Young Commitment – Training For Church Leaders

Young Commitment

Young commitment to Christ is becoming less and less common. One CLI graduate hopes to see that change.

Hello. My name is Danielle Gardner and I live in Brooklyn, NY. I work for a pharmaceutical company; working in the scientific field can be difficult sometimes as a Christian since a large percentage of my co-workers are atheists. Combine that with living in the New York City area and ministry can be challenging. In the NY metropolitan area there are approximately 22.5 million people, with 45% of them having no religious affiliation and only 4% affiliated with an evangelical church 

Danielle is someone who experienced young commitment to Christ when she became a Christian at the age of five.

When I was 5 years old, my Mom and I were driving in Philadelphia and she was worried because one of our brake lights was out. She asked me if something was to happen and we were to die, did I know where I would go. That may seem like an odd question to ask a child, but my older brother had passed away the year before due to cancer so death was very real to me. I told her I hoped heaven but I wasn’t really sure. She explained to me how I could be sure. I thought about it some, I knew that I did things that were wrong, and I knew I needed Jesus to forgive me. Later that night I prayed, asked Jesus to forgive me and come into my life. I wish I could say life has been all rainbows and puppy dog kisses since then, but it hasn’t. I have experienced difficulties and loss but through it all God has been faithful to me, giving me the strength I need even when I haven’t always been faithful to him.

Danielle is very thankful that God has allowed her to work with young adults and children. She loves when she sees young commitment to Christ, she feels that more young people need to be rooted in Christ.

I work with both the children and young adults in my church. In our children’s program, one of the biggest obstacles we face is parents who do not want their children to have anything to do with the church. About 10 years ago, my church went through a painful split and the children’s program fell into my lap, I had planned to help out for a little bit and then pass it on to someone else. However, as time went on I developed a heart for these children. I have come to realize that it is so important for children to make a true commitment at an early age and develop a love for God and reading his word. My work with the young adults has shown me how important it is to make a young commitment to Christ and develop the habit of walking with Him, so that as life gets busy, the priorities are already there. With the young adults I always hear how life is so fast paced that they are always “too busy” for anything church and often God related.

Danielle is training so she can lead in even more young commitment to Christ through increased knowledge at CLI.

I am hoping with these classes to improve as a teacher, to be better able to communicate and encourage those I am teaching while pushing myself to learn and grow more in my spiritual walk.

like CLI on Facebook