s word is a constant reminder of the things that God has done for me. I still read the Bible and am blown away at all of the miracles that God has done and I always feel blessed that even though I fail God daily, He still loves me and cherishes me. It really is quite amazing that God gave us a handbook to help us grow closer to Him!

This year has been a difficult year for my family. When I was young, my mother and father divorced. Both of my parents married other people and were with them for 20 years. Within the past few months, both my mother and my father have filed for divorce from my step-parents. I have been praying and praying for the salvation of my four parents and can definitely use prayer in this area. When it comes to my family’s role in my ministry calling, I get a lot of support from my grandmother. She is a wonderful, Christian woman and believes that God is calling me to something much bigger than I can even imagine!

A scholarship at CLI is important to me for several reasons. First, I would not be able to afford this training without the scholarship. Finding a place that offers free classes is almost unheard of but truly a blessing from God. Secondly, I know I need to gain more knowledge in the Bible and continue to grow in my relationship with God. I need to be able to have the answers that people are going to ask and be able to fight the spiritual battles that I am going to face. I believe taking classes through CLI will help prepare me for this. I ask that you pray for guidance and wisdom for me along this journey. Satan will be trying to fight me every step of the way and I need to be able to recognize this and fight back!

Learn about minister ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.