Licensed Ministry Officiant Training

Hello, my name is Kim Powell. I am currently studying at the Christian Leaders Institute for licensed ministry officiant training and other ministry courses (Learn more about licensed ministry officiant training and other Bible courses, Click Here). For 19 years, I have had the privilege of being the wife of an extraordinary man of God and a mom to three exceptional children. We currently reside in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, where we spend our days soaking up the sun and evenings watching the sunset on the beautiful shores of the Emerald Coast.

My Story Begins

Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, I grew up in a Spirit-filled, Southern Pentecostal family. If the church doors were open, we were there. My family consisted of many pastors, world missionaries, youth pastors, evangelists, Christian organization CEOs, and more.

Growing up, the word of God and commitment to prayer were a constant in our home and central to our lives. We were a family deeply rooted in Scripture with a long history of service to the Lord. So, for me, the aspect of a life fully dedicated to the Lord seemed to be in my spiritual DNA.

The Prodigal Years

Around the time of my mid-teens, I started to feel the draw of the world. I began engaging in many of the nefarious exploits of an abundant life full of sin and fell away from my walk with God. As a result of my rebellious intrigue, I began questioning everything that I had once held so dear to the faith. I questioned who I was, who I was in Christ, and the call to godly service that had been spoken over my life since before I was born.

I spent much of my youth indulging in and exploring the proverbial dark side of existence. Following in dark footsteps and to my detriment, I elevated individuals whose charisma far outpaced their character. I became a master in creating an absurdly well-constructed web of lies and deceit. I spun them around my life to create the illusion of happiness and security.

In The Gap

Fortunately, I had godly parents, family, and extended church family members that stood in the gap on my behalf during those sin-filled times. They never gave up on me. On the contrary, their fervent prayers sustained me during my era of rebellion (even though I didn’t know it at the time). Inevitably, they helped save my life.

Living LaVita “Lukewarm”

My journey back to Christ started on a typical Sunday morning. Kicking and screaming, my parents dragged me to the church. I sat through most of the service, half-listening, half sleeping. Then, as the pastor delivered the message, the residual effects from the previous night’s pharmaceutical hallucinogens kicked in. I was sitting in the back pew. Through blurred eyes and heavy brain fog, I watched as the pastor and several choir members’ faces seemingly melted in and out of focus.

The message that day just happened to be on the Prodigal Son – of course, it was! Because that’s how God works. The message was clear and transparent, and it was about me. I started to feel extremely uncomfortable in my skin. I became overcome with the all too familiar internal spiritual tug-of-war. My grandmother used to describe this place of confusion as “being an emotional casserole.” It was the conflicting feelings between my conscious heart for God and my wanting sinful nature. The pain of my sin and guilt became all too real that day.

As I sat in the church, in my self-induced shame, I heard one voice over all of the other chattering voices of doubt in my mind. It was that all too familiar-still small voice. It was the same voice that I had heard many years prior during my youthful innocence. The voice of God was calling me to repentance. He wanted nothing more than to redeem me back to Himself. But I was stubborn, and I wasn’t ready.

Downward Shame Cycle

Over the next few months, I slipped increasingly further away from God. It was a perpetual downward shame cycle. It went like this: date night, dope night, church. Date night, dope night, church. Repeat! Each time would bring an enormous amount of unbearable guilt from reckless days and nights of sin. It plagued my conscience continually. I knew that God wanted me to repent. I knew in my heart what was right and what I needed to do. However, I wasn’t quite willing to let go of my rebellion and take that bold step back towards God.

Thirty Days in the Hole

During a stint at a local rehab, with absolutely nothing to do, I found a little green Gideon-New Testament Bible in the end table drawer of my rehab room. So, I decided to start reading. I read over and over all of the stories about Jesus that I heard as a kid. The truth is, I never stopped believing that God is God. That He is who He says that He is. I just stopped believing “IN” following in the footsteps of Christ.

Still, my flesh was weak. It seemed as if I was stuck in my wild ways and tragically bent towards sin. Full disclosure, at this point, I wasn’t just bent; I was molded into a 360-degree circle of sin. Some declare in times like these that one needs to turn over a new leaf. For me, I needed to uproot the entire tree. Even still, I wasn’t ready to give up my prodigal ways. Talk about spiritual warfare!

The Not So Glory Years

The next few years were, well, I’m not sure that an exact word exists that could properly lend justice to describing my “Adventures.” During my many adventures, to name a few, I met a musician, jumped on a tour bus, toured the world with some of the biggest names in the industry, and was involved in a tragic car accident. Then, after an extended hospital stay, I was sent back to rehab.

My guardian angels must have been exhausted by this time. The check marks on my “hell points” scorecard probably looked more like the winning numbers in the Florida state lottery. Well, thankfully, God doesn’t keep a “hell points” scorecard. But you get the picture.

But God!

It was Easter Sunday morning, spring of 1995. Tired, mentally and emotionally beat down and exhausted, my parents once again dragged me to church. I can’t exactly explain what happened that day. All I can say is that the minute the congregation started to sing, “At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, and the burdens of my heart rolled away,” I instantaneously became an emotional hemophiliac. Many years of repressed feelings came rushing to the surface and then bled out like a fountain. I was done with living in the darkness of the world! Then, in a split second, I repented and felt the Holy Spirit wash over me. I was once again filled with the joy of the Lord! I felt His presence like never before.

It was at the foot of the cross, on that Easter Sunday morning, that I once and for all, laid it all down. No more being a house divided within me. I was and am fully and wholly Redeemed. I left my old and dirty, sinful life that day and never went back. It’s been 26 years since that glorious Easter morning, and God has continued to bless me far more than I ever could have dreamed or deserved.

The Call and Licensed Ministry Officiant Training

My calling in this life is clear. It is now and always has been to serve the Lord and be a living testimony of redemption. I am a testament to how great and merciful our Heavenly Father truly is.

Through Christian Leaders Institute, I can get the ministry training and skills to serve the Lord wherever He leads. My dream is to develop the knowledge and skills that I need to help others like myself. I want to help them find their way to Christ and embrace their gift of redemption. The licensed ministry officiant training at CLI and becoming a licensed ministry officiant with Christian Leaders Alliance are bringing me closer to that goal.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I hope you all have a blessed and wonderful life and walk with Christ.

Learn more about ordination and licensing at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost college degree? Check out the Christian Leaders College.