scwguild.com

By Teena Myers

Ingrid grew up in a strong matriarchal family. Her great-grandmother and grandmother were deacons who participated in founding a Baptist Church. The cornerstone at the Baptist Church is engraved with her grandmother’s name. Even though her grandmother worshipped in a Baptist church, she loved visiting the Catholic Church and often took Ingrid with her to light candles and pray novenas. Ingrid’s mother left the Baptist Church when they failed to give her adequate answers to her questions about God and faith. Her mother found a new home at a Catholic Church.

Ingrid loved the Catholic Church, which she attended until she was thirty-six years old. She fell out of favor with the congregation when she married a Baptist. Her marriage failed while they were living in San Antonio. Ingrid returned to Louisiana and the Catholic Church with two daughters. After her divorce became final, some women in the congregation informed Ingrid divorced, women could not receive communion.

“I became a cafeteria Catholic,” said Ingrid. “I could attend Mass, but I could not participate. My standing in the congregation reached a new low when I married a divorced Catholic and that marriage failed too. Staying in the Catholic Church ceased to be an option. The Baptist were satisfied if I confessed Jesus as my Lord and Savior, so I returned to the Baptist church that my family had founded.”

Ingrid felt like an outcast wandering in a wilderness when a friend invited her to attend a Full Gospel Church. The pastor was a protégé of Bishop Paul Morton, founder of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship. Morton founded his new fellowship to lead believers into the fullness of the gifts of the Spirit without departing from the foundation of Jesus Christ. Ingrid loved the dynamic service and stayed.

Ingrid’s new church had a ministry for every aspect of life. Unlike the Catholic Church, which banished her to the sidelines for being divorced, the full gospel church welcomed her participation. Even though Ingrid enjoyed her new church, she could not escape feeling lost in a crowd. The full gospel church lacked the personal touch of a smaller church.

Ingrid was entertaining thoughts of searching for a smaller church when she attended her daughter’s baby shower. Her aunt said, “Do you remember Burnell? He played for the Green Bay Packers but he’s retired now and has a full gospel church. I think you’d really like him. Why don’t you come check it out?” Ingrid found the smaller family atmosphere she desired at Burnell’s church.

With her new church came a new ministry. Ingrid worked at U.S. Customs on Canal Street in New Orleans. She enjoyed shopping during her lunch hour until a co-worker invited her to attend a Bible Study that met twice a week during the lunch hour. Ingrid loved the fellowship with co-workers of like faith.

The study had several teachers that rotated. When two of the teachers transferred to other departments, the organizer of the study approached Ingrid about teaching.

“Jeanette, you are out of your mind,” said Ingrid.

“Why not? You teach all over the world for U.S. Customs, but you can’t teach for the Lord!”

Ingrid thought about Jeanette’s reply and decided she could teach for the Lord. Jeanette put her in the rotation with the other teachers.

That year, Ingrid’s daughter came home for Christmas, and they talked into the wee hours of the morning. The topic of their conversation drifted from family to her daughter’s friend, who was a battered wife and had experienced a nervous breakdown.

“As we discussed the woman’s problems, I felt conflicted,” said Ingrid. “I wondered why I was worried about this woman when my own children were doing fine. Then I remembered how she was at my house more than her mother’s. I drove her to high school events, and she shared a room with my daughter when they were in college. I believe it takes a village to raise a child, and I had helped raise her. She was just as much my responsibility as my daughter is.”

As Ingrid continued to ponder the plight of her daughter’s friend, she thought about God’s faithfulness. God had brought her through two failed marriages. At one time, she was unemployed for a year, but managed to pay her mortgage and provide for her children. God promised he would never leave us or forsake us, and he had remained faithful in all her tribulations. She felt drawn to Habbakkuk 2:2 “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it”(NIV). Suddenly, Ingrid realized that she needed to run and tell somebody about God’s faithfulness.

The next day, Ingrid told Jeanette about the revelation God had given her. In addition to the Bible Study, Jeanette had an evangelistic outreach. The names of people who either could not or would not go to church were referred to Jeanette. She called to verify if that person would let them hold a service in their home and pray for them. Every Friday, Jeanette’s team went to a different house and conducted a service. Ingrid joined the evangelistic team and taught from house to house, believing she was fulfilling God’s mandate to tell others about his faithfulness.

“I liked teaching house to house until the Lord said to me, ‘That is not what I told you to do.’”

 Ingrid tried to reason with God. The subsequent conversation went something like this:

“But God, I’m telling people about your faithfulness.”

“You are not telling people the message I gave you. You were meant to be a teacher, but you are forgetting about the women who are hurting.”

“Sometimes women who are hurting are at the house meetings.”

“Yes, but you didn’t write it plainly.”

Ingrid realized that she needed to fulfill God’s mandate in the way he chose. She had talked to several ministers about her dilemma when she saw an advertisement about a women’s conference in the newspaper. The name of the woman sponsoring the event and the article attracted Ingrid. Shortly after reading the article, Ingrid attended a funeral and ran into her pastor.

“I heard you are full gospel now,” said Pastor Turner.

Ingrid felt his disappointment and reluctantly said, “Yes, I am.”

“Do you think we preach half gospel?”

“I never looked at it like that Pastor Turner.”

“Ingrid, all I can tell you is that you will come back home. I know you will, but you are going to come back home when you are ready. I’ll be waiting for you.”

Ingrid could not escape her encounter with Pastor Turner. She liked her new church but felt restless like she was still wandering in a wilderness. She recalled the article about the women’s conference and wondered if attending the conference would help her find direction. Ingrid called Janice, the sponsor of the conference, and learned they had attended grade school together. Janice listened patiently as Ingrid explained her struggle to fulfill God’s mandate. Janice told Ingrid about her experience as a battered woman, and her desire to start a half-way house where women could find refuge and help. Janice needed a counselor for the half-way house. Ingrid’s degree in psychology made her the perfect candidate. Ingrid was immediately interested, but Janice cautioned her to pray before deciding.

Ingrid shared her encounter with Pastor Turner and said, “I feel like I am walking in a wilderness.”

“Ingrid,” said Janice, “you keep talking about the lasting impression Pastor Turner made on you. You know the people at his church. You like them and believe you can grow there. I think you already have your answer.”

Ingrid returned to Pastor Turner’s church and prayed about Janice’s offer. She was confident she had found God’s place for her when tragedy struck. Janice and her son had just purchased drinks at a convenience store. She was backing her Explorer out of the parking lot when they heard a man hollering for help. They saw a young man fleeing from two men with guns. “I know that guy,” yelled her son. “Open the door and let him in.” Janice unlocked the car doors. As soon as the man leaped into her car for safety, the men released a volley of bullets on her SUV. Janice’s only son died in her arms.

“She was devastated,” said Ingrid. “I talked to her and prayed with her often. Her grief was too great to proceed with her plans for a halfway house. I was sure this is what God wanted me to do and wondered what to do next.”

One Sunday, Ingrid’s pastor told his congregation about Alpha Daughters of Zion Outreach Center. A ministry designed to give battered women the refuge and training necessary to escape an abusive relationship. Ingrid approached her pastor after the service to learn more. She was a perfect fit for the center.

“It took me exactly eight years to go back to the Baptist church,” said Ingrid. “I’m home now and I’m not leaving, but there are mornings I wake up and feel like I need to go to Mass.”