Ordained Deacon Ambassador
Ordained Deacon Ambassador
My name is Mitchel DeYoung, and I am an ordained deacon ambassador for Christ. Like many here at Christian Leaders Institute, I’ve traveled rough roads before I repented and followed Jesus Christ.
I grew up in rural Kankakee, Illinois, in a great Christian home. We went to church every week, and I saw my parents live a life of striving to follow Jesus. However, I wanted more than the simple life on the farm that my parents had. I spent my 20s and 30s trying to find satisfaction in my career and jumping from job to job and hobby to hobby. Nothing ever satisfied me. In 2007 at the age of 33, my first wife left me, and I was heartbroken. But, I vowed that if God sent me a new ministry partner and wife, I would take what I learned from my first marriage and be the best husband I possibly could.
Over the next two years, in the middle of a horrible excursion in court, God opened doors for me at the church I was attending. He led me to the church I am currently a member at, and I served faithfully as a media director and an adult Sunday school teacher. I often laugh over my first teaching assignment about marriage to college and career students since I was a great example of what not to do in marriage. I have a hunger to study God’s word and show people the application using simple language and everyday scenarios.
New Ministry Partner and New Direction
In 2009, God answered my prayer, and I met my beloved wife and ministry partner, Lauri. We married the following year. She watched me struggle through a study of the book of Romans and how it radically changed my life. It was at this time; my life changed gears from being the friendly neighborhood IT guy to be an Ambassador for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
I share my faith at work, and I serve in our local homeless shelter where I was ordained to be a pastor to the street people of Kankakee. Why would anyone recognize me with all my flaws to be a pastor to the oppressed, the substance abusers, the mentally ill, and those who have just dropped out of society? It’s because at my core I’m someone with a heart to serve God in everything that he puts in my path. I’ve seen people at their craziest and most depraved moments. I’ve preached to people who were too drunk or high to care for their lives. Telling them about God’s peace for humankind and the possibility of a better day is how I help others.
Ordained Deacon Ambassador Credibility
My wife and I, while considering how we would want to spend our retirement, decided to forgo our retirement. We are developing a new ministry called The Discipleship Center. There we look for those with hearts and minds to learn and who want something better for their lives. We hope to provide a nine-month learning internship. We will train them how to take care of themselves, work with others, and present themselves in a job interview. Ultimately, at the core of our program is the Bible study of Romans that changed my life many years ago. Therefore, we seek to train others to rely on God and follow Jesus as his disciples. Discipleship is the highest calling that we have as ambassadors of Christ.
This story is how and why I’ve found myself studying at Christian Leaders Institute. The free online training offered at CLI is invaluable as I round out my education. Ministry training online fits into my hectic schedule. Most importantly, this ordination with Christian Leaders Alliance legitimizes my ministry in the eyes of those who need that.
I ask for one thing in prayer that covers our life and our ministry. As Philippians 3:13-14 says, pray that I press forward to the upward call of God through Christ Jesus.
God Calls Each One of Us
If anyone reads this story about the nobody who serves the most magnificent somebody, I want you to know that we serve a God who can make all grace abound to you too. Therefore, you will have all sufficiency in all things at all times and abound in every good work (2nd Corinthians 9:8). His power is made perfect in our weakness (2nd Corinthians 12:9). God doesn’t need a celebrity or a superhero. He uses plain and ordinary folks like us who will humble ourselves before him and offer our lives as living sacrifices for Him to use in His time. God bless you!
Author: Henry Reyenga
Henry Reyenga is president of Christian Leaders Institute and Christian Leaders Alliance.
