I grew up in the church. I’ve seen the church do many beautiful things, and I’ve also seen her do some truly hurtful things. But I love the church.
Since I was young, I’ve had a deep desire to see the church walking in health, stepping into her full potential, and not just existing but thriving.
As a young girl, I would stand in front of the mirror and practice preaching. I dreamed about it. I would pray and ask God if He might one day use me in that way. But for the longest time, I believed those desires were wrong. I thought I couldn’t be a pastor because it would mean I was “lording over men,” and that the desires in my heart were somehow “evil.”
I grew up believing I couldn’t trust my own desires through incorrect teachings. The truth is, I just wanted to serve Jesus. However He called me, I was willing to lay my life down and do it with great joy.
In 2015, I accepted my first paid ministry position as a church administrator. I loved my job – but even more, I deeply loved the people there. I served on the leadership team and led a women’s Bible study every Monday night. It was during this season that God began to break down my beliefs and correct my theology.
In 2019, I was at the 3:16 Fest, where Britt Nicole was in concert, when, out of nowhere, she called me out from the crowd and spoke a word over me that I’ll never forget: “Whatever God is stirring in your heart – do it. Be the change.” At the time, I didn’t fully understand what it meant, but the words stayed with me.
Then, in 2021, my life shifted in ways I hadn’t anticipated, leading me to a new church. Leaving my previous church was bittersweet – they gave me a beautiful send-off. My pastor and dear friend spoke truth over me and another word that stuck with me: “You were a pastor here.” I may not have held the title, but I had been shepherding in love all along. That church family remains dear to me, and I keep in touch with them still – they hold a permanent place in my heart.
When I transitioned to this new church, I was offered the role of Director of Operations and Church Administrator. Along the way, I also connected with a group of friends who were meeting in a house church. Through both this church and the house church, God began to surround me with support and gently deepen my understanding of women in leadership from a biblical perspective. In that season, He started tearing down the walls of my religion and breaking through strongholds I didn’t even realize were there.
It was during this time that I had the incredible opportunity to attend an Exponential Conference for the first time – a moment that would forever shape my life. I will never forget it. It felt like the culmination of a calling God had been stirring in my heart my entire life. I learned so many valuable truths during the conference, but the greatest gift I received was a prayer that completely broke the chains of bondage – the spirit of slavery (Romans 8:15).
At the end of the conference, Tom and Sarah Jackson came forward to pray over the women. As worship filled the room, the words of one song echoed powerfully in my heart: “I sought the Lord, He heard, and He answered.”
I couldn’t hold back the tears as I felt a literal weight lift from me – the bondage I was once under was gone. In that moment, I was set free and fully activated. I walked to the altar and as I did, I prayed for the one who would lay hands on me and that the person would be an encouragement and affirmation of this calling. God answered that prayer, and she has certainly been that encouragement ever since.
In the summer 2024, I felt God stirring in my heart for change. That stirring led my husband, Mike, and me to start a church alongside our friends from our house church. God had been moving in all our hearts in different ways, yet every movement pointed toward the same calling and mission. In January 2025, we said yes to joining the pastoral team that would launch Renewal Church in our hometown. Then, on Easter of this year, God opened the doors for the very first time.
In just six short months, I’ve seen God move in miraculous ways. Almost every week, people are coming to know Jesus, and we are seeing numerous baptisms. Our church is growing quickly, and there is no other way to describe it other than to say revival is stirring in our hometown. God is drawing sons and daughters to Himself, and we are simply vessels He is using for His glory, His purpose, and in His perfect way.
On this journey, I have learned so much that I hope to encourage and impart some of what God has taught me along the way to all who read this.
The first thing I learned is that God gives us desires and anoints those He calls.
It’s the anointing that qualifies you, not your gender (1 John 2:27, Isaiah 61:1-11, Luke 10:1).
Galatians 3:28 says, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” God doesn’t call based on gender, or race for that matter. Jesus is the great equalizer. It’s God who calls, anoints, and qualifies.
This realization was profound for me. I grew up with complementarian views, but now, with unveiled eyes, I embrace egalitarian views. I remember the day I read 2 Corinthians 3:17: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord leads, there is freedom.” It was a revelation: Jesus paid the price for my freedom, and His Spirit has anointed me to proclaim the good news, release captives, and bind up the brokenhearted.
He will lead, teach, and guide us to the places He is calling us. We do not need to fear His calling or the desires He places in our hearts – they come from Him. Our job is to seek Him and let Him sanctify us.
The gospel continually saves and frees us. Through sanctification, we are transformed into the image of Jesus. Philippians 2:13 reminds us, “It is God who works in you to both will and to act according to His good purpose.” Filled with His Spirit, we don’t live in fear, but rather we embrace the passions He gives us, fanning them into flame as willing vessels for His purposes and plans.
The second thing I learned was that we need to make room for Him.
When God stirred in my heart to church plant, He gave me a biblical outline to do it. I studied Luke 10 and journaled a ministry plan from this passage.
The truth is – I would not have gotten that plan if I had not taken the necessary time of sitting at His feet. It is necessary to have daily time in prayer, in the Word of God, worship and times of fasting. You will not have the overflow to share or proper opportunity to gain revelation if you don’t. It is from a place of intimacy that we hear, know, and grow in the understanding of God, His Will, and His ways. We must make room for it.
As a faithful teacher, He guides and reveals mysteries (El Gelah Raz, Psalm 25:14). When things feel unclear, I seek Him for answers. Before stepping down from my last ministry role, I prayed and fasted because I felt His stirring. It was challenging to understand, but I trusted Him because of the intimacy I had with Him and my faith increased. It took faith to move forward, and I guarantee it will take faith for you too, but that’s the beauty, isn’t it? To cultivate faith in our trustworthy God which draws us into a more intimate relationship with our Creator – the One who knows us best and loves us the most. After all, His ways are better (Isaiah 55:8-9).
My husband and I fasted again before joining the pastoral team at Renewal Church, and we continue to do this practice. Seeking God intentionally draws us closer to Him. Psalm 32:8 says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” What a gift!
The results have been God’s guidance and provision, but also His peace the whole way. Isaiah 26:3, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” His peace is the confidence we gain from seeking Him. We don’t live in fear, but rather in faith knowing that He is a trustworthy God.
We don’t look back to our past – but rather move forward: putting our hands to the plow, confident in God and His calling as we keep our eyes focused on him. (Luke 9:62) Seeking Him with our whole heart (Jeremiah 29:13) and as we do, we will find Him, and in return cultivate our beautiful love relationship with Him.
But first, we must make room.
The third thing I have learned is that we need to prayerfully seek co-laborers.
Proper support matters. It is so important to surround yourself with the right people God is sending you on mission with. Intentionally pursuing the calling to church plant means that God is already at work in other people around you that He wants to send with you. It’s your job to prayerfully seek out who God is calling to go with you.
In Luke 10:1-2, Jesus says, “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’”
The harvest is plentiful – so we pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers with us. I had an opportunity to church plant at my last church, but that wasn’t who God was calling me to do it with. I wouldn’t have known that if I had not been intentionally seeking Him for the answers. God is not sending us alone into the harvest. He has set aside the right workers to go with you to reap the harvest. Seek Him and His Spirit will show you who He is sending with you. One of the greatest revealers is unity. Your team will be like minded, joined in love and unified by the Spirit as you pursue Jesus together (Philippians 2:2).
Another intentional piece to prayerfully pursue in co-laborers is the five-fold ministry. Ephesians 4:11-13 says, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” God has appointed the apostle, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers to build the church together. Our pastoral leadership team consists of this five-fold ministry. God was faithful to provide this as we sought Him. Each one of us operates within our callings and giftings. This is a key component, and the result has been the building up of the church in love and faith. It’s God’s desire to send us as a team into the harvest together. It’s our job to intentionally seek Him for those people.
The fourth thing I have learned is that God is the builder, and we use His blueprints.
God is the master builder. Matthew 16:18 says, “… And I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
It is God who plants the desire in our hearts. It is God who brings the right people alongside us, who carefully orchestrates every detail, and who opens doors we could never open on our own. It is God who gives the blueprints and builds His church – He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and completely sufficient.
When we truly understand this, our hearts are drawn to ask: What role do I have in His work? How can I walk faithfully in the plan He has prepared for me (1 Corinthians 3:6)? And as we seek Him, we begin to see His masterful hand at work in ways far greater than we could imagine.
Jesus gave us the blueprints. We see this in Luke 10:9, as He anoints and sends the 70 to heal and to preach. By preaching we tell of God’s power, but by healing we show of God’s power.
We also see His blueprint in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Jesus entrusts us to live sent with the mission He gave to us before He ascended. We are to make disciples as we go, baptizing them and teaching them as we show of God’s power and tell of God’s power. When someone we love leaves a last will and testament, we honor it with our hearts and our actions. We carry out their wishes because we love them. In the same way, Jesus has entrusted us with the blueprints of mission – and with the same devotion, we are called to faithfully follow Him and live out His mission.
It is God who builds the church, and every detail matters to Him. As we prayerfully seek His plans, we stay focused on the main thing – the mission Jesus has entrusted to us. We bear the most fruit in ministry when we remain on mission, attentive to both the big picture and the details, trusting Him to guide every step.
The final thing I have learned is that we remain on the mission by being steadfast and alert.
I am reminded of the story of Peter in Matthew 14:22-33, when Jesus calls to Peter to walk out onto the water. The storm was present, but so was Jesus. If our eyes are on the storm, we doubt and succumb to the raging storm of circumstances that surround us. But, if we fix our eyes on Jesus, we can do the impossible. We can walk on the waters He calls us to. And not only walk, we can run with endurance and faith. As we see Jesus fulfill all He has called us to, our faith grows, for He is the author and perfector of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). Our hope in Him renews our strength, prevents us from growing weary, and helps us to soar (Isaiah 40:31).
Another thing we must do on mission is to be aware of the devil’s schemes. He is a liar, a thief, a murderer (John 8:44), and an accuser and adversary (Revelation 12:10; 1 Peter 5:8). Knowing this, I began to consider his tactics – after all, we are at war. If I were the adversary, I would try to destroy half of the army with lies and accusations, while using the other half to oppress through what appears to be friendly fire. In this way, I would have defeated half the army using their own people, leaving only half of them to war against directly.
Church, this is exactly what the devil has done. One of the greatest lies the devil has told us is that women can’t preach or teach. He has used us against ourselves to subdue half of the army through lies. Now is the time for women to awaken, walk in the authority God has given to them and embrace their calling. Men are called to empower and set them free. Half the church must be activated again, remembering that our struggle is not against each other, but against the spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12). This is the truth. This is our call.
Friends, we do not know the hour to which the Lord will return (Mark 13:32). What we do know is this: everyday people are dying and going to hell. We must lay down our weapons of warfare towards each other. We must stop fighting one another and take the fight to its rightful place. We fight the devil and his demonic forces better when we are together, united as one in Christ Jesus we are strong. Jesus paid too high a price for it not to be so.
Paul says it well to the church in Ephesus, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift” (Ephesians 4:1-7).
Church, let’s stand united and not divided – too much is at stake. United, we are unstoppable. So, Lord, make us one.
