Christmas is one of the best times of the year to put your faith into action. Throughout Scripture, we are exhorted not only to be “salt and light” in a dark world, but also to help those in need: the poor, orphans and widows. James, the brother of the One we celebrate at Christmas, told us plainly that “faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless” (James 2:17, NLT).

Because of our hectic schedules, it’s often hard to think of ways we can bless those outside our family or circle of friends. This Christmas, why not reach out to someone you normally might not consider? Here are some ideas to help get you started. The Web site can help guide you to trusted charities.

1. Purchase Christmas cards from Joni and Friends ( or 800-736-4177), and help minister to families affected by disabilities. The cards are designed by the organization’s founder, Joni Eareckson Tada, who became a quadriplegic at age 17 after a diving accident. (She paints with a brush between her teeth.) While you’re at it, ask a ministry staff member how you can organize a wheelchair drive in your community. To date, Joni and Friends has distributed more than 50,000 wheelchairs to 102 countries. 

a pair of shoes for a child through LIFE Outreach International’s “Christmas Shoes Project.” The cost of manufacturing and delivering each pair of shoes is $, and LIFE’s goal is to provide 200,000 pairs for kids in more than 40 countries. To contribute, call 800-947-5433 or visit .

3. Bless a single parent. Give the gift of time by offering to babysit while a single mom or dad goes Christmas shopping or to a work party. If it’s in your budget, treat a single mother to a facial or pedicure while you watch her children.

4. Make an orphan’s Christmas special. Open Door Bulgaria, founded by Christ for the Nations alumni Niki and Michelle Stefanov, plans to provide toys to some 300 Bulgarian orphans this Christmas. To help, call 813-527-4149 or visitand click “English” for ministry information.

Orphan Voice founder Tony Brewer, who now lives in Vietnam with his family, reports that the winters there get chilly. To help provide orphaned children with coats this Christmas (approximately $10 per coat), e-mail Brewer at @or call 800-525-0871.

5. If you are capable of covering a larger-ticket item, transform an orphan’s life with surgery. A $600 cleft lip or palette surgery, or a $3,000 heart surgery, can be arranged through Show Hope, the foundation established by Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth. For information, visit or call 615-550-5600.

6. Adopt a family in need. Fill a laundry basket with basic foods, toiletries, a few favorite “luxury” items and perhaps a gift card to a local grocery store, and deliver it to someone who has lost a job or fallen on hard times. Enclose a Christmas card with a note of encouragement. If you need a referral, talk to your pastor or a school administrator.

7. Purchase gifts that make a difference. An impressive selection of handmade baskets, trivets, ornaments and serving trays is available at . Proceeds go to Rwanda Partners, a Christian nonprofit organization dedicated to working for Rwanda’s healing and reconciliation. If you’re shopping for people who have everything—or would prefer blessing others—consider providing a goat or chickens for an impoverished Rwandan family on their behalf ().

8. Invite someone to your home for Christmas dinner. Think of a college student who has no family in town, someone in your church who is new to the area or a family that is struggling to make ends meet. Do you know of someone nearby who is from another country? Get together and share Christmas traditions.

9. Spread the good news—the true meaning of Christmas. Through The Voice of the Martyrs (, 877-337-0302), you can distribute New Testaments to some of the most closed areas in the world. The cost per Bible is $6, and you can decide at what level you want to participate.

10. Look at your budget for 2014 and determine if you are able to make a monthly donation to bless someone in need. You can sponsor a child’s education for $35 a month through the African Children’s Choir, a powerful ministry that is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Correspondence opportunities will enable you to connect with your sponsored child in a life-changing way. For information, go to or call 877-532-8651.

Carol Chapman Stertzer is a Dallas-based journalist. College students from China and Russia joined her family for Christmas dinner several years ago, making it a truly memorable one.

How worshipping God has less to do with music than we think—and more to do with the ‘doing’

Secular bands such as U2 aren’t the only ones promoting social justice these days. Many worship leaders recognize the importance of being the hands and feet of Jesus and are actively recruiting believers to help change society.

One of the largest endeavors is “Do Something Now,” created by Passion founders Louie and Shelley Giglio. Passion worship artists Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman and Charlie Hall have helped raise awareness for this movement at conferences and on tour. They’ve raised more than $3 million, providing funds to build wells in India, set up loans for families to start their own businesses in Afghanistan, sponsor children in Third World countries and more.

“The heart of Passion,” says Tomlin, “is seeing worship and justice walking side by side. Passion will always champion songs of worship to God and will always stand in the gap for the least of these in the world.”

Redman points to the underlying reason for combining worship and acts of justice: “Biblically it’s been made clear that injustice and poverty break God’s heart, but working toward justice and caring for the poor brings Him pleasure.” Redman is gearing up to partner with The Message a group in Manchester, England, that works with youth in various schools and young-offender institutions. 

“The plan is to raise up some young urban evangelist worship leaders who have a heart for the poor and are writing some brilliant songs from within that environment,” he says.

Fellow British worship artist Vicky Beeching believes Isaiah 58 clearly describes the link between worship and justice. “It tells us that the kind of offering God wants is acts of justice and mercy,” she says. “Often, we think He wants songs—but really, He wants us to change society and bring it into line with His kingdom values and love.”

Worship pastor Daniel Bashta of RiverStone Church near Atlanta has founded a nonprofit called Go Motion Worldwide, which has a threefold ministry: music, media and missions. “God has commanded us to take care of the widows and orphans,” he says. “If we are not living out our faith in motion, then we are dead.”

Bashta and his wife recently adopted their first child and launched “Project Gift” to provide financial assistance to couples wanting to adopt. “It would be an injustice for me to just write nice little worship songs and to live a comfortable existence. We are on a ferocious mission to see an adoption revolution erupt in our local churches worldwide.”

Charismatic believers have often been at the forefront of giving generously to feed the hungry, provide Bibles in closed countries and countless other outreaches. Yet a social justice movement that grasps the “doing” part of worship can take this to another level.

“I hope it’s an awakening,” Tomlin says. “If it’s just a response to the materialism and self-centeredness, then I’m afraid it may just be a passing trend. However, if it is really something birthed from vision and the calling of God, it will be a life work. It’s surely not a passing trend to the heart of God, so it shouldn’t be for those who carry His name.”

As Christians increasingly come under attack, how should we respond?

In light of today’s volatile economy and nonprofit concerns dealing with everything from charitable giving to Obamacare, the American church faces many serious questions about the future.

“We are in a progressively anti-faith environment, and there is a tremendous shifting of churches that really believe the fundamentals and those that don’t,” says Bishop Harry Jackson Jr., pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Md. “Fewer churches are teaching the truth than we realized.”

But Jackson is optimistic that these troubling times will bring positive change in America. “I have confidence that the great soul-winning churches are going to take up the trumpet to speak out about social issues,” he says, noting that in the past, churches were either focused on winning souls or social issues—never both. Jackson feels that churches increasingly recognize the need to embrace both camps, and he believes this shift will become evident before the next major political election.

“If the church would lead, there is a biblical way to solve the immigration problem that is not uniquely Democrat or Republican—it’s kingdom,” he says. “There is a biblical way to deal with racism [and] to defend life so we aren’t having more abortions.”

Tim Tiller, chief operating officer of Jewish Voice Ministries, believes the U.S. is at a turning point. “[Christians] are no longer the home team, so we have to be careful how we communicate our beliefs,” he says. At the same time, he feels Christians “should not stand on the sidelines and just watch everything unfold.”

Jack Hoey, chief operations officer of Seacoast Church in Mount Pleasant, S.C., encourages churches to focus on the apostle Paul’s mission: to help people’s love grow more and more in the knowledge and depth of wisdom (see Phil. 1:9).

“Why are Christians under attack?” Hoey asks. “Because Christianity is dangerous. It’s dangerous because it’s true. So being under attack isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though it might be uncomfortable.”

Believers need to buckle their seatbelts and, at a time when the nation is divided, seek to walk in unity with other believers. Ultimately, Hoey says, “If you are walking with God, He can redeem any bad situation.”

Why more ministries are handing over operations to corporate leaders—and why that’s a good thing

Not every ministry leader is willing to be candid about the sluggish economy and its direct impact on the church. But Mark Walker, a fourth-generation Pentecostal pastor, likely represents many church leaders when he refers to the past four years as “the most challenging” he’s seen in his lifetime.

The biggest contributing factor? Unemployment. North Georgia, where Walker has served for 21 years as senior pastor of Mount Paran North Church of God, in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, has been one of the hardest-hit areas in the nation since 2008. A number of veteran small-business owners who attend Mount Paran have had to shut their doors. Others, concerned about Obamacare, realize that if they opt out of the health-care mandate because of religious convictions, they will have to pay a tax—which means laying off staff.

Walker is all-too-familiar with such layoffs. For the first time in its 25-year history, Mount Paran recently had to trim its staff.

“Any time there was an economic hiccup in the past, we cut budget—but we never had to lay off people,” Walker says. “It has challenged every ounce of leadership, business and biblical skill I have—and beyond—to try to make it work.”

As churches and nonprofit ministries nationwide have grown exponentially, so too have the challenges, which today often include legal, human resource and technology issues. As a result, many pastors and ministry leaders are recruiting trained business professionals—like Walker, who holds a doctorate in organizational leadership and spent the first several years of his career working in business—to help guide them and provide the expertise they lack.

And it’s created a point of convergence, as a growing number of corporate executives are willing to lay down their stock options and use their skills to benefit the work of God in the world.

When Business Meets the Pulpit

When Bishop Harry Jackson Jr. earned his MBA in the 1980s, few MBA grads specialized in nonprofit work. For himself, Jackson set his sights on sales and marketing—and with a degree from Harvard, the sky was the limit.

While serving as the national sales and marketing manager for one of Corning Glass Works’ divisions, Jackson started a Bible study in his home that unexpectedly grew into a church, which he led bivocationally for four years. But then, with a second child on the way, Jackson’s wife, Michele, approached him about his demanding schedule. It was time to choose: business or full-time ministry.

By staying in the corporate world, Jackson could have amassed a fortune. But he accepted the call to the pastorate instead, which he says “revolutionized” his life because it forced him to walk by faith.

“I dropped from a huge salary down to whatever 100-something people could pay me in a fledgling work,” he says.

Jackson’s Ivy-League education didn’t go to waste, as he began using many of his business skills in ministry, starting with market segmentation. In the predominantly white church he pastored in upstate New York, Jackson emphasized evangelism—and the church grew. In 1988, he was called to Hope Christian Church, just outside Washington, D.C., and it became known—and popular—for its Hosanna! Integrity-style worship instead of traditional black gospel.

Applying his business sense to the pastorate, Jackson says “mission drift” can occur in churches when pastors try to meet every need rather than focus on the areas where they’re called, just as businesses go astray when diversifying their brand to the point of dilution.

“I’ve had opportunities where resources were offered that would be distractions,” Jackson says. “If we go outside the areas where we’re called, we can get ourselves in trouble with the Lord and move outside our skills.”

Experience Both Timely and Valuable

Named one of the 50 most influential leaders in the U.S. glass industry, Jack Hoey, now chief operating officer of Seacoast Church, a 12,000-member congregation based in Mount Pleasant, S.C., previously served as president and CEO of Coastal Glass Distributors in Charlotte. After selling his business, he was asked by Greg Surratt, senior pastor of Seacoast, to share his business expertise on matters concerning the church—an invitation that led Surratt to invite Hoey the following year to come on board and implement his suggested changes.

“I feel like I’ve been able to really help move staff who were in roles that didn’t fit them so well,” Hoey says. 

When Seacoast’s human resources director retired a year ago, Hoey took over most of the director’s responsibilities, which has given him the opportunity to coach and mentor the staff. 

Today he manages the staff, finances, facilities and security at Seacoast. And although Hoey’s corporate experience was tied to a completely different industry than the work he does now, his experience managing an organization of more than 100 people serves him—and Seacoast—well today.

In Arlington, Texas, experience as a facilities and services manager at Amoco Corporation helps Joseph Davis streamline the day-to-day business operations of High Point Church—a critical skill, given the lean staff of 28 that serves a congregation of 3,500 people. As the church’s associate pastor, Davis helps High Point manage its finances responsibly by outsourcing service providers—everything from accounting to facility services—and relying heavily on volunteers. 

“It definitely impacts the bottom line and improves efficiencies,” Davis says.

When Nathan Buss began attending Substance Church in Minneapolis, Minn., its membership ran about 200. Today, the church has blossomed to 2,100 members and serves four campuses, none of which the church owns. Accordingly, as the finance administrator of the church today, one of Buss’ future responsibilities will be to locate land or a building at an existing site that Substance Church can purchase. With 10 years of commercial real estate experience and an MBA under his belt, Buss is well-suited for the task.

And at the Rock Church in San Diego, Calif., which draws about 12,000 people a week under the leadership of Miles McPherson, James Lawrence is the newly appointed chief of staff and innovation. When Lawrence joined the church full-time in 2010, the executive team consisted of nine people; now, it has been reduced to four.

Lawrence, who was instrumental in putting together a finance committee “to make sure we have a solid financial reporting structure that interfaces with our auditor and executive team,” he says, has utilized every ounce of leadership experience he accrued over 15 years—first as the founder of GrepNet, a software engineering company that developed the first commercial in-memory database technology, and then as co-founder of Mogiv, a mobile and cloud-based giving technology for churches—to make the difficult decisions that are par for the course when leading a church in these lean economic times. Like Jackson, Lawrence believes leadership—whether in ministry or in the marketplace—is critical in the church today.

Revitalization at Nonprofit Ministries

Just as churches desperately need skilled business leaders, particularly in today’s tough times, so do nonprofit ministries—and many CEOs and corporate executives who have gained skills in cutthroat environments are eager to leave the secular world for the “sacred.”

One such leader is Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. Reckford began his career at Goldman Sachs in New York but soon discovered his role there didn’t align with his personal values. So in 1986, he applied for a number of fellowships and was awarded the Henry Luce Scholarship, which led him to spend a year in Seoul, Korea, where he worked in marketing for the Olympic Organizing Committee and coached the Korean rowing team.

Upon his return, Reckford began an MBA program at Stanford University, focusing on public and nonprofit management. “The slight surprise was that I came out of school thinking I ought to work in the private sector first and then take those skills across,” he says. Reckford served in executive and management roles at Marriott, the Walt Disney Company, Circuit City and Best Buy.

Following a trip to India, Reckford was intent on directly serving the poor, but there was to be a long waiting period before a door opened for him in the nonprofit world. In the meantime, he rolled up his sleeves and volunteered at his church, Christ Presbyterian, in Edina, Minn., which soon led to a full-time job as executive pastor.

A couple years later, a recruiter who had previously called Reckford about for-profit jobs, contacted him out of the blue about Habitat for Humanity. 

“It was the kind of role that met all of my hopes, in terms of service,” Reckford says.

And all the corporate experience Reckford gathered over the years served him well in his new, auspicious role. The breadth of Habitat’s work is enormous. The organization has 1,553 independent chapters or affiliates in the United States and works in 80 countries. About 700 staff members serve the global umbrella organization, and more than 1 million volunteers helped with projects in 2012.

Even in a tough economy, Reckford says Habitat has quadrupled the number of families they have been able to help each year since 2005. Since taking the helm at Habitat, Reckford has implemented housing microfinance, which influences banks to create home improvement loans for low-income families. The organization has also focused more of its attention on helping families rebuild their homes after a disaster.

Like Habitat for Humanity, Bible League International has made major shifts in recent years to become more effective and efficient—a goal they’ve been able to achieve under the leadership of Robert Frank, who brought to the organization in 2009 a rich 30-year history working with large international corporations. With an MBA in international business development, Frank grew his understanding of diverse cultures and economies in his work outside the United States with the apparel division of Fruit of the Loom. At Rawlings Sporting Goods, he served as part of the IPO team that took the company public.

Upon joining the Bible League, Frank brought his global experience and business sensibilities to bear, first by restructuring the organization through decentralizing and then by moving operations to locations nearer the various divisional offices. For instance, the Asia-Pacific office is now run from Sydney, Australia, instead of Chicago.

While U.S. and European markets are waning, the economies in other countries are booming, Frank notes. As a result, the Bible League plans to boost its development efforts outside the United States, where the church also tends to be thriving and there is real growth potential.

Spiritual at Its Root

When Tim Tiller came to Jewish Voice Ministries in 2010 after serving as president of Multi-Systems, Inc., a leading provider of technology to the hotel industry, his learning curve was steep. Immersing himself in a new industry that specialized in multimedia and fundraising posed challenging enough—but he also discovered other delicate, complex issues in a ministry setting.

Though working at Jewish Voice is a dream for Tiller, he is realistic about some of the hurdles. 

“I realize that because I’m working for the Lord, the enemy would do anything he could to bring me or the ministry down,” he says.

Accordingly, Tiller has initiated spiritual warfare training for new staff. “I really see the enemy working double-time in ministry now,” he says. “We tell staff, ‘You’re joining a Jewish evangelistic ministry, and because of that, you are likely going to be under attack spiritually.’”

Indeed, there is something bigger at stake for those involved in nonprofit ministry, notes Tony Meggs, who served in management posts at American Express before heading up a health-care-sharing organization called Christian Care Ministry. “We carry the banner of Jesus Christ. Everything we do has to be worthy of that name,” he says. “Ministry needs credible, godly leadership—people who live their lives with integrity. If we really want to affect culture and win people … we need to present to them godly men and women who can lead and be people they can trust and follow.”

From his vantage point at Substance Church, Buss can quickly point out the similarities and differences between the church and corporate worlds. In business, he says, the focus is on the bottom line and making money. In a church, managing the money properly is important, “but your ultimate goal is the people and saving the lost.”

Davis echoes this point. “I have fiduciary responsibilities to fulfill [at High Point Church], but God is the one who brings in the people. It’s His kingdom.”

With God as the true leader of these churches and nonprofits, its stewards sometimes find themselves being led to unexpected pastures—especially in this downturn economy. For instance, Mount Paran launched a new campus in Canton, about 20 miles north of Marietta, in January 2012. The church held its first official service with a team of about 200 people and is “financially holding its own,” says Walker. “During such trying economic times, it sounds absolutely asinine to open a new campus, but we felt like it is what God wanted us to do.”

This type of ministry decision is perhaps where the “faith dynamic,” as Jackson calls it, comes into play. “God provides the resources when we don’t understand how we can possibly do it at all,” he says.

Ultimately, it takes a balance of faith and wisdom earned by experience. Frank, commenting on the challenge of working for a nonprofit, says there can be a tendency for people to lead with their hearts, not with their heads. 

“You’ve got to do both,” he says. “You have to have passion for what you do, but the decisions you make at the top affect the health of the organization.”

And what lights up these leaders more than anything are the lives they see changed in the places they’re called to serve. Davis says the greatest joy of his job is seeing people walk down the aisle week after week, accepting the invitation to follow Jesus. “When they are standing at the altar with tears streaming down their face and you know they have really had an encounter with God,” he says, “it makes all of the other challenges and opportunities we face worth it.”

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Carol Chapman Stertzer is a Dallas-based journalist who has served at two local nonprofits over the past 16 years.

Meet the ‘better halves’ of 10 well-known ministers

 

There was a time when the role of a pastor’s wife was virtually set in stone: She was expected to serve as pianist, choir director or children’s director—or all of the above. She attended every service and sat near the front, carefully groomed to avoid scrutiny. She was required to be part of most midweek meetings and host after-church socials. Remember the day?

Today’s booming churches illustrate that times have changed for such women in ministry, whether their husbands are pastors, presidents or founders. The 10 women featured here serve in areas where they are gifted. Though most of them aren’t in the pulpit regularly, they have a profound impact on their church’s culture. Some were called to be a pastor’s wife as a child; others willingly took on the role after marriage. Charisma celebrates the way in which they use their God-given talents while honoring their husbands and making a difference for the kingdom.

 DEBBIE MORRIS

Married to: Robert Morris

Senior Pastor
Gateway Church
Southlake, Texas

Debbie Hughes was in Robert Morris’ fifth-grade class, and the two attended the same Baptist church in east Texas. But they never connected until high school, when Robert rededicated his life. “They told him he needed to date a straight girl, and I was it,” says Debbie, 50. On their first date, Debbie was smitten. The couple got married on May 3, 1980.

Since Robert launched Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, in 2000, the church has grown to nearly 18,000 attendees. At first, the visibility made Debbie feel like she couldn’t be herself when she went to places like the grocery store. “I felt like I had to dress up a little more because I never knew who might see me. Then I just decided, Me is me, and I don’t have to put on pretenses to go to the grocery store.”

These days, the Morrises are mindful of their family time. Instead of eating in a restaurant after Sunday services, for example, they pick up food and take it home for lunch, which gives their children more quality time with their dad. When Robert is home, Debbie tries to “really allow Robert to be off and have fun with him.”

Debbie serves as pastor of Pink (Gateway women), and women’s ministry is one of her passions. 

“In some ways I’m challenging the status quo,” she says. “For example, I believe women can be godly and be in the workforce and do a good job of raising their kids. I want to do something that’s a little different from what I grew up with.”

FAVORITES 

Hobbies: swimming, bicycling, taking a walk, doing puzzles, watching football and basketball on TV

Vacation spot: Hawaii

Food: Mexican

Music: Gateway’s worship band, Kari Jobe

 

MICHELE JACKSON

Married to: Harry Jackson

Senior Pastor
Hope Christian Church
Washington, D.C.

Michele Alexander never realized when she was in elementary school that classmate Harry Jackson would one day be her husband. After grade school, Michele didn’t see Harry again until 12 years later—in Cleveland, where both of them were working. They dated briefly and became Christians shortly before they got married on Dec. 25, 1976.

Early in their marriage they moved to Corning, N.Y. Harry had a business background, and Michele was involved in education and social work. One day Michele received a call from Harry. “I really feel like I’m supposed to start a church,” he told her. Miraculously, the Lord provided a facility in the tiny adjoining town of Painted Post.

Within a few years, they had established television and radio programs and ran a Christian school and Bible college. It was one of the first interracial churches in the area.

Trying to find her place as a pastor’s wife was one of Michele’s greatest challenges. She soon discovered that she was able to use her education by serving the children of the church, developing programs for the youth and teaching women’s Bible studies.

God led them to the Washington, D.C., area in 1998, where they serve at Hope Christian Church. A natural leader, Michele, 58, serves as executive pastor and overseer of Women in Fellowship Inc., a mentoring organization designed to equip women through prayer and Bible study.

In 2007 Michele was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells. Since then she has been on various kinds of chemotherapy and battled numerous infections. 

“The reality of the frailty of life brings a level of sobriety,” she says. “I’m not out of the woods yet, but I’m not nearly as sick as I was when diagnosed. The Lord is my light and salvation, and I don’t have to fear. Even in my frailty, I am strong.”

FAVORITES 

Hobby: watching basketball

Vacation spot: Port Elizabeth, South Africa; Cancun, Mexico

Food: chocolate cake

Scripture: Psalm 27 

Accomplishment: founding two Christian schools

 

LISA CHAN

Married to: Francis Chan

Former Senior Pastor
Cornerstone Community Church
Simi Valley, Calif.

After conversing with Lisa Chan, you wonder how this mother of four could be so calm and relaxed. (At press time, Lisa was scheduled to give birth to No. 5 in June.)

 Lisa’s husband, Francis, pastored Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, Calif., for more than 16 years. In 2010, he announced that he would be stepping down from the role. The Chan family took off two months to travel and went to India, Thailand and China. Upon returning, they unpacked their bags in San Francisco—with all of them living in a two-bedroom apartment for a season.

Lisa and Francis don’t know exactly what the next chapter holds, but they are praying about establishing a new church in San Francisco. 

“We want to know people and disciple people and not have this giant machine that can sometimes blow you over,” says Lisa, 39.

At Cornerstone, Lisa’s role “changed and morphed” over the years. “I never felt the struggles of a pastor’s wife at Cornerstone,” she says. “We were able to be honest with a group of people and share the Word of God with them.”

One of Lisa’s favorite verses is Colossians 3:2: “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” She plans to work on a video project that deals with the theme of this Scripture. Tentatively scheduled to release in 2012, it will be produced by the same group that delivered Francis’s “Basic” series.

“We don’t belong here,” Lisa reflects. “We make it about ourselves, our marriage, our kids. … In the end, it’s going to be around what we did for Christ and how well we loved Him.”

FAVORITES 

Hobby: bargain-hunting

Book: If I Perish by Esther Ahn Kim

Food: Mexican

Scriptures: Col. 3:2, 2 Chron. 16:9

 

ANNA HAYFORD

Married to: Jack Hayford

Former Senior Pastor
The Church On The Way
Van Nuys, Calif.

When Jack Hayford began pastoring at The Church On The Way in Van Nuys, Calif., his wife, Anna, wondered how she would relate to celebrities in the church. 

“I was just a farm girl from Nebraska,” she says. It didn’t take her long to realize that these people want to be treated like everyone else, and she was able to relax.

Anna, 78, particularly enjoys the relationships God has brought into her life through her role, though Jack no longer serves as a full-time pastor. Her priority, she says, is taking care of Jack. “I feel that at one time the Lord told me that was my ministry: to make sure home was a good place for him to be.”

As a young girl, Anna sensed that God was calling her to be a pastor’s wife. She met Jack at what is now Life Pacific College in California, and the two were married on July 4, 1954. “Both of us being called was very important to the cohesion of our marriage because we were both dedicated to the same thing,” she says.

Anna has worn many ministry hats over the years. She’s taught classes for children and adults, led songs, overseen women’s ministries and helped do custodial work. 

“What I’ve enjoyed the most is not only giving love to the congregation, but how they have returned that love to me,” she says.

FAVORITES 

Hobbies: cross-stitching (until tremors in her hands made it too difficult to do), reading, cooking

Book: A Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindberg. In general, she enjoys Christian fiction and murder mysteries.

Vacation spots: The Cotswolds (England) and Switzerland

Scripture: Nah. 1:7

 

DIANA HAGEE

Married to: John Hagee

Senior Pastor
Cornerstone Church
San Antonio, Texas

Diana Hagee, 59, is the Martha Stewart of pastors’ wives. She loves hospitality and is passionate about teaching it to others. “To me, hospitality is a dying art,” she says. “I think it’s important to train women about the significance of hospitality. The most valuable possession we have today is our time. If we offer our time as unto the Lord, it is a sweet-smelling aroma unto His throne.”

Diana coordinates all special events at Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, which is pastored by John Hagee, her husband of 35 years. “Hospitality is the flag we fly at every event,” she says, noting that they want Cornerstone to be known as a hospitality church—and for people to experience it as soon as they walk onto the campus. She also serves as chief of staff for John Hagee Ministries’ television ministry.

Raised Roman Catholic, Diana never dreamed she would one day be a pastor’s wife. “The biggest challenge was finding my place,” she says. “Once I realized that God had already filled me with a talent of hospitality, I began to blossom in the position of a pastor’s wife and lose many of my insecurities.”

FAVORITES 

Hobbies: cooking, looking at cookbooks (“I have a stack by my bed.”)

Vacation spot: Anywhere her family is (the couple has five children and 12 grandchildren)

Food: Mexican

Scripture: Deut. 28:1

 

EVA RODRIGUEZ

Married to: Sam Rodriguez

Pastor—New Season 
Christian Church
Sacramento, Calif. 

President—National 
Hispanic Christian 
Leadership Conference

Eva Rodriguez’s ministry in many ways mirrors her husband’s. She pastors Centro Cristiano de Adoración, a Hispanic congregation of about 700 people in Sacramento, Calif. Her husband, Sam, does much of the administration while she preaches.

Meanwhile, her husband pastors the church’s English-speaking congregation, New Season Christian Worship Center. His main role is preaching, while Eva handles the administrative tasks.

“We’re best friends, so we’re able to talk a lot,” says Eva, 39, who met Sam at an Assemblies of God church they attended in Allentown, Pa., during their youth. They married on Sept. 2, 1989.

With busy schedules and two children still at home (one is in college), the Rodriguez family focuses on time management and communication.

“Sam and I make each other accountable for our actions,” she says. “We’re partners in everything we do—at church, at home [and] in our personal lives.”

Both Eva and Sam have key roles outside the church. She serves as president of the National Hispanic Evangelical Women, and Sam is president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.

“A commitment to holiness and humility has made us who we are today,” Eva says. “It’s the way we run our lives and ministry—absolutely no compromise.”

FAVORITES 

Hobby: Zumba and Spin class

Vacation spot: Mexico

Books: Anything by R.T. Kendall; The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Food: Puerto Rican

Song/band: “I Exalt Thee”/Hillsong United

Accomplishment: being the first Hispanic clergy member to give the benediction at the Republican National Convention 

 

DEE EASTMAN

Married to: Dick Eastman

President
Every Home for Christ
Colorado Springs, Colo.

As a seasoned minister’s wife, Dee Eastman has learned to redefine “normal”—and this is one of her key messages to young leaders’ wives.

“Normal is living with what is necessary for God to do [what He wants] in and through you,” she explains.

For her, “normal” means keeping a suitcase packed with all the essentials in case she and her husband, Dick Eastman, need to leave for the other side of the world in a moment’s notice. 

Dick is president of Every Home for Christ, whose goal is to reach every home on earth with the gospel. To date, the organization has reached a staggering billion homes over the last 64 years, with more than 97 million people responding to the gospel.

The couple met while attending Bible college in Minneapolis and married on Dec. 19, 1964. To date, they’ve traveled around the world about 100 times. 

Now 67, Dee notes their marriage is better today than ever. Dick is the visionary, and she is the “functionary”—meaning that she helps put all of the pieces together to implement Dick’s visions.

For the Eastmans, ministry is a joint venture. Dee has always worked alongside her husband and served as an administrative assistant. 

“The staff calls me their ‘union rep,’” she says, “because I represent them so many times to the board of directors and the president [her husband] by drawing attention to their workload, needs and desires.”

FAVORITES 

Hobbies: reading, knitting

Place to be: home

Life verse: Matt. 6:33

 

CAROLINE BARNETT

Married to: Matthew Barnett

Senior Pastor·
The Dream Center
Los Angeles

 

At the age of 18, ministry volunteer Caroline Olsson caught the eye of Matthew Barnett, founder of the Dream Center in Los Angeles. He asked her out on a date and they set a place to meet. 

But the unthinkable happened: They both stood waiting on separate corners, feeling certain they’d been stood up.

Neither one said anything about the mishap until they reconnected more than two years later. After their first date, they both knew it was meant to be. They married within six months on Sept. 10, 1999.

Caroline, now 32, is as passionate about the Dream Center as Matthew is. With the help of a close friend, she launched a mobile food bank years ago that now feeds up to 50,000 people a month. 

One of her favorite things to do is to take their two children, Mia and Caden, to the site. 

“I love to go down the line and pray for people,” Caroline says. “You go there to give, and you get so much more in return.”

Matthew and Caroline serve as senior pastors of the Los Angeles Dream Center, which has met in the historic Angelus Temple since 2001. Caroline’s primary role is to oversee the outreach ministry and women’s ministry. One significant way she helps her husband is to not be demanding of his time. 

“I’ve released Matthew to do whatever he needs to do for the ministry,” she says.

FAVORITES 

Hobbies: working out, watching cooking shows

Vacation spot: Hawaii

Scripture: Psalm 39 

Book: The Cause Within You by Matthew Barnett; Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer

Food: Mexican

BENI JOHNSON

Married to: Bill Johnson

Senior Pastor
Bethel Church
Redding, Calif.

Being a pastor’s wife has been a natural fit for Beni Johnson, whose parents were active in church leadership throughout her childhood. They attended Bethel Church in Redding, Calif., pastored at the time by Earl Johnson, and Beni dated the pastor’s son, Bill. Although she didn’t know whether he would become a pastor, she knew he had a heart for ministry. Beni and Bill attended Bible training school in Santa Rosa, Calif., and were married on April 14, 1973, three months before they graduated. 

“When I grew up as a girl, my dream was to become a wife and a mommy,” says Beni, 56. “Throughout the years, my husband has covered and protected me from some of the challenges that come along with being a pastor’s wife. Under that protection, it has been really fun.”

About 15 years ago, Beni found her niche: intercessory prayer. She has a passion for intercession and now serves as prayer pastor at Bethel. 

She also tries to keep the atmosphere at home fun and lighthearted: “We really enjoy each other’s company and try not to keep our private life too serious.”

FAVORITES 

Hobby: visiting spas

Book: Dreaming With God by Bill Johnson; The Ecstasy of Loving God by John Crowder

Food: anything organic and healthy

Scripture: Luke 9:54-55

Song/Band: “God I Look to You” by Jenn Johnson/Bethel Band 

Hidden Talent: matchmaker (Beni enjoys setting up some of the single students who attend Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry)

 

DEBBIE MCPHERSON

Married to: Miles McPherson

Senior Pastor
The Rock Church
San Diego, Calif.

Debbie McPherson’s life took a different turn just two years after she married Miles in 1984. Her husband’s professional football career came to a halt due to an injury, and he began working in full-time ministry. Debbie, now 52, wondered how she would fit into the picture.

“I had only been around pastors whose wives were just as much in the limelight as their husbands were, and I wasn’t comfortable with that role,” says the soft-spoken, behind-the-scenes mother of three. The book Married to a Pastor by H.B. London and Neil B. Wiseman helped Debbie realize that there’s no set job description for a pastor’s wife.

“I see my role as being a supportive, praying, loving wife—a good mother and a homemaker. It’s very important for me to create a place of refuge for Miles to come home to, where he can feel loved unconditionally, where he can recharge and be encouraged,” Debbie says.

Miles founded The Rock Church in San Diego in 2000. Today, at least 12,000 people attend the church’s five weekly services. Every year the church holds a marriage retreat, and Debbie enjoys contributing. Her passion, she says, is working with preschoolers. 

“Should God give me a role outside of what it is now, I think it will probably be with children in some shape or form.”

FAVORITES     

Hobbies: working out at home, learning about nutrition and supplements

Vacation spot: Maui, Hawaii

Movie: Remember the Titans

Food: Italian

Scripture: Prov. 3:5-63

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Carol Chapman Stertzer is a freelance journalist living in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

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Read incredible stories about women who have become apostolic church leaders at·

Church music has never sounded so good … but a growing number of worship pastors want nothing more than true worship

 

 

The elaborate flags and banners that adorned many charismatic churches 15 years ago have since been replaced with lights and cameras. The focus on being relevant and producing quality music has increased significantly, and along the way, churches have struggled to balance entertainment and worship.

“We are all such technological junkies,” says Daniel Bashta, worship pastor of RiverStone Church in the Atlanta area and president of Go Motion Worldwide. “We love the bright lights, the big screens, the sexy Vegas shows. Somehow our churches now represent all of these things. How many HD projectors and LED walls must we have?”

Despite the latest in techno-savvy production trends, numerous key worship pastors interviewed for this article believe a passion for true worship is arising in believers nationwide. “I think all the lights, camera and action that we’ve embraced over the past decade is making us hungry again for something purer, truer and more genuine again,” says British worship artist Vicky Beeching, whose ministry was established at the Oxford Vineyard in England. “I think it’s an exciting time right now to see what happens next.”

“The church is tired of hype with no results,” says Kim Walker-Smith, worship director for Jesus Culture, a youth movement that sprang out of Bethel Church in Redding, Calif. “People are hungry for a real encounter with God and not just words on a screen and the mundane motions of a Sunday morning.”

The uncertainties and economic challenges of this age have helped set the stage for a fresh move of God. To that end, a diverse group of worship pastors and artists is committed to using their gifts to see hearts and lives changed. 

Where Are We Now?

Robert Morris, senior pastor of the 18,000-member Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, recalls that in the ’70s and ’80s, many worship songs came right out of Scripture. Then in the ’90s, a lot of songs were in first person, with a focus on self: “I need” and “Lord, what can You do for me?” 

“It concerned several of us,” Morris says, “and we would talk about it. A lot of the songs being written were more me-centered than God-centered, but I think it was a lot of what the body of Christ was going through at that time.” 

Today Morris believes we’re moving back to songs that are based on Scripture and centered on God. Some of these new songs are being introduced by Gateway’s songwriters, such as Kari Jobe (see p. 44).

Randy Phillips, lead pastor of PromiseLand West in Austin, Texas, and a pioneer in worship with the group Phillips, Craig & Dean, says one of the biggest changes he’s seen in worship over the last decade or so is the increased skill level of worship and production teams. “It’s comparable to anything you could find in a secular event,” he says.

Misty Edwards, a worship leader at International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City, Mo., has been part of a team that has delivered nonstop worship for 11 years. She is amazed at the quantity and quality of worship songs sung in congregations around the world. “Even 10 years ago, there was only a handful of gifted songwriters writing songs that churches were singing globally,” she says.

There’s a downside to the achievements, however. “An industry has boomed out of the sale of CDs and CCLI licenses, and we find ourselves with a lot of commercialism to wade through that didn’t seem to exist in the same way back in the ’80s and ’90s,” Beeching says. “There is a risk of getting distracted in all of that. It’s crucial that we are aware of the changes going on, as being aware of them will help us to be in control of them.”

Substance Over Style

Charlie Hall, an Oklahoma City-based singer/songwriter who has been affiliated with Passion since 1997, remembers playing for a large group of youth in 1999. Several youth pastors pulled their kids from the event because they were offended by the drums and music style. “Just a slither of the church had that mindset,” he says. Today, the acceptability of styles has grown to the point that Passion events draw people representing nearly every church stream.

Peter Haas, pastor of Substance Church in Minneapolis, ministers to about 2,600 people each week in five different services. More than 70 percent of them are under 29 years old—and roughly 40 percent didn’t attend church at all before going to Substance. Haas says that nearly every week rap is part of the worship experience (with a DJ and turntables). “I wouldn’t say we’re a ‘hip-hop church’ because we mix in a lot of styles; but we definitely push the envelope.

“We’ve learned that the ‘style’ of the music is often totally unrelated to the ‘vertical’ nature of the music,” Haas says. “Christians act like ‘the anointing’ of the Holy Spirit is addicted to certain instruments. We simply don’t believe that.”

Phillips of PromiseLand West says it’s key for churches to understand their demographics. “You can’t move into a rural country area and expect to do Hillsong material,” he says, “or move into an ethnic place and do Phillips, Craig & Dean songs.”

Walker-Smith of Jesus Culture has an edgier sound that targets youth and young adults, though the audience has begun to span across multiple generations. “As far as whether or not something seems entertainment-oriented,” she says, “when the presence of God shows up, there is no denying it regardless of what it looks like or the package it comes in.”

At The Faith Center Ministries in Sunrise, Fla., music minister Jonathan Nelson has been leading worship since July 2009. The 8,000-member congregation is multicultural, with a strong Caribbean influence. Church members represent many nations, which “causes everyone to be very open to every experience and every choice of songs that we bring to the table,” says Nelson, whose previous experience in an African-American church in Maryland wasn’t nearly so diverse. 

“I love my church,” Nelson says. “It allows me to write from a more kingdom-centered perspective, to be inclusive of every culture from the standpoint of lyrics, sound and tonality.” 

Cultivating True Worship

Several years ago when Passion worship artist and songwriter Matt Redman was living in England, his pastor, Mike Pilavachi, decided to “strip away” many of the things church members had come to rely on in worship, including the sound system and band. “We were reminded what worship was essentially about and who it was for,” he says. “I’ve had the privilege of leading worship in some really exciting environments. … But the lesson remains the same: God is not impressed with the outer things. He is ultimately concerned with the heart of our worship.”

Out of Redman’s experience, he penned the song “Heart of Worship,” which is sung in churches everywhere today.

The fact is, true worship isn’t a style or method. Says IHOP’s Edwards: “True worship is honest and open, and it is a response to something that is seen. You have to see Him to have true worship. If all you see is the band, the lights, the smoke machine and how cool the musicians look, that is not worship.”

Redman believes worship pastors and artists who go on the road need to remind themselves regularly that what they do at a Sunday church gathering is fundamentally different from a Saturday night concert. “I hear many worship leaders these days say, ‘I’m playing at this church or that church.’ That’s not good language. We need to embrace the spiritual dynamic of what is happening—that we are just about to lead the people of God in the praises of God. ‘Playing’ is simply the tool we’re employing to carry out this awesome task.

“Honestly, I think one of the great calls of the hour is to fully embrace the wonder of what it means to draw near to the almighty God in worship, and to shape our language, motives and everything we do around that,” he says.

To go deeper in worship, churches must be purposeful about it. “Worship and praise must be taught and not just experienced,” says Nelson. At The Faith Center, senior pastor Bishop Henry Fernandez has given him a platform to teach the congregation about worship. Nelson also trains his praise team and choir during rehearsals.

Teaching the congregation also has been key at Gateway Church. According to Jason Tam, associate worship pastor, the worship experience went to the next level after Morris taught a series on the subject. 

Morris believes it is important for the senior pastor to set the vision and the values for the church’s worship experience. “I think the senior pastor is the chief worship pastor,” he says. 

During the hiring process, Morris believes it is important for church leadership to first look at a potential worship pastor’s character and depth in the Word and Scriptures—and then at his or her musical ability. He prefers the term “worship pastor” over “worship leader” because he believes the title conveys to the congregation that this person literally “pastors people in worship.” 

The Fruit of True Worship

The benefits that spring from true worship go beyond just experiencing God through music. For one, it opens people’s hearts to hear the Word of God. “Scripture says Judah plowed the fallow ground,” says Morris. “Judah means ‘praise.’ After we’ve been in worship, my job is simply to get up and just drop the seed in prepared soil.”

“We believe that half of the gospel is preached before the sermon even starts,” Haas says. As a result, he puts a heavy emphasis on lyrics. “Like Wesley thought, theology can be taught through worship music. So we are wary of doing too many songs that lack theological substance.”

Brian Johnson, worship pastor at Bethel Church in Redding, Calif., and vice president of the new record label Bethel Music, is a proponent of prophetic worship. In recent years, he believes many churches have been turned off by this term because “it feels like it’s rambling and nonsense where nobody knows what is happening.” But he believes worship pastors should tastefully experiment with it. 

“Sometimes I’ll be leading worship and will feel like God wants to release hope in the room, for example,” he shares. “We’ll just let the instruments play, I’ll back off the mic and come up with a little chorus. As people are singing that melody, they are actually singing themselves out of that situation of depression, or whatever it is. 

“I believe we should be singing prophetic declarations over our churches, over our lives,” he says. “We should be singing what we want to see God do in five years—it will bear great fruit in our lives.” 

Finally, a byproduct of true worship is that it often leads unbelievers to Christ. “I think many people feel that if you have interactive worship, a lost person might feel left out,” Morris says. “I think worship is one of the best things a church can do for evangelism. Worship is actually what brings people to Christ.”

Today, it’s imperative for worship pastors and believers to set a new standard if the church is going to be known for true worship, rather than just quality entertainment. 

“I long to see a body of Christ that recognizes its role as worshippers,” says Walker-Smith. “I want to see a standard that is unwavering in its devotion to God’s presence and seeks Him above all else.” 

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Carol Chapman Stertzer, a freelance journalist in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, is thankful for the Scripture songs she learned as a child.

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Go to to find out the seven things J. Lee Grady says every worship leader should know

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Why Singing Isn’t Enough

How worshipping God has less to do with music than we think—and more to do with the ‘doing’

 

Secular bands such as U2 aren’t the only ones promoting social justice these days. Many worship leaders recognize the importance of being the hands and feet of Jesus and are actively recruiting believers to help change society.

One of the largest endeavors is “Do Something Now,” created by Passion founders Louie and Shelley Giglio. Passion worship artists Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman and Charlie Hall have helped raise awareness for this movement at conferences and on tour. To date, they’ve raised more than $3 million, providing funds to build wells in India, set up loans for families to start their own businesses in Afghanistan, sponsor children in Third World countries and more.

“The heart of Passion,” says Tomlin, “is seeing worship and justice walking side by side. Passion will always champion songs of worship to God and will always stand in the gap for the least of these in the world.”

Redman points to the underlying reason for combining worship and acts of justice: “Biblically it’s been made clear that injustice and poverty break God’s heart, but working toward justice and caring for the poor brings Him pleasure.” Redman is gearing up to partner with The Message a group in Manchester, England, that works with youth in various schools and young-offender institutions. 

“The plan is to raise up some young urban evangelist worship leaders who have a heart for the poor and are writing some brilliant songs from within that environment,” he says.

Fellow British worship artist Vicky Beeching believes Isaiah 58 clearly describes the link between worship and justice. “It tells us that the kind of offering God wants is acts of justice and mercy,” she says. “Often, we think He wants songs—but really, He wants us to change society and bring it into line with His kingdom values and love.”

Worship pastor Daniel Bashta of RiverStone Church near Atlanta has founded a nonprofit called Go Motion Worldwide, which has a threefold ministry: music, media and missions. “God has commanded us to take care of the widows and orphans,” he says. “If we are not living out our faith in motion, then we are dead.”

Bashta and his wife recently adopted their first child and launched “Project Gift” to provide financial assistance to couples wanting to adopt. “It would be an injustice for me to just write nice little worship songs and to live a comfortable existence. We are on a ferocious mission to see an adoption revolution erupt in our local churches worldwide.”

Charismatic believers have often been at the forefront of giving generously to feed the hungry, provide Bibles in closed countries and countless other outreaches. Yet a social justice movement that grasps the “doing” part of worship can take this to another level.

“I hope it’s an awakening,” Tomlin says. “If it’s just a response to the materialism and self-centeredness, then I’m afraid it may just be a passing trend. However, if it is really something birthed from vision and the calling of God, it will be a life work. It’s surely not a passing trend to the heart of God, so it shouldn’t be for those who carry His name.”

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Blood Worship

Worship takes on new meaning when it’s a life-or-death matter

 

While we in the Western church dispute song selection or musical style, such issues are often irrelevant in the East, where believers can risk losing everything to follow Christ: families, jobs, social status, inheritance and even their lives.

Daniel Yohannan, vice president of Gospel for Asia (GFA), says many Eastern believers are first-generation Christians who haven’t been saved for long. “All they know is they love Jesus, Jesus saved them, and it was worth everything,” he says. “They see that even giving their life is an act of worship to Jesus.”

As a young child, Yohannan visited Nepal, which at that time was a closed nation. Those who worshipped in an underground church risked being beaten, arrested or imprisoned for four years for changing their faith.

“To get to the gathering, we had to be quiet and walk one by one or two by two so that it didn’t look like a huge crowd,” says Yohannan, whose father, K.P., founded GFA and serves as president. “The believers would show up over a period of an hour. We sang songs together quietly. If anyone clapped, it was very quiet clapping.” 

Today, one of GFA’s pastors in Nepal walks eight hours to attend a weekly service that typically lasts for five or six hours. “When they worship together, they are worshipping as one body glorifying Jesus,” Yohannan says. “This is the pattern I see in the book of Acts.” 

Many of these believers understand the real possibility of being martyred. Recently a GFA missionary in northeast India met some men who told him they were interested in hearing about Jesus and asked him to return at a designated time. When the missionary returned with a friend, he was stabbed and killed; his friend was stabbed but able to escape. 

Solomon Socher, who has planted churches, Bible schools and orphanages in Burma, has experienced people throwing stones at his church during worship. On one occasion, a few soldiers entered carrying M-16s. To appease them, his father gave them money, and they left. 

Despite the risks, Socher says “gathering to worship and listen to the Word of God is the finest moment we have. It helps us to forget the pain in life for a while and ignore the pain that surrounds us.”

David Shibley, founder of Global Advance, says that in 2008 he traveled to Orissa, India, and spent time with about 25 displaced pastors. Some of them had witnessed the burning of their homes and churches. Some had just sent their families into hiding for their safety. They told stories of believers who had been driven into the jungle by radical Hindus and were assumed dead.

“How humbling and what a privilege it was for me to stand with them—with tears running down all our faces—as together we sang: ‘I have decided to follow Jesus / No turning back, no turning back.”

Most of these believers in the East, Yohannan says, know persecution will come if they receive Christ, so they expect suffering. “They follow Christ for who He is; not for what they can get. … If persecution ever comes to America, it will make us want to seek Christ more and stop fighting over silly little things that don’t mean anything. Also, it will help us to clarify what the real issues are.”

When Priscilla Shirer steps into a pulpit, you don’t have to wonder if she’s related to Texas pastor Tony Evans. She carries his mantle with grace.

When 35-year-old Priscilla Shirer stepped onto the platform at LifeWay’s Deeper Still conference in Orlando, Fla., last September, she was dressed stylishly yet casually, as a woman her age might be if she were going out shopping or to visit a friend. But there was nothing low-key about her message—or her presentation of it.

For nearly two hours she held the attention of thousands of women as she expounded on a solitary passage of Scripture—Ephesians 3:20-21—with captivating power. It was clear that this dynamic teacher truly believes her God is “able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think,” and through demonstrations, object lessons and multiple real-life examples, she made certain her audience came to believe it, too.

“[Priscilla] is quite possibly the most gifted communicator I have ever witnessed,” says consummate Bible teacher Beth Moore, who has ministered alongside Shirer and Kay Arthur at Deeper Still events for the last three years and has been on a ministry circuit for more than 15.

Shirer’s gift of communication comes as no surprise to those who are acquainted with her father, Tony Evans, founder and pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, who is known for his powerful preaching. Clearly, Shirer has the same penchant he does for public speaking and a similar passion for studying and sharing God’s Word.

Evans has been both a model for and a mentor to Shirer from the time she was a child, and she continues to rely on him for counsel. “To have access to the mind he has and the revelation God has given him from the Word of God is a blessing,” she says.

He is also one of her greatest supporters and delights in seeing his daughter use her gifts. “Her ability to communicate is extraordinary,” he says. “She not only can teach, but she can host events because she has such an engaging personality and communication skills.”

Not surprisingly, Shirer receives more speaking requests than she can accept. Besides sponsoring her own events, she ministers regularly at the Deeper Still, Colour, and Pink Impact conferences held in the United States and abroad. She also ministers powerfully in print, having written numerous books and Bible studies, including several about communicating with God: He Speaks to Me, Discerning the Voice of God and Can We Talk? Soul-Stirring Conversations With God. Her upcoming book, One in a Million, releases next month.

Shirer considers it an honor to teach nationwide alongside Moore and veteran Bible teacher Kay Arthur—whom she sees as mentors—in the Deeper Still conferences, which draw tens of thousands of women per event. The three leaders are each about 20 years apart in age. “What an incredible blessing to be able to pattern my life after women who have done their marriage well, parenting well and ministry well,” she says of Moore and Arthur.

As a younger woman in ministry, Shirer connects particularly well with single women and busy mothers. Her messages are Word-based yet filled with humorous real-life illustrations that often include her husband of 10 years, Jerry; and sons Jackson, 7; Jerry Jr., 5; and Jude, 1.

Because of her African-American heritage, she has strong ties with the black community and sees herself as a bridge between black and white audiences. 

“There is a need in the African-American community for there to be someone who is teaching the Word of God who looks like them,” she says. “While they love Beth Moore, Anne Graham Lotz and other women who run in those circles—and use their resources—they have told us that they find it refreshing to be able to present Bible study curriculum to their women’s ministry that [has] been created by someone who looks like them.”

Going Beyond

Shirer believes she is becoming a bridge between conservative and charismatic audiences as well. About eight years ago, God began to bring people into her life who “were led by the Spirit of God, heard the voice of God, expected the power of God, believed in miracles from God—those kinds of people who had a radical faith and were willing to take risks,” she says.

“It was so foreign to expect the Holy Spirit to be that bold … to anticipate miracles in my everyday living, not just with the big things but with the little things,” she says. “These people opened my eyes to see what was available to me because the Spirit of God lives within me.”

During this season, Shirer went to speak at an event and was dismayed when she discovered that only about 50 women were present. But the event turned out to be life-changing—one of the most powerful spiritual encounters of her life.

“It was one of the first times I can recall actually feeling the presence of God in a tangible way,” she says. “It reminded me … of what Isaiah may have been talking about in Isaiah 6 when he said, ‘The train of God’s glory filled the temple.’”

Shirer says God reminded her that day that He would rather be with 50 women who are serious about honoring His presence and going with the flow of what He wants to do than with 4,000 women who are worried about the program.

Shirer’s inner revival led to the official launch of her Dallas-based ministry, Going Beyond Ministries. The name comes from Deuteronomy 1:6-8, a passage that records Moses’ telling the Israelites, who had been camped just outside the Promised Land, that God wanted them to move on and possess the land He had promised to their forefathers.

Moses told them that they had been at Mount Sinai long enough and needed to “go beyond,” Shirer says. In her case, God was speaking to her about going to “the place of abundant living—an experiential relationship with God.”

“He said: ‘Priscilla, you’ve been at this mountain long enough. There is a new place that I want to take you to,’” Shirer says. In light of God’s challenge, Shirer naturally desired to “go beyond” personally. Her prayer, however, is that she will also inspire other women to anticipate more in their Christian journeys—to not only “know the uncompromising truths of Scripture intellectually” but also “experience them practically by the power of the Holy Spirit,” she writes on her Web site ().

“I believe God can do whatever He wants to do through whomever He wants to do it,” she says. “A lot of the demonstrative gifts of the Spirit aren’t used all the time in my church—almost never—so I could easily box God in and say because that is not my experience, God must not operate in that way.

“We need to accept that the body of Christ is full of other believers who have experienced God in equally relevant, equally reliable ways. Sometimes I’m amazed at how much we miss out on in terms of our relationship with God because we amputate another part of the body of Christ simply because that part is different than ours.”

Although Shirer embraces new experiences, she believes balance is critical. “We have a tendency as humans to lean toward extremes,” she says. “We’re either heavy on the truth of the Word and we lack the experience of the Spirit, or we’re heavy on the power of the Spirit and lack the foundation of the Word of God.

“There has to be a marriage between the two—God’s Spirit and His Word coming together to teach God’s people what life can be like when they are founded in God’s Word and yet fully anticipate the experience of that Word in their lives by the power of God.”

A Speaker Is Born

Shirer credits an aunt, Elizabeth Cannings, who has served as Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship’s director of children’s ministry since Shirer was a child, for recognizing her gifts and potential as a teacher. When Shirer was in the sixth grade, Cannings occasionally asked her to teach. “I enjoyed figuring out a fun way to share the Bible in a way the children would remember,” Shirer says.

Though she accepted Christ as her Savior in first grade, Shirer admits that she became very rebellious as a teen. “Whenever my parents said, ‘Don’t do that,’ I took it as a green light for me to go that direction. I was probably the one out of all my siblings who gave my parents the most worry and concern.”

During high school, Shirer prepared for a future in radio and television. She went to the University of Houston to study. She admits that she made numerous bad decisions during these years.

“No longer was I surrounded by the cozy comfort of my church home and Christian friends,” she says. “[But] I remember for the first time really beginning to hear the voice of God and feeling that stirring conviction—and knowing it was God Himself.”

In Houston, she had an internship at a Christian radio station and began to receive invitations to speak at Bible studies and emcee events. She found herself enjoying these assignments so much that she wasn’t sure what to do after she graduated from college.

Wisely, she sought her dad’s advice. Evans asked her which vocation she would focus on if she weren’t getting paid to do the job. Shirer immediately responded, “Teaching.”

“She was loving teaching the Bible, and she was loving communicating—so I said, ‘Why don’t you go deeper so that you can go further?’” Evans says. He directed her to his alma mater, Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS), where he earned his doctorate.

Shirer’s experience at DTS was rich and life-changing. She earned her master’s degree in biblical studies there in 1999.

Sue Edwards, assistant professor of Christian Education at DTS, notes that God has “graced Priscilla with all the ability to bring the Bible alive in the minds and hearts of countless women of all ages, stages and races.”

A New Legacy

While she was in seminary, Shirer received a call that would ultimately impact her future. The Zig Ziglar her to speak at one of their Monday morning devotionals. Shirer accepted. It went so well that later in the day, she received a call inviting her to join their small team of motivational speakers.

“Priscilla certainly has a unique talent,” says Bryan Flanagan, director of corporate training for the Zig Ziglar Corp., recalling that the organization has asked only a few young speakers to come on board. “She can give a message that will move you, but with enough logic and reinforcement that it makes sense—it’s not just hype.”

One of Shirer’s speaking events for Ziglar took her to a quarterly luncheon that Hilton Hotels was hosting for its executive team. There she met Jerry Shirer, who at the time was a Hilton vice president responsible for international operations. To her surprise, Jerry had been a member at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship for several years. They began dating and were married in July 1999.

As Shirer’s ministry began to grow, Jerry partnered with her, focusing on the business side. He takes care of the details while she does the ministering.

But one detail Shirer had to grapple with after she married was her name. Though she had been known as Priscilla Evans for years, she felt as if God told her not to use her maiden name any longer. Letting go of it, she says in her book And We Are Changed, was a painful experience.

“My difficulty in releasing this to the Lord indicated there was a problem,” she writes. But God had a purpose in asking her to make the change. She believes He gave her a mandate to create a new legacy: to help make the Shirer name one that represents integrity, character and honor—and not just on the ministry platform.

Though Shirer loves her role as teacher and author, she is focused on being a good wife and mother and stewarding her time well. “I’m sure this [emphasis] was heavily influenced by my mom,” she says. Her mother, Lois Evans, put a lot of things on hold—including her college education—to raise four children.

Her father, too, made a point of being available to his children, despite his full schedule. “Although Dad was very busy with the church and speaking engagements and writing books, I have no recollection of my father not being around,” Shirer says. “What I remember is Dad being at a speaking event, and me having a cheerleading competition, and him flying home to be there—and then flying back to finish the event. He didn’t want to miss those important things in my life.”

Shirer is deliberate about being available for her three sons, just as her parents were for her as a child. When she travels, a close family member takes care of the boys.

But the Shirers try to be home on Saturday evenings so they can be involved in their home church, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, where her three siblings also still attend. “We can’t just be all over the place doing ministry and pouring out, and not receiving and pouring into the storehouse that is feeding us,” she says.

Shirer feels it is important for her sons to see their dad taking pride in getting dressed, being on time for service and serving in ministry at Oak Cliff.

In what little spare time she has, Shirer enjoys going on a morning jog, reading a good book and watching “nonsense TV” for 30 minutes or so. Not surprisingly, she loves to study God’s Word.

And she looks forward to the day when she can take her sons on the road more frequently. One of her greatest joys is being able to see the body of Christ in all its diversity in various places, including at events such as the 2008 Hillsong Colour event in Sydney, where some 30,000 diverse women gathered—and she wants her sons to witness the same thing.

“I want my children to see that God is global—that there are people everywhere who are so different from us, who look different from us, who talk different from us and yet who are all worshiping the same God,” she says. “To travel and instantly be connected with people who are on the other side of the world or different side of the country is an amazing opportunity.”

For now she is concentrating on stirring in them and the women she ministers to a desire to be “one in a million”—someone who wants to go beyond hearing about God to experiencing Him personally. 

Approximately 2 million Israelites were delivered from Egypt and followed Moses, she explains. They all had the same opportunity to walk into and reap the benefits of the Promised Land, but only two went.

“That’s one in a million,” she says.

“It’s kind of like the church today. There are millions of us on the church pew, hearing and knowing about God. But there’s only a handful walking on Promised Land soil.

“If there is going to be one in a million, I surely want to be the one. ”

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Carol Chapman Stertzer is a freelance journalist living in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

Pam Cope didn’t close her heart when she learned about vulnerable African orphans. Today she is reaching children around the world.

Some people can read an article about an alarming human rights issue without giving it a second thought. Not Pam Cope.

On October 29, 2006, The New York Times reported that a 6-year-old named Mark Kwadwo and other young children were working as slaves on fishing boats in Ghana. Cope and her husband, Randy, read the article during a trip to New York, and Cope was so moved that, upon returning to their home in Neosho, Missouri, she tracked down the reporter and put the wheels in motion to rescue Mark and six other children who had been sold into slavery.

Nine weeks later, the mission was accomplished. The children were safe in a Christian-run orphanage in Accra, Ghana, where they would receive an education.

Oprah Winfrey noticed the same newspaper article and sent correspondent Lisa Ling to investigate. Much to Ling’s surprise, Mark and some of his friends had been rescued by the time she arrived. She reported her findings on The Oprah Winfrey Show in February 2007. Oprah invited Cope to appear on the program and honored her for her heroism.

“The next time you see a story and the story grabs your heart and it haunts you, you’ll think about Pam and what one woman can do to make a difference,” Oprah told the audience.

Cope, now 47, made her seventh visit to Ghana this fall. She and her team rescued 13 more children and placed them in three homes, where they will be cared for, educated and provided life skills. Village of Life, a new center built by donations Cope helped raise through her Touch a Life Foundation, celebrated its grand opening in March. It is located in Kete-Krachi, a fishing town near the Lake Volta region, and can accommodate 24 children and house-parents.

Led by the Spirit, Cope is following the biblical mandate to serve orphans and those who have no means to return a favor. To date, she has helped free 69 children by working closely with George Achibra, a former teacher in Kete-Krachi who now holds an administrative position in the region’s educational system.

Careful negotiations with the fishing village’s “master” have enabled him to rescue the children; no money changes hands for their release. Achibra explains to the masters that their activities are against the Human Trafficking Act, a law passed by the Ghanaian government in December 2005.

Russell Simmons, who was recently appointed United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the Permanent Memorial to Honor the Victims of Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, says some 27 million people worldwide are being exploited through human trafficking. This broad category covers child labor, migrant smuggling, sex worker trafficking, debt bondage and “old-fashioned slavery.”

In Ghana, part of the challenge in rescuing children is finding good homes for them. If returned to their parents, they will likely be resold. “Unfortunately, we don’t have the money to care for all of them long term,” Cope says. “We budget for approximately 10 years of support per child [$100 per child a month].”

Investing for Eternity

If she had not experienced deep sorrow herself, Cope might not be rescuing kids on the other side of the world. But her son, Jantsen, died unexpectedly on June 16, 1999, from an undiagnosed heart ailment when he was only 15 years old. The tragedy rocked the Copes’ small Missouri town, where Pam owned a hair salon and Randy worked as a publishing executive.

After Jantsen’s death, Cope spent time re-examining her life, as she details in her book, Jantsen’s Gift (Grand Central Publishing/Hachette). “When tragedy comes, you are forced to sit and reflect and evaluate what has been driving your life, what your focus and true core values have been—and it can be pathetic,” she told Charisma.

“As I was going through that process, I asked myself, ‘What am I investing my life in that truly doesn’t have any eternal impact?’ I discovered that, when I was really honest, most of it didn’t have any eternal impact. I was ready to turn things around.”

Her journey initially took her to Vietnam. She and Randy had decided to give a portion of Jantsen’s memorial fund to some family friends involved in adoption and missions work.

While in Vietnam, they became enamored with a baby abandoned by his mother and living in an orphanage. Their own 11-year-old adopted daughter, Crista, begged them to adopt him. They finally relented, and Van Cope became part of their family in August 2000.

Shortly after that trip, Cope and her husband decided to donate the remainder of Jantsen’s memorial fund to a woman named Mai Lang, whose focus was getting children off the streets in Vietnam and providing them with an education and a safe place to live.

Cope’s big turning point occurred in late 2000. She had been trying to raise more funds to benefit Lang’s efforts in Vietnam (without much success) and came to grips with the fact that she had personally not made any huge financial sacrifice. She felt it was time to give up something she valued: her diamond solitaire wedding ring.

“My decision to give up that ring was the moment that things really started to happen,” Cope says. “At that point, I began to take my work—and myself—seriously.”

In 2001 Cope learned about a 2-year-old girl in Vietnam who lived in the same orphanage Van had come from. The child had developed mild cerebral palsy as a result of physical abuse the mother experienced while pregnant. After seeing pictures of the little girl, Cope couldn’t stop thinking about her. In October she and Randy adopted her and named her Tatum.

Since the inception of Touch a Life in 2000, Cope has gone the extra mile to alleviate suffering, one child at a time. Early on, she established what she calls “The Fixer Fund” to help meet the serious medical needs of children who might otherwise die or spend their lives crippled. For example, she lined up a sponsoring physician in the United States and obtained a medical visa for a Vietnamese girl named Phoo Twee Do, whose legs had been blown off by a homemade bomb and who was battling a serious infection.

Phoo received prosthetic legs—and was adopted by a loving couple from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Without Cope’s intervention, Phoo might have become another sad statistic.

An Expanded Worldview

Cope didn’t grow up in a churchgoing family. Her faith journey stems from a prediction in 1980 that the world was coming to an end. At that time, Cope was a senior in high school. She remembers going to a revival every night with her friends—hungry and searching for answers.

“I can remember one night when the pastor asked who wanted to become a Christian, and I felt this magnetic pull. I went forward and said, ‘I’m ready to do this.’ ” Unfortunately, Cope did not have an intimate relationship with Jesus, and for years she struggled with her faith.

“Up until the point of losing Jantsen,” she says, “there was this constant struggle of wavering back and forth between not being worthy, not being knowledgeable enough of the Word, and really trying to get my arms around forgiveness. I wasn’t sure that forgiveness was something that was truly for me.

“When Jantsen died, I was forced to reflect on everything I had read in the Bible and my relationship with God up to that point. I was desperate for an authentic relationship.”

Cope says after Jantsen’s death, she would beg God to fill her with His presence. “I would feel His peace wash over me and know it was His presence,” she says. “Even though it was such a painful time of grief, it was so powerful with God.”

Cope admits she was a performance-oriented perfectionist before Jantsen died. “Everything was focused on my immediate family, my needs. My world was pretty small,” she says, noting that Jantsen and Crista had most things money can buy.

Since then, traveling to Third World countries has opened Cope’s eyes. It is hard to justify spending $150 on something as frivolous as matching pajamas and slippers after seeing three generations of the same family living in a one-room apartment in Vietnam, she says.

In recent years, the Copes have made some significant financial adjustments to help support more children in need. For example, they got rid of their credit cards and committed to an all-cash budget. They also downsized by moving into a smaller house.

Cope sometimes struggles to find a balance between work and family life. But she hopes her children will learn through her example that we have a responsibility to take care of people in need.

Being Jesus’ hands and feet starts with a simple prayer, says Cope: “Jesus, break my heart for what breaks Yours.”

A few weeks after Jantsen died, Cope says her brother-in-law told her, “Your life will definitely be sad, but it’s also possible that it will be richer and fuller than ever before.” Neither of them had any idea how prophetic his words would turn out to be.

Cope, whose family now lives in a Dallas suburb, never dreamed she would be involved in global outreach. Last year in Ghana, some 7,000 miles away from home, she felt God’s presence in a special way, she says. Standing under a tree on a 110-degree day eating banana Laffy Taffy, she knew she was right where she needed to be, doing what God called her to do—rescuing children who otherwise had no hope of a normal life.

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Carol Chapman Stertzer is a journalist living in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

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When the World Trade Center was attacked eight years ago, a young Indian-American escaped the collapsing concrete and steel. The words he prayed that day changed his life forever.

The morning of , 2001, was sunny and clear on the U.S. East Coast. Sujo John, an ambitious 26-year-old who had moved from Calcutta, India, to New York City in February, had settled into his office on the 81st floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower. He had finished reading The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson earlier that week and on this particular morning was reflecting on how God might “enlarge his territory,” as Wilkinson discusses in his book.

“Looking out the windows, I could see the glorious view of the Statue of Liberty,” recalls John, now 34. “I couldn’t believe all the incredible things that had happened to me.”

John had married on Jan. 27, 2001, at the Mark Buntain Memorial Assemblies of God Church in Calcutta. His wife, Mary, was born in India and had moved to the U.S. when she was 4. Their parents were close family friends.

After relocating to New York, John pounded the pavement for a job. His MBA degree likely helped him land a marketing post at a telecommunications company. On April 14, he began his job at the prestigious World Trade Center. His wife worked in accounting for a firm located in the nearby South Tower.

Despite his success, John felt a tug at his heart. He recognized that God had done so much for him, but what was he doing for God?

At 8:04 a.m., John emailed a new friend he had met at Bethany Church in Wyckoff, New Jersey. “Back in India, although I had a job in the secular field, I was so involved in ministry,” he wrote. “Now here, all I find myself doing is going to church on Sunday. I am so ashamed to admit that I am not involved in any avenue of ministry.

“Maybe this is what God wants me to go through right now. Waiting for His will and purpose. … I know I have a call of God on my life and this is not a good phase of life that I am going through. Would appreciate your prayers.”

At 8:45 a.m., John headed to the fax machine. A minute later, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into his building between the 94th and 98th floors. The impact threw John to the floor. He saw fires break out, and the ceiling above him and the walls around him started cracking and bowing. His desk area was destroyed.

John and some of his colleagues scrambled to the emergency stairs. They knew their building had been hit by a plane and realized it was going to collapse. At 9:03 a.m., on their way down, they heard an enormous explosion. United Airlines Flight 175 had hit the South Tower.

John tried unsuccessfully to call Mary, who was 14 weeks pregnant. She usually got to work around 8:45 a.m., but on this day she had left a little earlier than normal.

About 50 minutes later, John reached the mezzanine level of the North Tower. The escalator leading to the ground floor was still working. There, John saw one of the most appalling sights he had ever seen: Mutilated bodies were scattered throughout the courtyard. People around him were sobbing uncontrollably. He heeded the advice of the firefighters and police offers nearby who told the fleeing victims, “Just turn to your right and go down the escalator.”

At 10:03 a.m. John exited the North Tower. He heard another explosion and realized that his building was imploding. Some of the people standing around him saw dust coming toward them and, confused, ran back into the building—to their deaths.

Realizing that eternity for many people was at stake, John cried out, “Call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved!” He began calling out Jesus’ name as loudly as he could and encouraged others standing near him to do the same.

God spared John’s life and helped him find a way out of Ground Zero. Around 12:45 p.m., his cell phone rang. It was Mary. She had taken the E Train to work that morning, and it had been delayed. When she exited the subway at 8:50 a.m., she saw the North Tower in flames. She thought her husband had died.

The Johns met at the ferry, delirious to be alive and together at last. “I had told God, ‘If you will spare Mary’s life, I’ll do anything for you—go to Africa or whatever,’” John said. Mary too had pleaded with God to spare her husband’s life.

“That night, we got down on our knees and prayed, ‘Whatever you want us to do, we’re ready,’” Mary says.

Where Are You Going?

On Sept. 12, John emailed friends and family to let them know what had happened. He also talked about the frailty of life and asked two questions:

Do you know where you are going?

Are you at peace with yourself?

To his surprise, the email was forwarded to people around the world, and media inquiries and speaking requests began pouring in. John quickly began traveling most weekends and returning to his job on Mondays.

His pastor—Don James of Bethany Church, who had become acquainted with John and his father during his travels to Calcutta—met regularly with John. In addition to discussing American culture, they discussed how to move from the marketplace to the ministry, and how to balance family and travel.

By November, John realized he could not continue juggling ministry and work responsibilities. He began full-time ministry in April 2002. A prophetic statement that had been given to him at age 15 by missionary Mark Buntain was coming to fruition.

“He told me that one day I would be preaching to millions,” John says. “I had forgotten about this word—I thought business was my calling.”

In December 2004, John moved his wife and son, Jeremy (age 7 today), to the Dallas area. He liked the spiritual climate, the convenience of being close to an international airport and the affordable housing market.

“Sujo did not set out to promote himself, create a ministry for himself or make himself famous,” observes Kevin Evans, senior pastor of Valley Creek Church in Flower Mound, Texas, where the Johns attend when they are in town. “He has been faithful to share his experience of 9/11 and preach the gospel all over the U.S. and beyond.”

The events surrounding 9/11 serve as the catalyst for John’s ministry. “I have told Sujo that his 9/11 story will always be the key to his ministry, just as the apostle Paul’s Damascus Road story was still being told years later in Paul’s journey,” James says.

John’s sobering message has opened doors for him to speak on numerous college campuses on behalf of Campus Crusade for Christ and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and he is scheduled to share his personal testimony at Virginia Tech university in October.

“Speaking to unchurched students has helped me focus on how to communicate God’s truth in a culturally relevant way,” John says. “They are looking for somebody who is very real.”

Although many Americans have forgotten about the 9/11 tragedy, it is impossible for people who experienced it so personally to dismiss it. “I think about it every day,” John says. “Almost 3,000 people died that day. They didn’t go to war; they just went to work. They were moms and dads, brothers and sisters, family and friends, and their lives were sucked out.”

John has visited ground zero numerous times. “It is a humbling experience,” he says. “I stand there and realize this is where it all started for me. It gives me a zeal, and redefines who I am and why God spared me. Every time I go there, I see the names of all the people who died there and realize it could have been me, my wife and my son.”

John’s sister, Elizabeth, died from leukemia when she was 9 and he was 7. He believes that seeing how his parents dealt with her death helped prepare him for 9/11. “Everything that is meant for evil, God has a way of turning it around for good,” he says.

“I believe 9/11 was a huge wake-up call for this nation. God didn’t cause it to happen, but He allowed it to happen. He wanted to get America’s attention. I believe it was a defining moment for this generation.”

John plans to take his son to Ground Zero in the near future. “We want our children [daughter Sophia is 4] to know there is a call of God on our lives and that He spared us for a reason,” John says.

‘Take People to the Cross’

In addition to telling his story in colleges and high schools, John speaks extensively in churches across the country. He believes one of the greatest challenges for the church—and his own ministry—is confronting an image problem. “How do I ‘deconstruct’ the things people think about Christianity?” he asks. “I want to take people to the cross, show them the cradle of Christianity, where it wasn’t superstar Christianity. It was all about suffering.

“Sometimes it might be God’s will to suffer—it might even be death. That isn’t a popular message in America. People want to know: How can I make money? They want to be able to have a big mansion and a fast car.

“The people in India, in Africa, in different parts of the world, they aren’t chasing ‘stuff,’” John says. “They are chasing Jesus. Somehow in America, Jesus has become an end to all means, when He is supposed to be the end. Our quest ends at Jesus.”

On a positive note, John believes this generation of believers wants to promote the kingdom of God rather than a denomination or organization. Case in point: John grew up in a Pentecostal (Assemblies of God) church, and he believes in the gifts of the Spirit. But his ministry largely attracts Southern Baptists and other church groups.

“This generation doesn’t have the baggage of denominations,” John says. “I’ve been meeting with tons of leaders, and I’m really encouraged. Christianity 10 years from now is really going to look different. Ten years from now, pick up Charisma magazine, and you will see a different face of Christianity. I’m really pumped about what God is about to do.”

Plans for India

Although John’s key message is for America, he has ministered around the world, from Switzerland to Singapore. Not surprisingly, he has a soft spot in his heart for India.

Not long ago while speaking on a college campus, a student stood up during the Q&A portion and asked, “You’re from India, right?” John acknowledged that he was. “What is it that you’re doing for your country?” she questioned.

“God started dealing with me,” John says. India comprises some 1.2 billion people and currently boasts the world’s second fastest-growing economy. Only 10 percent of the nation is Christian, but thousands of people are coming to Christ every day, John says. The world’s largest seated church is being built in Chennai. It will contain 57,000 seats.

“The church in India and in Africa is growing,” he notes. “The real reason is that God’s kingdom advances through persecution and suffering.”

“It’s a tough message,” he adds, “but if you want to experience the power of the gospel, you learn to embrace suffering.”

John’s attention is drawn to the youth of India, where a whopping 70 percent of the population is under the age of 35. By 2025, half the world’s youth will live in that one country.

These statistics have compelled John to reach India’s youth with the gospel. “If I were a musician and wanted to sell my music to half of the world’s youth, or if I were a Gap or Banana Republic,” he says, “I would focus on India because that’s where the market is.

According to John, the youth culture in India looks like the youth culture in the West: They listen to the same music on iPods; they dress alike; and they have similar aspirations and drives.

Youth in India also are walking away from their parents’ faith, just as young people are in the U.S. and other parts of the world.

One of John’s goals is to figure out how to target India’s young people. He and his family spent 45 days in India this summer to identify leaders and concentrate on planting churches in the major urban centers of India, including Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai and Calcutta.

“This is an incredible opportunity for the church,” John says. “The youth of the world are searching—they are empty—and we have a lot of tools to work with, especially since we live in a wired world.”

Ground Zero of God’s Will

Over the last eight years, John and his family have learned firsthand what it is like to live on faith. Being away from family and facing financial struggles are very real obstacles. “There have been times when we’ve thought, God, what are You doing?” John says. “In reality, we’ve had the most amazing experiences of our lives, where we have felt God walking through the fire with us. It has matured us and given us empathy for other ministers of the gospel.”

A few days before 9/11, John visited a BMW dealership in New York, considering what his next new car might be. At the time, he thought his calling was to write checks and help missionaries—though he was restless and knew life must have more meaning.

“It took a tragedy in my life to wake me up to the fact that, when you die, you’re going to leave everything behind—everything you chase,” he says.

John believes that for the gospel to be spread, there must be a proclaimer, a sender and someone who stays and prays. Clearly, John is a proclaimer, and he couldn’t be more optimistic about his calling.

“It is thrilling to see how God has honored Sujo’s simple honesty,” says Don James, who serves as vice president on John’s board. “He has never tried to be anyone other than the person God has called him to be, and that has been the key to his touching lives, no matter where he ministers.”

Today John isn’t on a fast track to worldly success, but he has found his purpose—and life after 9/11 has been rewarding indeed.

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Carol Chapman Stertzer is a freelance journalist in the Dallas area with a heart for missions.

Since 1982, the floating Christian hospitals of Mercy Ships have delivered food, healing and salvation to countless people around the world.
Aminata Sessay once was known as the witch of Freetown, Sierra Leone. A grapefruit-sized tumor protruded from the left side of her face, pushing up the floor of her mouth and causing her tongue to touch her cheek. The growth was not only humiliating, it also caused Sessay to drool continuously and struggle to speak.

Then she met Dr. Gary Parker, a missionary surgeon volunteering with Mercy Ships, a Texas-based organization that operates floating hospitals. Parker removed the tumor and inserted a jaw implant. Ten years later, Sessay is still tumor-free.

Ana Ramona Tejada developed cataracts after a car accident that left her blind in her right eye. A mother of three living in the Dominican Republic, Tejada could not afford corrective surgery. After a brief operation performed by Mercy Ships doctors, Tejada’s cataracts were removed and her vision restored.

Demba spent 42 years looking for someone who could correct his cleft lip. Then he learned about Mercy Ships. The surgery restored not only his smile but also his confidence.

Mercy Ships has been collecting testimonies like these since 1978 when the ministry began sailing the globe to offer medical care in developing nations. Since then volunteer doctors have treated more than 200,000 people through village medical clinics and performed in excess of 26,000 surgeries to correct cataracts, cleft lips and disfiguring tumors, among other maladies.

Through its flagship vessel, the Anastasis, and the recently retired Island Mercy and Caribbean Mercy, the humanitarian organization has sought to preach the gospel in word and deed by literally helping the blind to see, the lame to walk and the mute to speak. “It’s fascinating that we are using ships as hospitals, but our focus is following the model of Jesus in bringing hope and healing to the poor,” says Mercy Ships founder Don Stephens, 61. “People are anointed—not ships.”

The dream to establish a hospital ship dates back to 1964, when 19-year-old Stephens joined a group from Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in the Bahamas. That summer he personally experienced a hurricane and thought a ship offering medical care after such a disaster would be a practical ministry tool.

As he describes in his recent book, Ships of Mercy, the vision began to unfold in 1977 when his wife, Deyon, gave birth to their third child, John Paul, who was severely disabled physically and mentally. “Learning the practical aspects of providing for John Paul was a big part of our journey of God’s leading us into what is now Mercy Ships,” Stephens says.

Before John Paul was a year old, the late Assemblies of God missionary Mark Buntain invited Stephens to visit the hospital he had established in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in eastern India. While there, Stephens met Mother Teresa. “Your son will help you on your journey to becoming the eyes, ears, mouth and hands for the poor,” she told Stephens, inviting him to visit one of her homes for the handicapped.

“I can close my eyes today and bring back the images of that center, so profound was the impact on me,” Stephens says.

With fresh inspiration, Stephens returned to Switzerland, where he was serving as YWAM’s director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He met with shipping experts and had a feasibility study prepared, which proved that his idea to launch a hospital ship wasn’t far-fetched.

Stephens began to inspect ships on the market and finally discovered the Victoria, an elegant ship that had been built by the Italian government. After determining that the Victoria met his requirements, Stephens talked with the Italian minister of maritime affairs about his goal of providing free medical care for people in need. Miraculously, the government officer agreed to a $1 million purchase price—the cost of the ship’s metal, or in shipping terms, its “scrap value.” The deal became final on October 5, 1978.

To ready the Victoria for sailing, Stephens moved the ship to the Bay of Eleusis in Greece for renovations. During the next four years, Stephens, his family and a team of volunteers faced one hurdle after another—including an oil embargo, earthquake and funding challenges—but they didn’t lose hope.

On July 7, 1982, the ship was christened the Anastasis, the Greek word for “resurrection.” Indeed, the crew was ready to become the “eyes, ears, mouth and hands for the poor.”

‘Doing’ the Gospel

For the next several years, Mercy Ships built its volunteer base and focused on relief efforts, beginning with an outreach to the Ixil Indians in Guatemala. Contributions poured in to the ministry—in the form of money, cornmeal, seeds for crops, clothing, steel roofing for homes, hand tools and farm equipment, generators, medical supplies and a mobile dental facility.

A second smaller ship, rechristened the Good Samaritan, was donated to the ministry in 1985 and was designated for relief efforts in Caribbean ports. Within a couple of years, the Anastasis was equipped with a new eye-surgery clinic and medical equipment—and was finally ready to serve as a hospital. The Mexico City earthquake provided that opportunity.

Refugio Camacho, a 68-year-old woman with cataracts, was the crew’s first patient. Her operation was the precursor to thousands of future surgeries onboard the ship. In 1989, Mercy Ships began to make plans to serve in Africa. It would be the Anastasis’ first crossing of the Atlantic since its first 1982 voyage, and Stephens was ecstatic about the breakthrough.

As their plans unfolded, however, Stephens and his wife realized they wouldn’t be able to join the crew. Life onboard the ship in the previous 10 years had become frustrating for their 13-year-old son, John Paul, and it was time to make a change.

“I realize now that had I remained on the ship, Mercy Ships would have had a short life span,” Stephens says. “I needed to come off the ship to work on the foundation, legal structure, accountability and other areas such as public relations.”

Mercy Ships purchased property in Garden Valley, Texas, from Teen Challenge, a Christian substance-abuse treatment ministry, and Stephens and his wife learned to adjust to office life. Deyon serves as vice president of mission development and, Stephens says, she expresses “the spiritual heart of what we are doing at the ministry.”

In May 1990, the Anastasis sailed to Africa without the Stephens family. Its medical outreach in Togo was a success, and word quickly spread about the ship’s free services—not only within Togo, but also in neighboring nations.

Mercy Ships typically works in developing countries that are in the lowest third of the United Nations Human Development Index. Access to hospital care is often limited, leaving thousands to suffer from debilitating illnesses that could be cured through surgery. Mercy Ships specializes in four types of procedures: eye surgery, reconstructing facial and orthopedic disorders such as clubbed feet and cleft palates, and repairing vesicovaginal fistulas (VVFs), which are holes that tear between tissues near a woman’s bladder, causing urine to leak constantly.

Turning people away is likely the most difficult part of a staff member’s role—but it is often necessary. A disease may be too far advanced for treatment to make a difference, or sometimes the surgical schedule is full. Other times, a person has arrived too late in the five to eight months Mercy Ships spends in a particular port.

“A surgeon’s decision is, ‘Do I spend time with my family and children, or do I carve out another hour or two of my time to provide surgery for someone who has no hope and will probably never have another opportunity?'” Stephens says.

The solution, he believes, lies in finding balance. “If I am emotionally, spiritually or physically depleted, the effect of that is going to show in the surgery … or the aftercare,” he says. “Maintaining a sense of wholeness is the challenge for all of us, but I think that’s the key.”

Through the years, Stephens has become more convinced that the gospel should be “done” as well as spoken. “If we look at the example of Jesus, we see that He not only was the good news—He did the good news,” Stephens says.

“Scripture is clear that proclamation is important for faith to be imbedded in people’s lives, but I think the gospel has two heads: word and deed. If we historically look at the growth of the church in developing nations where there was little representation of the gospel, education and medicine go hand-in-hand with the gospel.”

Mercy Ships partners with local churches and pastors wherever the ministry goes. These pastors not only know the language and customs of the area, Stephens says, but also are able to disciple and train those who profess faith in Jesus.

Stephens believes for poverty-stricken communities to be empowered, the church must first be empowered. “[Saddleback Church pastor] Rick Warren views the church as the only global force that can really change society on a global scale, and I agree with him,” Stephens says. “I believe health care clinics should be associated with the local church.

“The fact that Bill Gates and Bono have trumpeted ending poverty and HIV is wonderful, but I regret that we in the church weren’t leading this chorus. I think every believer should be supporting not only his local church and local charities, but international ones as well.”

Refining the Vision

In 1994, Mercy Ships purchased a Norwegian coastal ferry, which it renamed the Caribbean Mercy. The new, larger ship was well-suited for performing eye surgeries in the Caribbean and Central America.

Meanwhile, the Good Samaritan was moved to the South Pacific and renamed the Island Mercy. Along with the Pacific Ruby, a donated yacht used during the early 1990s, Island Mercy helped treat more than 24,000 patients in six nations from Tonga to the Philippines.

The Caribbean Mercy has made stops in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and Haiti in the last decade. As an example of Mercy Ships’ ministry, volunteer HealthCare Teams in El Salvador helped fit people with hearing aids, provided dental care and drilled water wells.

In 2001 Mercy Ships decided to say goodbye to the Island Mercy and this year, after it provided hurricane relief in the U.S., retired the Caribbean Mercy to put its resources into larger ships. Last spring, the ministry commissioned the Africa Mercy, a Danish rail ferry built in 1980 that has undergone a $62 million refit. With a life expectancy of 30 years, the ship can accommodate 474 crew and 78 hospital beds.

With about 40 percent more capacity than the Anastasis, the Africa Mercy is a “purpose-designed ship,” Stephens says, equipped with state-of-the-art surgery suites and a Starbucks café outfitted with Internet capability. Though its operating costs are projected to be $2.5 million to $3 million a year, Stephens says the ship can serve almost anywhere in the world.

“Ships are designed for economies of scale,” Stephens notes. “We’ve made a decision as an organization not to have any small ships in the future because they are not as cost-efficient.”

As part of its land-based operations, in April 2005 Mercy Ships dedicated a hospital in Sierra Leone that specializes in VVF surgeries. A growing problem among young women in Africa, an obstetric fistula typically results from trauma during childbirth or physical abuse, as well as lack of health care. In the last year, Mercy Ships doctors have performed more than 500 VVF surgeries.

Worldwide, the ministry has completed some 800 construction and agriculture projects, including building schools, clinics and orphanages, and digging water wells. Its medical team has taught modern health care techniques in developing nations. Mercy Ships also has designed programs to help Africans establish “cottage” industries and become more self-sufficient.

To help strengthen Mercy Ships’ accountability structure, Myron E. Ullman III, chairman and CEO of JCPenney Company Inc., was appointed chairman of the Board of Trustees for Mercy Ships International. “Mercy Ships is involved in two of the highest legal risks: medicine and ships,” Stephens explains. For further transparency and more effective governance, Mercy Ships established five board committees in 2003.

In the same year, Mercy Ships—which had been under the YWAM umbrella since its inception—decided to become a separate entity. Since then the ministries have collaborated on various projects and are joining forces to build a secondary school in Ghana.

Today, Mercy Ships is a $53 million charity that has worked in more than 80 countries and gained corporate sponsors such as Starbucks, which donates coffee beans; Alcon, which supplies microscopes for the ships’ ophthalmic operating units; and Johnson & Johnson, which provides orthopedic supplies.

The ships are in port 80 percent to 85 percent of the time, helping the ministry reduce its operating costs. Nearly 1,000 career staff and 2,000 short-term volunteers help reduce expenses by paying “for the privilege of serving.” The monthly cost for room and board is $350.

In the future, Stephens envisions a ship for Asia and one for the Muslim world. In fact, he believes U.S. Department of Homeland Security could benefit from what Christian-based organizations do in impoverished villages in Muslim nations.

“If people see us really doing what Jesus did—not just talking, but doing it—I think we diminish the anger, the intensity and the misunderstandings of what it means to be a follower of Jesus,” he says. “Scripture says they will know us by our love, and I think ‘doing’ the gospel is an effective way to show the love of God.”

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Carol Chapman Stertzer is a freelance journalist living in the Dallas area. For more information about Mercy Ships, visit .

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A Vessel of Compassion

Don Stephens founded Mercy Ships in 1982 to bring hope and healing to the world’s poor.

Born: June 13, 1945
Wife: Deyon, who serves as vice president of mission development for Mercy Ships. The couple celebrated their 40th anniversary in June.
Children: Luke, Heidi, John Paul, Charles
Church involvement: Grew up in an Assemblies of God church in western Colorado; now attends a Methodist church in east Texas.
Education: Earned his bachelor’s degree in religious studies from Bethany College in Santa Cruz, California.
On divine healing: “I don’t question God’s capability of healing some of the enormous tumors we see, but I have seen very few cases like that actually healed. That doesn’t stop me from praying for full healing for my handicapped son, however. I believe in divine healing and pray for it regularly.”
Favorite spot in the world: “I really feel comfortable and at home in Africa,” Stephens says. In terms of sheer beauty: Switzerland, the Highlands of Scotland and Norway are tops.
Hobbies: Fly fishing and outdoor activities. “I recharge to a certain degree when I’m with others, but then I need my downtime and enjoy being out on the river or in the mountains of Colorado.”
On experiencing God’s favor: “I know that my Norwegian grandfather prayed every day that his family would be involved in the Lord’s work. Prayer has made the difference.”

On A Mission For God

Jon Fadely is using his live of marine sciencia as a Mercy Ships misssionary.

Fifteen years ago, Jon Fadely and his wife, Angie, left a life of comfort and joined Mercy Ships as volunteer missionary workers.

The couple was introduced to the ministry in 1989 when the Anastasis came to the port of Houston. “Angie and I were very impressed with the deep faith we sensed in [the staff],” says Jon Fadely, 43, who serves as director of marine operations for the ministry. “That was something we wanted to see grow in our own lives.”

Fadely studied marine science and navigation at Texas A&M University and earned his merchant marine officer’s license from the U.S. Coast Guard. But more than anything else, he believes growing up as a missionary kid on the beaches of Liberia helped prepare him for his new calling.

After spending two years raising support and attending discipleship training school, in 1991 the Fadelys were assigned to work aboard the Good Samaritan. Fadely served as a ship’s officer and soon became a captain.

Beginning in 1994, the Fadelys spent nine years on the Caribbean Mercy, raising their three children aboard the ship and building friendships with Christians from around the world. Fadely says the experience taught him how to live out his faith practically.

“When you’re dealing with matters of life and death, you don’t spend a lot of time debating esoteric theology, or form, or liturgy,” he says. “It’s all about God and what difference He makes in my life.”

During his first voyage in West Africa, Fadely met a local man who had been hit in the head with a bottle. A nurse dressed his wound and prayed with the man. The next day, the man returned to the ship and told Fadely he had been healed of a pain in his neck.

Although he was a Muslim, the man began attending a Bible study onboard the Good Samaritan and eventually accepted Christ. He later attended a discipleship training school and is now an ardent evangelist.

In 2002 the Fadelys moved ashore to be near their oldest daughter. Today they work at Mercy Ships’ international headquarters in Texas, but the couple doesn’t expect to be aground forever. “We are thankful to be here,” Fadely says, “but we are both willing to travel again if God opens those doors.”

Giving Sight to the Blind

Ophthalmologist Glenn Strauss traded in his practice for a career in missions.

At the prime of his career in 2004, Dr. Glenn Strauss walked away from his ophthalmology practice in Tyler, Texas, and began serving full time with Mercy Ships.

“It was mainly about first fruits,” says Strauss, who began praying with his wife, Kim, about the decision five years ago. “A lot of people who do missions work wait until their late 60s—when they don’t have quite as much energy and their risk for complications is much higher, but they still want to be useful.

“My conviction was that I had been able to get to this point in my life because it had been given to me by God. It was time for me to offer it back to the Lord.”

Now 51, Strauss has performed numerous eye surgeries and trained surgeons around the world. He first got involved with Mercy Ships in 1998 on a short-term basis and was immediately impressed with the organization. “Don Stephens is a passionate man with a heart for the poor, a heart for the kingdom of God and a desire to use the tool of ships as a platform to provide world-class care,” Strauss says.

Today, as vice president of health care services and programs for Mercy Ships International, Strauss works in the ministry’s Garden Valley, Texas, office. But he still goes out on the field. In March, he and his wife left for a five-month journey that took them to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Pakistan and Ghana.

“As the ship comes into port, it is an incredible experience to be part of the team that is providing an opportunity for people to be restored,” he says.

Strauss says one of his most memorable experiences was providing eye surgery for 2-year-old Liberian twin boys. Blinded by cataracts, the children lived at a nearby refugee camp and were brought to the ship by their mother.

The day after surgery, Strauss and his wife went to visit the boys. After Strauss took off their patches, a team member came into the room and threw balloons in the air. The boys both spontaneously looked up at the balloons, and big smiles came over their faces. “I was crying from the other side of the room as I watched this unfold,” Strauss says.

The twins were released to go home the next day. “These boys have their life ahead of them because God gave us a chance to be there for them,” he told Charisma. “This is just one example of how God has used Mercy Ships to change lives.”