Learn More About Christian Leaders Institute and Its West Michigan Story
I am Henry Reyenga, President of the Christian Leaders Institute (CLI). Christian Leaders Institute offers free, college-level Biblical ministry training courses, significantly supported by the generosity of Christians in West Michigan.
My West Michigan Story
I am married to Pam, and we have five children and many grandchildren. As a 1987 graduate of Calvin Seminary, ordained in the Christian Reformed Church, I 
co-founded the Christian Leaders Institute with Rich DeVos in 2001. CLI grew from 1,000 students in 2011 to 10,000 in 2012, initially based in Chicagoland. As a CLI Board member, Rich invited us to relocate to West Michigan.
“West Michigan is going to change the world,” Rich DeVos said in 2012.
Rich was right! West Michigan has indeed been a propelling force. CLI has grown from 10,000 student accounts in 2012 to over 600,000 today. Many of our professors are from West Michigan, and a significant portion of our yearly budget is supported by donors from the region. CLI is headquartered in Spring Lake, Michigan, and employs a dedicated staff.
What Does CLI Do?
CLI offers free online Christian college education to people everywhere on the earth. Our goal is to multiply Christian leaders worldwide.
Thousands have graduated from over 200 nations with awards, diplomas, and degrees in ministry. Many have completed a tailor-made ordination path for volunteer, part-time and full-time ministers. CLI offers programs in English, Spanish, French, Russian, Ukrainian, and Chinese.
Recently, a West Michigan supporter challenged me to increase CLI’s visibility in West Michigan. He pondered the potential impact if more people in the region learned about the Christian Leaders Institute. Many in West Michigan could benefit from our free ministry training. He also suggested that more people might want to support this West Michigan-based ministry’s global mission. He encouraged me to make a video. Then, share an impactful story for everyone to read, believing that West Michigan would take it from there.
So, we made a video. You can watch this short video to learn more about CLI.
About Christian Leaders Institute
One Story of Impact
Choosing just one impactful story was a challenge. We often ask students to share their experiences to highlight the difference we’re making.
The story I’ve chosen to share with you involves Gilda Shadka, who is pursuing her bachelor’s degree online from a refugee camp in Turkey.
Read her story here, then watch the video about the Christian Leaders Institute. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about CLI. I invite you to join us in changing the world!
Turkey Refugee Camp
My name is Gilda Shadkar. I am Iranian and have been married to my husband, Mostafa, for over eight years. We are Christian refugees currently living in Turkey. In my role, I serve as a leader, pastor, and counselor in an Iranian Refugee Ministry. I was introduced to CLI (Christian Leaders Institute) through my husband.
I have been walking with the Lord since 2012 and hold a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Counseling. I was a student at UTM (University Technology Malaysia) studying Educational Psychology. However, I did not complete it because I became a Christian, and God redirected the course of my life.
How I Came to Know Jesus
Despite living in a Muslim country, my family didn’t believe in God. The primary values instilled in me were education and morality, achieved through human effort and self-righteousness. As a top student, I constantly faced pressure to meet my family’s high standards, compounded by the societal pressures and humiliation of being a woman in an Islamic country. Consequently, I always felt stressed and anxious. In my quest for peace, I turned to psychology books from the age of 15 and later to yoga, meditation, and similar practices, but none provided relief. Even my formal studies in psychology at university did not help.
In October 2012, after returning from Malaysia, where I was pursuing my master’s degree, I felt utterly broken and disappointed. Despite trying various methods to find inner peace, nothing seemed to work. One night, feeling despondent, I talked to a friend who had recently converted to Christianity. She suggested I needed a miracle. Skeptical yet desperate, I accepted her short prayer and a New Testament, resolving to give it a chance. That night, I prayed, “Jesus, if you are real, help me,” before falling asleep.
Miracle
The following morning, I woke up with an overwhelming sense of peace in my heart, a peace I had never felt before. It was as though the old sinful Gilda had died. Although I knew nothing of the Gospel, the concept of being a new creation, or the forgiveness of sins, I felt reborn, clean, and sinless. Realizing the profound change within me, I began to believe in the reality of Jesus. I eagerly read the New Testament my friend gave me, finishing it in just one week.
Challenges
Later, I joined an underground house church and eventually got engaged to my husband, the pastor. However, the day after our engagement, he was arrested by intelligence services for his Christian activities and sentenced to 10 years in prison. God granted us the strength and courage we needed to persevere. I faced interrogation and threats of imprisonment, but by God’s miraculous intervention, my husband was released after ten months, and we fled the country.
Now, in Turkey, we live as refugees but see ourselves as servants of God, fulfilling the mission of the Father. CLI allows us to take free ministry training courses, and I am working on my bachelor’s degree. This study opportunity is invaluable as we both work and serve. Thanks to CLI’s free courses, we can study and receive training that would otherwise be impossible.