Youth Leader Training

Youth Leader Training

Join today and receive a scholarship towards pursuing youth leader training and becoming a leader in Christian ministry. 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 scholarship for pursuing youth leader training to spread the word of God.

I am living in the country of nomads, called Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian country, which is used to be part of Soviet Union. Doing ministry in northern cities of the country tend to be easier because people there tend to be more tolerant and secular. Whereas in the southern and the central parts it is more difficult because people tend to hold to nationalistic Kyrgyz and Muslim traditions. Especially it is more challenging in village areas to do ministry because people do not like western, foreign ideas, or Russian god Jesus. Ministry workers might get persecuted physically and abused verbally. It is the pure grace of God that I got know about Jesus from my early childhood because a majority of our 6 million population still do not know about salvation and life that Jesus brought to humanity. I was about 3 years old when my father left our family. During my mom’s depressing and hopeless time she got to know Jesus through her group made and made the decision to follow Him. Since then my sister and I grew up seeing my mom pastor our home church, actively share the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons. She made sure that we prayed, read the Bible daily, cited and memorized the Scriptures. All of that together impacted my faith formation in the Lord Jesus.

It is the pure grace of God that I got know about Jesus from my early childhood because the majority of our 6 million population still do not know about salvation and life that Jesus brought to humanity. I was about 3 years old when my father left our family. During my mom’s depressing and hopeless time she got to know Jesus through her group made and made the decision to follow Him. Since then my sister and I grew up seeing my mom pastor our home church, actively share the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons. She made sure that we prayed, read the Bible daily, cited and memorized the Scriptures. All of that together impacted my faith formation in the Lord Jesus.

My ministry dream is to see Kyrgyzstan become this hub for mission workers to be sent to other Central Asian and post-Soviet Union countries. I see that Kyrgyzstan has more than 80 ethnic groups which can easily fit in to all other tribal, language and cultural groups in our region. I would like to be focused especially in discipling young men that is why I am currently working in a Christian non-profit organisation Network 20 International which has that mission.

This class affirmed me to continue strengthening my number one connection first, which is with the LORD. From there I seek working in the other six connections. Such lessons were good reminders and affirmations in my faith journey.

I identify with the word youth leader the most because God has instilled passion in me for young men to come to know the Lord closer and follow Him radically like the first apostles did. I am seeking youth leader training.

I remember a student conference that I took part in. It was in summer 2014. One of the speakers, Richard Lamb, challenged university students to abandon everything like the disciples did and follow Jesus. He gave the example of the rich young man who loved his riches more than Jesus. Who do I want to be like, like Peter and the disciples or like this rich young man? In that passage Jesus says that whoever leaves his family, field, house, and such will receive hundred times more in this age and in the age to come they will receive the eternal life, which I believe is Jesus Himself. So that experience had a big impact on my commitment to truly follow Jesus our Lord.

Unique challenges in my geographic area might be the stereotypical perception of our people about their identity. Majority think that if they are born Kyrgyz then they are Muslim, if you are born Russian then you are Christian. You cannot choose your faith, you are born with it. Second, those who want to follow Jesus can be threatened by such statements like, “If you become a Christian than your grave will not be buried among Muslim people”. We might think this is not a big deal, why care about your grave? The problem is our people tend to care so much about what other people would think that they might never end up making their own choices. So to sum up, the spirit of Islam, the spirit of stupidity, and the spirit of mass thinking are the enemies of the gospel to break through their hearts.

One of the key things what the Bible does is that it reveals the heart of our LORD God. His heart is that we are called to be His sons and daughters. I am called to be His son like Jesus is the Son. This is one of the greatest truth in the Bible. This truth was clearly revealed to me in November, the year 2013. Since then my identity as His child continued to grow in my understanding and experience. Now I continue to understand that I should daily abide in Jesus, be filled with the Spirit and live as a son of the Father. Out of this identity I am called to serve Him and advance His kingdom.I have two local churches that I belong to, one is located in our capital city Bishkek and the other is in east of the country [Karakol city] where I have been serving the LORD through a student and young men’s ministry. My church in Bishkek supported me financially and one of our pastors met with me and encouraged me like Barnabas did. My Karakol church was also a big encouragement for me, especially I really treasure one on one conversations with my pastor there. He has been serving me as my mentor. I praise God for him.

I have two local churches that I belong to, one is located in our capital city Bishkek and the other is in the east of the country [Karakol city] where I have been serving the LORD through a student and young men’s ministry. My church in Bishkek supported me financially and one of our pastors met with me and encouraged me like Barnabas did. My Karakol church was also a big encouragement for me, especially I really treasure one on one conversations with my pastor there. He has been serving me as my mentor. I praise God for him.

My family’s role in the ministry was mostly their constant prayers at the church and one on one conversations with my mom. I consider her still as my strongest adviser and one of my best friends.

This scholarship allows me to study, to learn more about God’s wisdom and to get connected with other like-minded brothers and sisters in the Lord. I would be so grateful for a scholarship for youth leader training.

Please pray that God will show me clearly now which city to choose as my next mission area. I am currently in between choosing Karakol where I have been serving already for two years or to go to Naryn where there is a big need for the church to grow. I am determined to bring my youth leader training to whichever city God leads me to.

Check out more stories about CLI students pursuing youth leader training and becoming leaders in Christian ministry and much more on the CLI Facebook page