Small Groups or Bible Studies are a staple of a local church. Local volunteers often fill these leadership roles at the local church. Christian Leaders Institute has designed a program of study that brings free ministry training to Christian Leaders. This program includes 26 credits of ministry training.
Steps to be ordained as a Small Group Minister
- Enroll at Christian Leaders Institute and complete the Getting Started Class: Scholar Orientation.
- Complete the Deacon Ministry Award
- Christian Leaders Connection (3 credits)
- Christian Basics (3 credits)
- Ministry 101 (3 credits)
- Complete the Deacon Minister Ordination Class (1 credit)
- Get three recommendations from your local community, possibly including a Christian Leaders Alliance ordained mentor.
- Receive your official ordination documents from Christian Leaders Alliance, sent through the Christian Leaders Institute offices.
- Be ordained by the laying on of hands.
- Be included in the Christian Leaders Alliance ordination directory.
- Complete the additional 15 credits of ministry training
- Old Testament Survey (3 credits)
- New Testament Survey (3 credits)
- People Smart for Ministry (3 credits)
- Church and Ministry (3 credits)
- Developing House Churches (3 credits)
- Take the Ordained Small Group Minister Class (1 credit) and order your updated ordination credentials.
Ordained Small Group Minister (1 Credit)
This one credit hour class is for those leading small groups or Bible Studies. The dynamics of this course are centered around leading small groups at local churches. Your studies will focus on three areas. The first is Biblical content. The second is relationships and group dynamics. The third is communication.
As an Ordained Small Group Minister, your training will be for the following roles:
Small Group Minister
House Church Minister
Bible Study Leader
Sunday School Teacher
Cell Group Leader
Ordained Small Group Minister Training Requirements Review:
- Christian Leaders Connection (3 credits)
- Ministry 101 (3 Credits)
- Christian Basics (3 credits)
- Old Testament Survey (3 Credits)
- New Testament Survey (3 Credits)
- People Smart for Ministry (3 credits)
- Church and Ministry (3 credits)
- Developing House Churches (3 Credits)
- Deacon Minister Ordination (1 Credit)
- Ordained Small Group Minister Class (1 Credit)
Total Credits: 26
Reaching Those With Disabilities For Christ
Reaching Those With Disabilities
My name is Jacob Garber, and I am called to reaching those with disabilities. I live in Michigan in the United States. I enjoy reading nonfiction and also like to camp and fish in my spare time. The last born of four children, I was born in 1983. My grandmother modeled a living faith and contentment to me, and at the age of 13, I gave my heart to Jesus.
I received a call into ministry in my junior year of high school. The key experience that led me to pursue ministry was the feeling of knowing that if I didn’t people wouldn’t go to heaven and the burden that put in my heart. I originally thought I had misheard God because I thought to myself how can a person with Cerebral Palsy be a minister. However, God used that fact as part of my calling. My ministry dream is to connect those with disabilities to God and help them to know him better.
Ministry Training
I hold an Associate of Divinity Degree from Christian Leaders College and am currently working on my Bachelors of Divinity there. I also hope to complete a Masters of Divinity with the graduate certificate in disability ministry from Western Theological Seminary, after completion of my bachelors.
Ministry Journey
I enjoy working with children to help them know God better. So, I volunteer as a youth minister at my church. One word that would describe me is a pastor and another is a teacher. These two roles are what I strive for because I feel called to shepherd people. I want to help them to know God better and to teach them His word. Currently, I am using my ministry training to help the children in my community better understand who Jesus is.
Please, pray for our children that their hearts might be receptive to the gospel and that their parents would come to know Jesus as well through our efforts.
Ordination
I am seeking ordination through the Christian Leaders Alliance. The Deacon minister ordination will assist in my ministry. It will allow me to spread the message of inclusion for all with disabilities in God’s Kingdom in a wider context. God’s the controller, and I am just the wheels.
Please pray for me as I found my ministry for reaching those with disabilities. I hope to include my whole county. The ministry training and ordination had been very formative to me because they have given me a solid basis for doing ministry and more skills that I didn’t have before.
Called to Serve God
Pulled Up From the Deep and Called to Serve God
I am called to serve God. Before, my life was a long, confusing, winding road. Society perplexed me. I wondered how people could care about the menial things they did and not care about the things that mattered most. The spiritual world always called to me. However, in a selfish society, I got lost in the circumstances of my life. Life had a way of bringing me back, although it was not the friendliest route.
After years of struggling with addiction and the unmanageability of my life, I heard a calling within myself. I began to see that God had a plan for my life. But, to fulfill it, I would have to surrender my life to God. My choices were to walk a spiritual path or to die an alcoholic death. It was not a hard decision for your average person, but for me, it was.
I took an honest look at myself and knew that I had more to offer than what I was giving. I was ready and asked God to help me. Then, I told God I had no idea what this was going to look like, but I would walk the path He chose for me. At that moment, I felt like a lost buoy yanked up out of the ocean and pulled up on to a ship. The Holy Spirit fished for my heart and caught me.
Called to Serve God as He Leads Me
I studied the Bible, day in and day out, and stayed in prayer as long as could. I felt the desire and received baptism. Shortly after that, I heard a calling to ministry. Called to serve God, I researched ministry schools online that would be affordable. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I found the Christian Leaders Institute. Immediately, I signed up and have been taking classes ever since.
Shortly after I started school at CLI, while looking for a job, I found a listing for an Executive Assistant to a Global Minister. As it turns out, I am an Executive Assistant. I applied for the job and got it. Now, I have been working and studying in the Ministry for a year. My heart is full of gratitude and love that I get to work and study in my passion, which is God.
The Deacon Minister Ordination with the Christian Leaders Alliance is another exciting step in my ministry journey. All the Glory and Praise to the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit that I am here on Earth, studying at CLI, and ordained at CLA. I will do all that I can to serve Him. May I do God’s will always.
Ordination Thanksgiving
Ordination Thanksgiving
My name is Jon Dowler, and here is my story of ordination thanksgiving. I have been in the ministry for 33 years. I am thankful beyond measure for Christian Leaders Institute and President Henry Reyenga following this call to provide free Christian Education! What an undertaking!
I attended a Bible college in 1985. The school I attended did not have Associate Degrees or Bachelor’s Degrees at that time. Once I got married and my wife and I started having kids, a college education was out of reach with all the financial demands.
God began moving on my heart about going back to school this last year. I eventually was led to Christian Leaders Institute. Hallelujah! It was my answer, and I got back on my educational pathway once again!
Ordination Thanksgiving for Christian Leaders Ministries
I have been ordained with multiple organizations throughout the years, but I am honored to be included in the Christian Leaders Alliance. The Christian Leaders Alliance has raised the standard and bar of accountability with having educational requirements with its ordinations. I am so thankful to be on this path, fulfilling God’s will for my life.
If you have felt like you were wandering aimlessly, searching for a place to learn, grow, and connect, I encourage you to become part of the Christian Leaders Ministries family!