Last night was the fourth and final gathering of “The Redeemed” girl’s ministry for this school year. Looking back to our first gathering, there has been an incredible amount of growth that has happened within our team and within myself. Here’s a behind the scenes look at how it all began, struggles that have surfaced along the journey, and what to expect for next year.
Deciding on where I would go to college was the toughest decision I have ever been faced with. Growing up in Headland, Troy was a place we frequently passed through to get anywhere north. I remember countless times passing the “Troy University” sign thinking to myself, “you’ll never see me this close to home and at a school this small!” I had big plans, or so I thought. When the time came, I narrowed it down to Auburn University or Troy. After considering every aspect, Troy clearly was where I needed to be- and oh, how I ate my words! Sitting on this side of the first year here, I could not imagine myself any further from home (at least for this season of life!), and at a school any larger than this one. I found my perfect home away from home here at Troy and love it so!
Boxes were packed and nerves were high as I set out on this new journey. Back home I was privileged to be heavily involved at my school, through my church, and with my friends so I expected that trend to continue at Troy. I wanted to make an impact on this campus that would last longer than the four years that I was here. I knew coming in that nobody would know who I was or anything about my faith, so I was excited about the opportunity to share that and proclaim His name in a new place with new faces. Halfway through the semester, my good friend Sydney and I were riding in the car when she began to tell me about a girl’s ministry that her friend was involved with at Jacksonville State University called “The Watering Hole.” It was so neat to hear of what they were doing for the Lord, and Sydney expressed to me how she wished Troy had something similar! My wheels began turning and haven’t stopped since. Together, me and Sydney began planning for what would become “The Redeemed.” While Troy does have several campus ministries for students to get involved in, we lacked a ministry specifically for girls. We couldn’t think of anything better than to create a time for girls to come together to fellowship, share in the struggles that we all face, and grow together in the truth of the Gospel spurring each other towards Christ. The name “Redeemed” came from a brainstorm session where me and Syd sat in a local coffee shop considering what the Lord’s heart might be for this ministry. “If there is one message we want to send to these girls, what is it?” is the question we considered, and “The Redeemed” was born.
Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace
We wanted to share the redemption we found in Christ with the girl’s roaming the campus of Troy University. We wanted them to experience that freedom, love, grace, and forgiveness that comes only from knowing and having a relationship with Him. So, we set out to do just that and began planning our first gathering.
The first Gathering was in November of Fall Semester. We went in clueless, but the Lord provided in so many ways such as other girls to walk alongside us as a “team”, a location for us to have it in, musicians to lead worship, and so on and so forth. We met for the first time at Sydney’s Sunday School teacher’s home. She had a beautiful yard, so we decorated very little and prepared for an exciting night. Three girls from our team lead worship along with two guys that brought in a guitar and box drum. We introduced the ministry to the girls that came and I shared the Gospel with them. We then moved into a time of getting to know each other and fellowship, sharing prayer requests, explaining further our heart for what was to come through The Redeemed, and eating some yummy goodies! The first gathering was a success and I was so in awe in how the Lord was involved in every detail of the night.
The semester ended and we began to look forward to Spring Semester! As soon as we returned from Christmas break, we began planning the second gathering. This time we decided to bring in a guest speaker and move locations! We wanted to be on campus for better convenience, so thankfully the Lord opened up the door for us to move inside to the arboretum building. This time we wouldn’t be freezing and wouldn’t get wet in the case of rain, which ended up being a huge deal because on this night it FLOODED! I thought Noah was about to ride by on his ark. Thankfully, we had girls that decided to brave the rain and gather with us! Whitney Johnson of Southside Baptist Church visited and poured into us with the topic of “confidence.” It was an incredible night of worship, fellowship, and truth.
And from there, we jumped straight into the third gathering just a little over a month later! This time we wanted to change things up a little bit, so we invited some guys to join us! Although this ministry is specifically for girls, we asked a couple of our guy friends to join and to hear their hearts on a “Godly woman.” What an encouragement they were to us, reminding us that our one goal is not to become all that we can be to gain a guy or relationship, but to live our lives wholeheartedly seeking Christ! It was a sweet night to join together as brothers and sisters in Christ! After an interview with the guys, one of our own team members, Anna, shared her testimony with us and the journey the Lord has taken her on of becoming a Godly woman. We closed out the night with some breakfast food and shut out the lights on gathering three!
Here are where things get personal for me. In between the second and third gathering, I began to battle against the Lord concerning this ministry. Not many knew of what I was facing, but the Lord was really working to convict my heart on how I was serving Him through this ministry. When Sydney first brought this idea to my attention, I thought I knew exactly what the Lord wanted me to do. I have always loved planning events, speaking, and being involved with things such as this. Combining all of those things, plus the fact that is was an outlet to share the Gospel with those around me- how could it not be what the Lord had for me to do here at Troy? The problem was, I never considered that at the beginning. I placed myself into a position of assuming I knew exactly what the Lord wanted for me when I was in no place to do so. In all honesty, I never prayerfully considered what the Lord wanted for me in this or His heart on it. Yes, it was a good thing, but I was realizing it might not have been the “good thing” he had planned for me to do in this season. It was a hard pill to swallow. I was already this far in and questioning what else he would want me doing if it wasn’t this ministry. How would I tell the team? What would it look like to others if I walked away? I battled and I battled. Even through that faithlessness, the Lord was so faithful to me. I started praying about the ministry, my place in the ministry, and what it was the Lord wanted me to do- even if it was something I did not want to do. He began to lay the word “discipleship” on my heart. I went to an event one night here in Troy called “Pray for Troy,” that one of my dear friends put together! As I sat and looked around at all the people around me, I saw souls- some lost, some not. I had my group of friends, but I didn’t know many other than that. And when I say know, I mean more so than a “Hey, How are you?” basis. I knew several names, but I had filled my schedule so full that I had no time to truly get to know the people that the Lord had placed around me. That truth shook me. I realize I can’t get to know EVERY body at Troy on a personal level, but I can work on those in my classes, in my sorority, and in my church. I was neglecting the people around me and holding back the Gospel from them and worrying about details of an event. My heart loves logistics! So planning the redeemed is easy and inside my comfort zone. I can stand in front of a crowd and speak to them without hesitation, but when it comes to diving into personal and intimate relationships my introverted nature comes out for all to see. Why would the Lord be asking me to do something the exact opposite of what I am good at? Why would He call me away from where I can succeed to be totally uncomfortable? The answer? To prune me. To grow me. To glorify Himself. Because He is God, and wants to use me in the way His name will receive most honor and praise.
It took a while to come to grips with this, but the Lord led me to that place of surrender. One night I knelt in my dorm room in tears, begging for guidance and clarity, and in that moment the Lord rushed peace into my soul. I remember listening to the song “oceans” countless times before. Every time the lyrics flashed across the screen, “spirit lead me where my trust is without borders,” my mind floated to places like the redeemed, or mission trips, or big and showy things done for the Lord that would seemingly take a lot of trust. For the first time I listened to that song with new perspective- what if the oceans he was calling me to were just the quiet, still waters of every day life? What if it wasn’t overseas, but to the person sitting next to me in class? And for me, that would take much trust in a God bigger than I. He doesn’t only call us to be on stage, but to be intentional in real life with those around us. I came to a place where He had to make me willing to walk away from The Redeemed if that is what He was asking me to do and to throw away my pride and my fears and to walk into waters unknown, trusting that He would be there with me.
As the third gathering approached I was nervous about how things would turn out and if it would be my last one being involved on the planning team. As we got there to begin setting up, everything fell into place just right. We didn’t run out of time decorating, everybody was excited, we had a good crowd, and a good response from worship and the message. It was incredible to see how the Lord’s hand was so involved. A couple of us sat around and talked afterwards, and how encouraging it was to hear of how the Lord was working in such neat ways in so many of the girl’s lives. It was insane to see how the Lord was using this for His glory, even when I had gone astray. I could see that the faithful prayers of the rest of the team were going forth and the Lord was blessing them in so many ways. As the night came to a close, the Lord reminded me of the story of Abraham when he went to sacrifice his son Isaac. It probably made no sense to him that the Lord gave him this son, what seemed like a good gift, and was now asking him to take his life. When the Lord saw Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac, he provided a ram. The Lord whispered to my soul, “I needed to see that you would give it up for me.” He needed to take me to a place of full of surrender, of brokenness, longing for nothing more than Him. I didn’t need to be satisfied by working for The Redeemed, I need to find my satisfaction in living for Him alone.
A lot of lessons were learned through that time, even some I am still continuing to learn. But as we closed the chapter on gathering three, I looked forward to gathering four prayerfully seeking Him.
For Gathering four it was evident that our team had figured out the ropes and were all pitching in to do whatever they could to make it a success! We changed locations again and instead met in Sorrell Chapel on campus. Sydney invited her pastor’s wife from back home to come and speak to us, and it was incredible! She spoke from Exodus 2 when God called Moses to deliver His people from Pharaoh. She reminded us when God calls, there will be fear. But by faith when we can do as He has asked because He goes with us, He provides, and He guides. She challenged us to be obedient. One quote from the night that stuck out so much to me was this:
If we have an obedience problem, then we have a love problem with God.
Wow! Now that will make you check yourself! All that we do for Him must stem from a love for Him. The Redeemed is a good thing, but it had to come from the love He had shown me and the love I had fallen into with Him- not from a place of selfish ambition.
We had an incredible night of worship, wished every one a great summer, and sent them off until next fall!
What a joy it has been to learn and grow through this ministry. What the Lord has done in my own life through it speaks volumes of the God we serve. He deserves all our praise! I never thought we would be this far along sitting in that coffee shop last semester daydreaming of what it would become. We don’t have it all together, and we have a lot to learn, and a long way to go, but as long as the Gospel is going forth- I believe it’s all worth it (even if it took knocking me on my feet a little bit.) The girls that I have been able to work with through this have been my rocks and my encouragement. Each of them hold such a special place in my heart. They have poured themselves into this ministry, and it is incredible to see how the Lord has been working in their lives. The Sunday night before our last gathering, the team got together to worship, pray, and share together. I heard story after story of brokenness in each of our lives, and how the Lord was bringing redemption to those places. We aren’t doing this because we have it all together, but because we know a God that can take messy and make a message- and our lives testify to that. We want these girls to know hope, to know joy, to know true life that comes only through the blood of Christ. It only because of who He is that any of this takes place. His blood washed us clean, He called us redeemed. Praise His great and powerful and glorious name!
For the salvation of souls.
love, Em
Remember + Rejoice 