|
|
How It All BeganMy name is Michael Siler. I was a victim of a drunk driver crash when I was 17 that left my body broken and my future crushed. I was raised in the military and had dreams to follow in my father’s and grandfathers’ footsteps instead I had to recognize that the future I had planned was never going to happen. I had to have back surgery to fuse my spine and was put on copious amounts of narcotic pain medication. The result was an opioid dependency from a young age. I struggled with various addictions throughout my young adult life and was searching for something to fill the void the trauma created, to no avail. My choices and addiction led to a lifestyle of bad decisions which ultimately ended in my arrest for drug possession and subsequent incarceration in the Department of Corrections in Missouri. When I got out I felt like my life was wasted and that I could never overcome what I was now called, a felon and drug addict. I felt hopeless and suicidal. But God! He rescued me from my own prison and led me to a church in rural Missouri that truly showed me the love of God! It was a place that was different from other churches I had been over the years. They really cared and wanted me there, even when I failed, they were there to help me back up. They didn’t just talk the talk but walked it out in love. It was a turning point of my purpose. God used them to help get me back on track and into a place that I could experience the transformative power of God. The Pastors were graduates of a place called Rhema Bible Training College and pulled me aside one day to tell me that they believed God had a purpose for my pain. That they wanted to sponsor me to go to the very school where they learned how to do the work of the ministry. I was given a once in a lifetime chance at a fresh start.
When I came to Rhema God continued to open door after door and through my willingness and obedience I was able to stay the course and graduate. Now I am the recruiting director for Rhema Bible Training College and I help others to step into all that God has for them by coming to this school of faith and unlocking their true potentials. God has taken the past hurts and shame and turned it into an example of his great grace and power to change a life. This ministry was birthed out of the need for others to experience the process that comes through committing to God’s will for their lives. It would have been seemingly impossible for me to pay for and commit to school had it not been for the support of others who saw something in me and believed in me when I couldn’t see it in myself. The heart of Rare ministries is to seek out individuals who are committed to God’s plan for their lives and support them in their most crucial time. Our primary focus is to house individuals and support them through the first year of Bible college. It is extraordinarily difficult to break out from previous bad choices in our society without a hand up. We aim to provide a place to live, mentorship, education, and accountability to individuals so they too can have an opportunity to be who God created them to be. When I look at the story of the prodigal, I don’t see an angry, bitter father condemning his son but rather I see a father restoring his son to his rightful place. To have the father’s heart is to do the fathers will. If the father was willing to restore his son, we too should be looking for opportunities to restore the ones who have made a commitment to return. This ministry is the express lane to purpose. It is my hope that the graduates of this program will carry the heart of this ministry and seek out the lost so that they too can experience the vast love that God has to give. As a supporter of Rare ministries, you have a chance to sow seed into future leaders of tomorrow, the redeemed, hand picked sons and daughters of God that will be used in a mighty way to be ministers of reconciliation to the world; having experienced it themselves first hand. |
|
Email
|
Address
|
900 W Vandever Blvd
Broken Arrow, OK 74012 |