mandy’s Story

I grew up in Elkin, NC, where I was at church with my family every time the doors opened. From VBS and children’s choir to youth mission trips and Bible Drill, I was involved and inundated with church activity. I had many wonderful people – including my parents – pour into me. I am grateful for the Biblical principles that were modeled and the foundations that were laid for me during those formative years.

It wasn’t until college at Western Carolina University that I began to understand that “knowing about God” wasn’t the same as “knowing God.” Through very intentional discipleship from the Campus Minister at the BSU, I began to see that all the knowledge in the world was meaningless without heart-change. It was during this time that I truly surrendered my life to the Lord and began to walk in relationship with Him.

Shortly after graduating with my B.S. in Hospitality Management, I married my college sweetheart, Ryan, and we moved to the Raleigh/Durham area. At the same time, I earned my teaching certification and he earned his Ph.D. at NC State (Go Pack!). While there, we attended Homestead Heights Baptist Church, which became The Summit Church during our time there. We were discipled well by several staff members and friends – several of which I worked with during my time as a teacher with Durham County Public Schools.

In 2004 we relocated to Omaha, Nebraska where Ryan completed his residency and I taught in an OPS middle school. It was during this time, away from family, friends, and everything else that was comfortable or familiar, that the Lord really stretched me to own my faith, to lean heavy into the relationship and leadership he had provided through Ryan, and to embrace Romans 12:9-13. He taught me to have an attitude of gratitude and out of that, to serve the Lord joyfully in hope, patiently in affliction, and faithfully in prayer.

In 2008, just a few months after our first child, Camden, was born, we relocated to Dallas, Texas for Ryan’s job. While there, we were active members of MacArthur Blvd. Baptist Church and again, were discipled by several members of that church. During our time there, not long after the birth of our second child, Alison, in 2010, I responded to the Lord’s call to minister to women and specifically to moms. From serving on the Women’s Ministry team to coordinating a MOPS group to teaching in our preschool’s Mother’s Day Out program, I have been blessed to serve the Lord by serving others in these and other ministries.

In 2015 God led us back home to North Carolina and we joined Mercy Church not long after landing in Harrisburg. Over the years, there have been seasons of planting and seasons of harvest, seasons of mourning and seasons of dancing, seasons of keeping and seasons of casting away…but through it all the Lord has been faithful – strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow – blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!