Candidate for Licensed Wedding Officiant
My name is Jerry D. Hollingsworth, Ed.D. I am from Bandera, Texas, USA. The Christian Leaders Institute offers free ministry training online (Learn more about online Bible classes, Click Here). I am a candidate to be a licensed Christian Wedding Officiant.
A few weeks ago, my nephew contacted me to ask me if I would be willing to officiate his wedding. While I was honored by his request, I explained to him that I was not ordained. I could sense his disappointment and told him I would look into the prospect. As I began to search online, I found several websites stereotypically set up in the fashion of churning out certificates and ordinations. Most of them also did not mesh with my Christian beliefs. Then I found the Christian Leaders Institute (CLI). As I quickly discovered, CLI is so much more than a place to get licensed to officiate weddings. It is a treasure trove of opportunities for Christian leaders who want to grow in their faith.
God Does New Things
While I have not yet been fully licensed, and my first opportunity to oversee my nephew and his fiance’s wedding is a couple of months away, I am excited about this new door for ministry that God has opened. My wife and our three sons have been very encouraging in the pursuit of my license. One of my sons said, “Dad, I think that Ryan’s wedding may be the first of many for you. I may have to have you perform my own someday.” Such a response from my son really warmed my heart. It demonstrated that this might be a new direction for ministry for me that I never really considered.
As a candidate to be a Licensed Wedding Officiant, I fully believe that God is always doing new things in our lives. I greatly appreciate how CLI focuses not just on the wedding ceremony but also on strengthening women and men as they prepare for a healthy marriage. From my first online interactions throughout my licensure process, it is obvious that the focus is on strengthening the institution of marriage by building them on the solid foundation of Christ.
Author: Henry Reyenga
Henry Reyenga is president of Christian Leaders Institute and Christian Leaders Alliance.
