Ordained Christian Wedding Officiant

I am thankful to be an ordained Christian Wedding Officiant with Christian Leaders Alliance. Family is a key part of my life, and I’ve been richly blessed over the years through it. My wife, Kendra, and I have two daughters, Marissa, and Julia, and another on the way (due 7/24/19)! I currently work as an Elementary Special Education teacher at a small-town public school in Ohio.

Early Faith Life

My faith walk began at an early age. My parents took my younger siblings and me to the church that my paternal grandparents attended. We regularly attended as well, and eventually, the maternal side of the family began attending. During my junior high and high school years, I served as a Sunday School teacher. I even served a year long term as a co-chair of Christian Education (Sunday School Superintendent). Furthermore, I provided pulpit supply twice for the pastor on Sunday mornings.

After completing high school, I met a girl, fell in love, and we became pregnant. I gave up my dreams of ministry and focused on working and providing for a young family. However, I lost them through divorce three years later. I believe the Lord takes the brokenness of our relationships and uses them to draw us nearer to Him if we listen. It took Jesus working on my heart for seven years before I realized that even in the brokenness He’s able to see something beautiful. He truly gave me a new life. I met a woman on fire for Him. We got married and started a family, and she’s been my partner in ministry ever since.

Ordination Journey

So here I am, twenty-some years later, completing Christian Leaders Institute courses online. I serve as a Certified Lay Minister in the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church. I lead children and youth ministries at my local church. Also, I provide pulpit supply for the Lead Pastor about once a month. Over the years, I’ve checked out numerous denominations. While there are many similarities, there are also minor doctrinal differences. The main thing to remember is that we need and worship the same Jesus, the Son of God. He lived a sinless life, crucified, died, rose again on the third day (yay!), and ascended to Heaven where He intervenes continuously on our behalf!

Ministry Vision and Ordained Christian Wedding Officiant

My vision for ministry is to get back to the basics. Rather than worrying about buildings, we need to focus on the people. The apostles were regular, ordinary men, just like us. They sinned and repented and lived the rest of their lives to glorify Jesus. That’s what I want to do as I help other people do so as well! Henry’s video at the very beginning of the licensed Christian Wedding Officiant course resonated with me. When he spoke about his friend buying a credential online and people teasing him about it, I’ve been there and done that! It’s not a pleasant experience!

I’m already recognized as ordained by the State of Ohio. This course provided a lot of background information and training that I didn’t get when I made the online purchase several years ago from an “ordination mill.” This ordination course gave me a lot of great tools to use for when I officiate the next wedding. Thank you, CLI and Christian Leaders Alliance for offering these excellent materials and this opportunity. Keep up the great work – the Kingdom work – of pointing people in the direction of a deepening relationship with the Father, through Jesus Christ!

Author: Henry Reyenga

Henry Reyenga is president of Christian Leaders Institute and Christian Leaders Alliance.

August 1, 2019/by Henry Reyenga