NOURISHING COMMUNITIES: TRISHA JAMES' DEDICATION TO FOOD ASSISTANCE + COMMUNITY BUILDING NOURISHING COMMUNITIES: TRISHA JAMES' DEDICATION TO FOOD ASSISTANCE + COMMUNITY BUILDING ATION OD STANCE + MUNITY ING
Interview with Trisha James II, Founder of Serving Hope
Article by Zairs T Miles
Photography by @jalantai, JaLantai McClendon
There is always the need to Serve hope and have an open door to help others! Trisha James has elevated that in her own way by starting a Food Bank to help those in need. What a great way to give back to the community! We got to sit down with Trisha to get the story of how she started. What sparked her to start the organization? We asked many other questions at her home, where her food bank is located.
Trisha's initiative to start a food bank is commendable. Food banks are vital in helping those struggling with food insecurity and providing access to essential nutrition and support. By establishing this resource, Trisha has demonstrated a profound commitment to serving her community and offering hope to those facing difficult circumstances.
Nourishing Communities FAYNC MAGAZINE 10
Zairis: What is your name? Tell us about yourself and the organization you represent
Trisha: My name is Trisha James, and our organization is serving hope. Some of what we do in the community is hot plates for the homeless, and that's where we go downtown to 301 Wingz and feed the homeless one second and fourth Sundays. We also hold open and free community events. We have games, raffles, we give away bikes, and you know, basically, just, you know, with a desire to see the community come together as a whole, and we help people with utilities, we organize all different types of things so if we cover so many other areas right now, we are assisting homeless well once homeless young men with rehabilitation services so we are helping them and trying to get them into housing.
Zairis: What sparked you to start your organization?
Trisha: In nearly 2000, I had a stranger knock on my door. At the time, I was living in the projects, and I was struggling myself. She knocked on my door and asked me for a sandwich and a cup of water. after giving her that sandwich and a cup of water, I became more intrigued with the homeless population, and I started going out by myself. I grew up doing community service and different things, but now that it was at that point as an adult, I began to go out and get more involved and serving hope was actually founded in 2010, and that is when around the time that we started rehabilitating people and we successfully rehabilitated our first person who was Karen calls into 2015 she went from being homeless and struggling with keeping a job and keeping transportation and a roof over her children's head to being completely stable. Now she has had her own place for over 7 years, with we helped repair her credit, and she has been
Zairis: Through your experiences how would you describe the need for the work you are doing in FAYNC?
"It is an extreme need for what we do and it is my desire that more people get involved and see the need is present in our community."
TRISHA JAMES II, FOUNDER Serving Hope
There are a lot of people hurting, a lot of people suffering, a lot of people going through, and it's not a one person on one organization, you know thing it is it's a community effort is something that we all can play a party and whether its a donation of a key and good or you're not sharing a kind word or donating clothing that is no longer in use there's a role that we all can play and rebuilding our community. The pandemic really took a toll, you know, on our community, and then followed that with the inflation. It has really caused a lot of people to be in need and experience life like they have never experienced before.
Zairis: What events or initiatives are you most proud of that you have spearheaded or been involved in?
Trisha: I think the ones that I'm most proud of are my projects with the homeless community and the ability that I have been able to have to successfully rehabilitate people in the community you know going from homeless to you know living from one place to another to gaining stability. That's a major accomplishment and achievement for me, so that is what I'm most proud of.
Zairis: How would you describe success in the work that you do?
Trisha: We have had great success; we have a very large social media following that we have gained through what we do in the community as people have continued to follow and find out about serving hope. We have impacted the lives of hundreds and touched the lives of thousands of people in many different places. We have had a lot of posts that ended up all over the United States. People message me to tell me how what we do has inspired them. So one day a guy that doesn't live far from here, him and his son was passing by and his son said dad I want to build something like what they are doing. The impact that what we do has had on this community, even the leadership in this community, has been phenomenal. You know, we have seen a lot of change, we have seen a lot of growth, we have seen a lot more people that are wanting to be involved so to me when more people want to get involved and be a part of the change that's success
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Nourishing Communities
Zairis: What is your overall goal for your organization?
Trisha: To be everywhere, there are a lot of the programs that I haven't even begun to implement because we're waiting on more support and more volunteers to get on board and become a part of what we're doing in the community, but my dream and my desire is to see this go so much farther and to grow and to have a tremendous impact on the. Community. Of course, with anything, it takes having the support that you need the funding that you need, and we are currently working on all of that, but we have some great plans for serving hope, and like I said, I'm constantly coming up with new programs and things to add to what we already do.
Zairis: How can other people be involved or donate to your organization?
Trisha: We receive donations of non-perishable items here at 1627 Bingham Dr. We also have a Facebook page: Serving Hope and our website is bewell.works. I'm on Nextdoor as Trisha James and on Facebook as Trisha James II. Lastly, we have a Cash App for our non-profit: $shopetrisha.
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Contact Serving Hope Service Areas: Red Springs, NC · Raeford, NC · Dunn, NC · Lillington, NC · Fayetteville, NC areas (910) 257-6131 bewell.works @trisha_3192 Serving Hope - Fayetteville, NC servinghope.trisha@gmail.com Nourishing Communities
Food banks not only address immediate hunger but also contribute to long - term solutions by fostering community support and engagement . They rely on the generosity of donors and volunteers to function effectively , making them a true testament to the power of collective action and compassion .
Trisha ' s dedication to serving hope and providing an open door for others in need sets a positive example for everyone . Her efforts inspire others to take action and make a difference in their communities , ultimately contributing to a more compassionate and supportive society
ZAIRIS T . MILES FAYNC MAGAZINE 13 Nourishing Communities
FAYNC MAGAZINE
Photography by @jalantai, JaLantai McClendon Solitude in Bloom: A Gentleman's Valentine
STRANGER
Saying you broke my heart doesn’t describe it enough so instead, I say, you shattered my love.
Fractured my pure intentions. Sprang the only good ligament of loyalty
I had left.
Now all my heart knows is survival. My heart can’t tell the difference between a joke and a jab at my ego.
It no longer searches for understanding. The only language it speaks is Defense.
Relaxation is only in the midst of familiar faces.
Though we’ve been down this road before your presence is so unfamiliar.
— Zae Poem by @poeticzae, Isaiah Ellsberry
FAYNC MAGAZINE
INSIDE THE TRIBE
Spring '24
Isaiah: Why don’t you start off introducing yourself to our readers?
Audrey: Hi, my name is Audrey and I am the Founder of the Blossom Tribe.
Isaiah: The Blossom Tribe is truly a unique name for a business? Why the Blossom Tribe?
Audrey: Since the very beginning, the only word I could think of was “blossom”. From my perspective, the word “blossom” means to really flourish. There’s something beautiful about a flower that is in bloom, but we have to remember that it’s a process. The seed grows, then there's the budding, then the final
blossom and it starts again every season. So to me, it’s not just a one time or seasonal process and I feel like everyone is looking for the blossom. We have to remember that there is a season for everything. We’re all going to grow. We’re all going to thrive in different directions. A blossom now doesn’t mean the same thing down the road. My goal is to appeal to creatives of all stages. I believe anyone that is creative or building can be a blossom member. Whether the creative action is art, marketing, real estate, content creating or crocheting, being a member of The Blossom Tribe is about finding individuals that are willing to come together and embrace their passion.
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Flourishing Together
Photo by @stevieiwaszko
"FIND A COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE "FIND A COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE
THAT ARE GOING TO SUPPORT YOU AND INSPIRE YOU. SURROUNDING YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE THAT WILL PUSH YOU ULTIMATELY HELPS YOU GROW."
FAYNC MAGAZINE 18 Flourishing Together
Isaiah: What initially led you to not only become an entrepreneur, but build this community of The Blossom Tribe?
Audrey: The Blossom Tribe started because I needed a community. That was the driving force behind my ambition. I had so many questions. Honestly, I was kind of lost in the beginning which ultimately fueled me. My goal was to create around the desires for the community I wanted. I wanted a space for creatives and entrepreneurs that were passionate, relentless and loved the hustle. I am creative and I’ve always kind of been like a wild card. I am very emotional and very passionate. I really dive into things that I feel strongly about, because of my creative energy. Also, it has always been hard for me to have a boss. When I had an office job, I was the employee that would often flutter around from cubicle to cubicle. Now that I have my own business, I benefit greatly from the things I would get in trouble for in the corporate world. Talking all day, connecting with people and giving a lot of my energy to build community were things that held me back at my job. Ironically, these same characteristics are now actually how I make my living.
Isaiah: Currently in our city business owners and artists are flourishing like never before, do you have any advice for creatives or future entrepreneurs afraid to walk in their truth/passion?
Audrey: Networking is essentially your net worth. When I started The Blossom Tribe the connections we made were mind-blowing. Our members consist of artists, graphic designers, and even first responders who are all supporting each other. Not just morally but financially as well. Our community is about genuine support. I think that is one of the most valuable things that I’m building right now. Of course life presents obstacles and hardships, but I believe that passion can be the fuel for ambition.
Isaiah: Are there any previous or upcoming events that you would like to talk about?
Audrey: Yes! But I also like to keep people on their toes. We just hosted a photoshoot that was really awesome. It was full of flowers and was a very fun photoshoot. Also, we have an upcoming pottery painting class as well as a holistic wellness beach trip. During our beach trip we plan to focus on health and wellness. One activity I’m excited about is beach bonding, yoga on the beach. In October, we have a mud running event, so there is definitely something different for everyone. One of our members also has an amazing non-profit organization called “Black Artist Forward” so we will have a private tour of the art gallery as well as an event downtown.
Isaiah: When you think about the future of The Blossom Tribe as far as vision, what comes to mind?
Audrey: Let’s just say I’m so excited about the future
when I think about all the possibilities of growth we possess. Personally, I am a dreamer, but I’m also a do-er. Often I have really big ideas and dreams for The Blossom Tribe, such as a big festival, maybe even here at The Botanical Gardens. A big dream of mine is to celebrate women, creative energy and just really have something fun and interactive. It will definitely be a journey in order to reach these goals, but I’m determined. I’m not concerned with the number of people in attendance either, more so the intention. I would love to do things, such as, blossom pop-up events at Dirt Bag and just having a blossom market. The most important thing is to have monthly events for community gatherings. I would love to organize a conference where we talk about creative challenges, developing skill sets, learning how to network and supply business owners and creatives with the essential tools they need.
Isaiah: Is there anything else you want readers to know about yourself or The Blossom Tribe?
Audrey: If you are looking for a community of women that are fun, creative, and full of passion willing to support you, connect with us. We are available on all social media platforms but mostly Instagram and our website theblossomtribe. com. If you are creating, building or designing anything for the community we would love to support.
As our conversation concluded, I was truly inspired by Audrey’s unfaltering determination and irresistible enthusiasm for community involvement. In a world driven by materialistic success, Audrey’s story reminds us that demonstration is the force of following your dreams and remaining consistent until they manifest into reality.
FAYNC MAGAZINE 19 @theblossomtribe theblossomtribe.com tbt.blossom@gmail.com BECOME A MEMBER OF THE BLOSSOM TRIBE!
Flourishing Together
Photo by @stevieiwaszko
SPRING FORWARD Spotify playlist
curated by Zairis TeJion in collaboration with FAYNC MAG:
SPRING 2024 Issue
Click to listen
Art Gallery • Multipurpose Studio Yogo • Apparel • Event Space 5555 Yadkin Road | Fayetteville, NC | 910.676.8076
That Time in FAYNC During Spring
That Time in FAYNC During Spring Le Dogwood
FAYNC MAGAZINE 24 That Time in FAYNC During Spring High Rise
That Time in FAYNC During Spring Fences are there, Spring is within
FAYNC MAGAZINE 26 That Time in FAYNC During Spring
Paris, Just Bordeaux
Not
That Time in FAYNC During Spring Dogwood Viewfinder
That Time in FAYNC During Spring FAYNC MAGAZINE 28 Connect and Reflect
That Time in FAYNC During Spring 6PM In FAYNC during springtime
FAYNC MAGAZINE 30 That Time in FAYNC During Spring Light Crossroads
FAYNC MAGAZINE 32 CLICK Click the above to watch our Video Interview with April Mata, President Marcus Doss, Development Chair & Artlife Drew, Board Member of Black Artist Forward! Empowering Black Artistry Videography by @lankyboyfilms, Asheton Bennet Videography by @zairistejion, Zairis T Miles Photography by @jalantai, JaLantai McClendon
TRANSFORMING LIVES: A JOURNEY OF FAITH, LOVE, + SERVICE AT THE KOHCI
Interview with William & LaQuita Miles, Pastors of The Kingdom Of Heaven Church International
Article by Isaiah Ellsberry | Photography by @zairistejion, Zairis T. Miles
The United States Army Airborne and Special Operations Museum, is located in the core of our beautiful city A dedicated space full of courage and patriotism, but today an alternate story begins—an inspiring story, of love, and faith. In a world divided by different beliefs and spiritual adventures, leaders of faith serve as a beacon of moral direction, compassion and encouragement.
Today, we dive into an engaging conversation between two dedicated believers of God, whose immovable commitment to their faith has impacted numerous lives, including mine The time spent with these devoted believers left me inspired and full of immense peace Here, I had the opportunity to interact with Pastor William, an honorable Army Veteran and Pastor LaQuita Miles, a local leader in the community. Their partnership is truly dedicated to serving the community and spreading the love of God throughout the world.
Isaiah: Can you provide a brief introduction of yourself in reference to your role in the community to our readers?
Pastor WG: My name is William Miles, I am the pastor of The Kingdom Of Heaven Church International. We are a church that is designed to train and equip believers to live as Kingdom citizens. Working in the community, our role is to empower people as believers to live the life of Kingdom, not just living life without experiencing heaven on earth. We are here to really teach people that you can have heaven on earth now. We're not working to get to heaven. So, our role is to build a unified body in our community that are working together from the same mindset.
I am LaQuita Miles, better known as Pastor LJ at The Kingdom Of Heaven Church International. One of my goals is to continue to teach believers how to live as Kingdom citizens here on the earth, and to be able to not just put themselves inside of a box and to not think that when they accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior that their life is over. Your life has just begun! And so my role is to bridge that gap to help you to understand that this is your life. That this is a life that God has intended for you and you can live the best life in the Kingdom. And so,
you're comfortable and you're confident. One of the things I love to teach people is how to be confident in who they are, confident in your identity in Christ, in this new life but it's your real life that you’ve just stepped into.
Isaiah: What inspired you to become involved in ministry and community leadership, and how long have you been pursuing this passion?
Pastor LJ: Well…when I hear you say the word inspired, it really wasn't an inspiration it’s more of a calling. Of course you know a lot of times we think about the word inspiration however, you can be inspired by something but there is no change. When you operate in your calling, your entire goal is to expect change and to pursue change, transforming your thinking into a Kingdom mindset so that when you go out into the world the results that you get are the same results that Christ desires for us to receive.
Pastor WG: Man, we've been serving for over 30 years.
Pastor LJ: Yeah, and I know that with Pastor WG's experience in the military and just thinking back on all the moves that we had and all the traveling that we did sometimes it didn't feel like we were going in the right direction or it wasn't so easy, but sacrifices were being made that we now know and we trusted that God was taking us in His direction on His journey. I can remember when we first got married and we were attending church in Georgia and when it was time for us to PCs [to move in military terms] we were sad about having to leave because we had grown close with our church family. Our church family became our family because we were away from our families and that was one of the things that our pastor taught us that I'll never forget. He told us don't be sad about leaving, this is just the beginning. We didn't understand it then. We just did not understand it. I was still crying and just sad about leaving because I was so comfortable and I was growing and just beginning to learn about Christ and my walk with Christ and I continued to hear him say don't be sad about leaving, it's just the beginning. I had no idea that now 30 something years later that we're seeing everything that he said coming to fruition and everything is falling in place and so much clearer now through all of the different moves that we had in the military, through all of the training, from church to church. We attended Baptist churches, we were members of non-denominational churches, we've been members of evangelistic ministries or prophetic ministries, and so our church is a culmination of experience. We've got experience.
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Transforming Lives
Pastor WG: Yeah, and so everything we’ve experienced, that's what our church is the culmination of. We didn't realize that first encounter with God and the church was preparing us for here and now, we didn't understand that. And every church we served in different capacities. It was to teach us, to build us, and to equip us. So now that we are where we are now, we know what the usher is supposed to do, we know what the deacon is supposed to do. We know what's supposed to take place in the praise and worship team as far as ministry, and so we had an opportunity to actually learn and be a part of every aspect of ministry and that's what got us to this point, to where we are. And so, when God called us like you said, LJ it's a calling it's not an inspiration. When He called us to do this, I'll be honest with you, it wasn't our choice because you know we like to hang out, go on vacation, go to the beach, and just chill and enjoy life.
Isaiah: Can you share the mission and vision of your church and how it extends into our community?
Pastor LJ: Our mission is to teach and train believers how to live as Kingdom citizens here on the earth just as it is in heaven, recognizing that you can have heaven here on earth. So all the benefits that the Lord has told us that we can have and all the things that you can do, you can do that now. So we're not waiting to get to heaven. He tells us we can live life in abundance to the full until it overflows here on earth. And so, we believe that the Kingdom is on the inside of you, according to Luke 17:21, that's our guiding scripture for our church. When you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, everything that you need is on the inside of you. You have to tap into that, you have to tap into that spiritual awareness that everything is on the inside of you. You just have to align yourself with the Word of God and with the will of God for your life. It's not as hard as people think it is. People think it's grievous, but it's a joyful life. We say at our church that we are Carriers of the Kingdom. That means that everything that Jesus had, the same power, the same anointing, that we're supposed to get the same results. And those results are not just when we go to heaven, that's to have a life of love, a life of breakthrough so that we're walking in a life of healing, and we're manifesting everything that Jesus said that we can have. And we don't have to beg for it, we just align with Him and we just become who we were called to be.
Pastor WG: Yeah, so the mission of the church is to empower and equip believers to live as Kingdom citizens and we do that by taking the Word of God and transforming our thinking into a Kingdom mindset. And that Kingdom mindset causes us to put the Word of God into operation in our lives, actually implement the Word of God and incorporate it in every area of our lives. When we do that, the Spirit of God that's on the inside of you actually empowers you to be a doer and align yourself with the Word of God. That's when we experience the manifestation of His glory
in our lives. Our vision is what we [Pastors WG and LJ] demonstrate. God has assigned us to train and equip believers to not only live as Kingdom citizens, but to equip them to actually go into the world and into the marketplace and teach the gospel and preach the gospel. And you do that in your daily lives, in your work, in your business and in your relationships. That's what we do, this is the life that we live! We’re teaching people how to live free of the world’s system and not be in a box, not be so dependent upon the government and the world’s system, not limited by what the world says you can be, who you are, or your social economic status. None of those things hinder the true believer that has taken on the Kingdom mindset because we're living by the power of God, the Spirit of God that lives on the inside of you. The scripture says the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you. So, if that spirit lives on the inside of you, the same spirit that raised Him from the dead, the same spirit that He operated in when He was on the earth, then we're limitless. We're limitless, but we have to take on that Kingdom mindset and so that's what our mission and our vision is and when we do that we are building leaders. As we build leaders, leaders go out and beget leaders, and so that's what we're all about. We understand that. We don't limit people to just the four walls of the church. Our responsibility is to empower you and equip you.
Pastor LJ: We’re meeting them where they are.
" Get into the purpose that God has for your life . Acknowledge Him before you take a step ."
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Transforming Lives
" We understood the responsibility and the call and the assignment that we had to give back to others and to actually train equip and empower others to live the same life that we were living and experiencing ."
Isaiah: On your website, I saw that you referenced your church as “a safe space to heal.” In today's time, a lot of people, especially the younger generation feel like the church is a place of judgment instead of a place for healing. How do you respond to those voices in the community and how do you create and foster a safe space to heal?
Pastor WG: We create a safe place to heal by not judging people when they come in. We don't judge them based on their present circumstance and situation. We're looking through the lens of God, we're looking from the perspective of God. So you might come in broken, I see you as healed. You might come in addicted; I see you as delivered. You might come in going through a traumatic event from a divorce or abuse, well I see you as a person that's loving and healthy and whole. When we see the different areas that you're struggling in, we’re led by the Spirit of God, we speak to those areas, and we create this atmosphere to build you up and to bring you out. Most people come in feeling judged because the world has judged them and when the world judges them, they bring that perspective into the building feeling like I'm judging them. I'm not saying that it doesn't happen in different organizations, but at the Kingdom, no! We create the atmosphere by actually just demonstrating and expressing the love of God to you.
Pastor WG: Yeah, training and equipping you so that when you leave the building you go out in power, with God's ability and His mindset to do whatever it is you need to do in the community, and with that, then you begin to inspire other people and draw other people. That's what we do, that's who we are. And so, with our mission and our vision we understand that this is a lifestyle. That's what we teach, that's what we believe that this is a lifestyle that you live. Jesus lived a lifestyle and He demonstrated how we are supposed to live and so we have to tell people that and teach people that and keep you in a place where you're strong, you're focused, you're sure. When you're in that state and that position, then you're able to operate on a level ten times greater than your peers. Why? Because the Spirit of God is in operation in you, guiding you, instructing you along the way, and putting you in place so that you can flourish and you can prosper. Because there is greatness on the inside of each and every one of us and the uniqueness that God has created on the inside of you it’s for a purpose. And so, we believe that you are a carrier of the Kingdom and you carry the Spirit of God and the presence of God wherever you go and in every moment whatever you're doing, you have the opportunity to put God on display and demonstrate His goodness and demonstrate His love in everything that you do.
As you open up and you allow us to minister to you, I might speak on your situation but it's not me judging you it's me speaking to the situation to build you, to strengthen you, and to help bring you to a place where you're not focused on the expired you. The expired you is the person that was stuck in this addiction, the expired person that was in the abusive relationship. We're speaking to build you to declare to you who you really are. We let people know those things don't define you. What you did yesterday is not defining your today, and so when we create that safe place to heal as we're training and equipping you, our focus is Kingdom. Our focus is the love of God. Our intention is clear and to the point. A lot of times you find out,when people are saying they're being judged they are not. I'm not judging you. You have to be in a place where you have to let your ego go and let your addiction go. People want the church to compromise to fit their agenda but we're here to deliver to you the Kingdom agenda. So, when we create that safe place to heal we love you, we're not bashing you. That opens the door for you to grow, to mature, and to learn. And as you're empowered and equipped, then you begin to live that life free of the addiction, free from the abuse, not being governed by the traumatic event that you experienced in your life.
So that's the safe place to heal, and that's the space that we create, this environment of Kingdom.
Pastor LJ: I think the generation that we're dealing with, we have to make sure that we speak the truth in love. This generation wants the truth. They don't want things to be sugar coated, they want the truth. They want the real deal, and then they're able to Transforming
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Lives
" We are teaching believers and equipping and empowering believers by changing their mind to agree with God . That ' s what transforming the world means ."
navigate through what truth is and what truth looks like. So, everybody that knows me knows when you come to me I'm going to empower you, I'll do everything that I can to help you, but you have to get the truth. That's what's going to cause you to be able to go forth and to become that great you and unleash the greatness that's on the inside of you. We pull the greatness out of the inside of you. We help you recognize that there's greatness on the inside of you! And so, you know in my education I was a high school teacher. So, I've had to deal with teenagers. At the same time, you have to have structure and you have to have discipline. You've got to teach discipline, but you also have to be able to show them the benefit of it all. You gotta make it relevant and fill in those gaps so that they're able to see “well why do I come? What is this for? Why should I do this? Who am I supposed to be? Is it OK to be this?” “How do I become this? How do I maintain this?” You have to make sure you fill in the gaps so that they understand what it is you're talking about.
It’s time out for just preaching, preaching, preaching, giving information! I call it information overload. It's time out for just giving all this information with no demonstration in our lives showing that you can live this life and that this is the best life. I'm demonstrating in my marriage, I'm demonstrating this life with my children, I'm demonstrating this life in the grocery store. We must stop giving all this information without giving instruction and really begin showing practical ways of how to apply it to your life. So they need to be shown! This generation needs to see! They need to see that what you say is real, that you're not just talking and you're just not giving them a Sunday formality, you know, behind the pulpit of what big Mama and them, and grandpa and them, and everybody used to do. And I'm not knocking all that because they did what they had to do at the time and the best that they knew, but things have shifted. Things have changed, the Word of God is progressing, the Kingdom is advancing, and as the Kingdom advances, we have to advance.
We cannot get left behind. If we continue to ignore the young generation we're going to continue to lose the younger generation. If we continue to judge them instead of teaching them and meeting them where they are they're going to continue to be that culture that's lost and will never restore the culture that our grandmothers and grandfathers have built and what they have taught us, how to honor God, how to honor marriage, how to honor each other. Honor the God in each other.
Isaiah: What does “transforming the world and manifesting the Kingdom'' look like through the eyes of The KOHCI?
Pastor WG: So transforming the world and manifesting the Kingdom, when you talk about transformation you're talking about a change. Everybody knows about the autobots, when they transform, they change into something else. So, as we are teaching the Word of God and preaching the Word of God, in the equipping we are actually bringing people to a state of repentance. You know, repentance has had this negative connotation, but repentance simply means to change your mind to agree with the will of God. So when we teach the Word of God, and the way we deliver the Word of God, that message that's being received is piercing the hearts and causing people to change. Like we said, we are teaching believers and equipping and empowering believers by changing their mind to agree with God. That's what transforming the world means. Changing their mind to agree with God says that we're taking on a Kingdom mindset. A Kingdom mindset is a mindset that causes a believer to live from the governmental system of Kingdom, meaning that we are living free from the world’s system and relying on God's governmental system [God’s Word] to orchestrate and direct our lives. And when we do that, then we're incorporating God into every situation in our lives and once we do that, we are transforming the world and manifesting God's Kingdom.
FAYNC MAGAZINE 38 Transforming Lives
Isaiah: The COVID-19 pandemic affected churches in many different ways and some people would say there was a decline in church attendance and involvement. Can you share how you navigated through the pandemic and describe any changes you have made to conduct your worship services?
Pastor WG: So, during the pandemic is when we went live on Facebook because everything was pretty much closed. That was a hindrance to church attendance of course and some people got lazy. Some people so much so to a point where they felt like they didn't need God and they didn't need church and they didn't need community. As a result of that, from my perspective, or just meditating on it, we see that it's caused more mental health issues than we've ever seen before in our nation. So that was proof that we do need God. When we went live on Facebook we went live Sundays for regular service and also Bible Studies on Thursdays. Thursdays are more laid back, intimate Bible study, where we just got real and we were able to draw people from all over the world to include Asia, Indonesia,Kuwait, and the Philippines. The way that we were guided and we chose to deliver our messages and communicate the Word of God actually helped people. We continued on with the online services because of our military community and we always have members, partners and friends that change permanent duty stations and it allowed for them to continue to participate in our service. Even today they still participate in our services. They still sow financially and when they get the opportunity they come back to visit or to serve. So that's how we've been able to navigate it to ensure that we're still serving the people that have connected with us and partnered with us.
Just here recently, we opened back our doors to the church. We believe that as our church doors continue to stay open, that even more people will begin to come back. I'm believing that people are getting to the point where they realize they need God, they need a Savior. I also believe that you should go to the church that the Spirit of God has assigned you to, or led you to become a part of. Most people walk away from church and do not no longer deal with church at all because they were never at the proper place. When you're not in the proper place you can't be properly fed or nourished. But when you get in the proper place, that's your place where you can flourish and grow and that's when the Word benefits you more. You learn that you can skillfully apply it. So people walk away because life happens and they weren't equipped the way we equip them here at the Kingdom. They simply didn't know how to respond. So that was one of the questions that we asked, “When life happens, how do you respond?” and most people can't answer that question because their response is based on their emotions, their response is based on traumatic events, their response is based on religious tradition or on “welI I prayed”, but what did God say? Because they haven't developed the individual relationship they couldn't hear what God was saying, so what did they do? They reverted
back to what they used to do. So as we continue on, like we said, we reached out via social media and we've recently opened our doors back up.. And so now we're in a place of getting people excited about and letting people know, “hey our doors are open, so come on!” Come just as you are and we are gonna feed you just like you are, no judgment, not based on what you're wearing, because your clothes ain't gonna save you. So that's how we've navigated that.
Pastor LJ: You cannot ignore physical safety all in the name of church. So one of our focuses was to keep the people safe. We're Kingdom citizens, but we do live in a physical realm. Since we had to make sure that we kept the people safe,we had to be strong and confident in what God had told us. But we also had to be knowledgeable in the fact that there was a COVID-19. Like you could not ignore that. So that's another part of just being strong and confident in our identity in Christ and what God has called us to do. The mission and vision that He gave us is nobody else’s mission. I don't even want to carry somebody else's. You know, you think about the story of Saul and David, when Saul wanted David to wear his armor. That’s not my armor, like your clothes don't fit me. If I was trying to put his [Pastor WG’s] shirt on me or God knows if he tried to put my shirt on him, it wouldn't fit, it would not work. The same thing applies with us operating in ministry, I have to be confident in what I'm supposed to do. WG is confident in what he's supposed to do and we come together, and that's where that strength comes from in our ministry and in our personal relationship with each other. I'm not intimidated, we weren't intimidated by our church being closed for the length of time it was closed. Our faith was in the Lord even where financial support was concerned. We were not opening the doors just because we had to receive an offering. God is our source and we were firm on that. So we weren't intimidated by the fact that if people don't come into the building we're not going to get an offering! Why? Because we still have faithful and dedicated members mailing in their contributions, their donations, dropping it off at the church, mailing it to the post office box, I mean financial increase was just coming from everywhere. People were continuing to support the church because that was the foundation that we had set and that we shared with them.
COVID-19 changed a lot , and we have to recognize when we can't go back. A lot of people made mistakes because they tried to go back and are not recognizing that God has shifted us into a different place, into an opportune time to express who Jesus is, to show who He really is. We say this all the time, “when you see me you see the Father” when you see me this is all of who Jesus is. When you see me that's who you're seeing, you're seeing love, you seeing strength, you’re seeing forgiveness, compassion, all of those things. It's time for people to see! I don't want to speak for other pastors, let me speak as a pastor. That’s the safe thing to say, people need to see what we say demonstrated. Not just hear it on Sundays or running into us in the
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grocery store and we're unapproachable. Or you know we just seem uninterested or unconcerned. We're building a community of believers who are able to trust what we say, go home, go to work, or go to the doctor's office, and be able to implement the strategy and instruction released to them into their lives and to be well able to see the relevancy and what we're saying. That's all we're doing, we're just His mouthpiece.
Isaiah: We see you have been making waves in the community and most recently hosted a shut-in and community outreach event. Can you tell us about your goal and intent for the event, and share a recap with us?
Pastor WG: The intent of the shut-in was to bring believers together in a place where we shut out all the cares of life that will distract us from really
tuning in and being in a place where we could really give ourselves over and surrender our whole self over to God and hear from God. And in that, believers who showed up received an impartation. I wholeheartedly believe that they did receive an impartation, because I witnessed a reset. We were teaching and we were praying and we were equipping. In the process we saw believers open up and be totally surrendered to God. And we saw deliverance and growth and an immediate shift in those who gathered together willing and believing. Then the second part of the experience was to take what we encountered and to demonstrate that out into the community. Once we came out of the shut-in,we went out into the community to demonstrate the love of God and we were able to go under bridges and minister to those who were homeless or in need, or those who might just need a helping hand or just to see a smiling face and
hear kind words spoken to them. And we actually did that and it was good because our children got the experience of going out and seeing people in their condition, and just and being the love of God, being an example. Being in the community was a good thing because we were able to just reach out to people who needed to experience the love of God. It was an opportunity for us to let them know that they are seen, that they are heard, that they are thought about and prayed about. We were able to provide them with things such as hygiene items that they needed to help them along their way. We wanted to minister to them, meet them where they were, and just let them know we're here! In that moment, I believe we built relationships! We were building community and they were excited! I believe some of the believers that went out with us were more excited than the people we served were. They were excited that they were able to give. It got to the point and the best part for me was hearing people say “I wanna do more”! When that fire ignites and people get to a point where they wanna do more and know that they’ve done what they are supposed to do, as leaders, you know that you've equipped believers to really do what it is we're called to do. Not only just in being in the place where we're just handing out bags or whatever you may call it but actually being the expression of love of Jesus and seeing it. Being able to give from a heart of love and compassion. That's what I saw when we were out there.
Pastor LJ: The shut-in was a reset and a time of refocusing to gain individual strength for the journey and it also was a time for our church family to unify. It was the first time that we've all been back together (local and virtual members and partners) at The KOCHI because we had members even come from out of town to experience and take part in this. We really intently focused on being together since we opened back up after COVID to just reset and refocus and gain strength for the journey ahead. Not only strength individually, but corporately setting forth some goals and some intents for moving forward in our ministry. Like you [Pastor WG] said, the first one being the community outreach and then the other outreach opportunities, relationship
building opportunities, community building opportunities, that we have going forward, the shut-in set the bar, it ignited the fire, like you [Pastor WG] said to want to do more and it keeps you humble. You gotta go out into the streets and see what people are dealing with because we get comfortable in those four walls. We get comfortable in the chairs and waiting for the people to come to us. It's time for us to go out! It's time for us to go out so that they can see us. It's time for us to go out, no judgment, no strings attached. It's time to go out and to minister. Ministering and serving is just that. It is to serve, it is to minister to those in need.
Isaiah: What would you say to someone that was raised within the church, but as they advanced throughout life decided to stray away into the world, but is looking to strengthen those fundamental roots again?
Pastor LJ: I would say come on back home! We love you, come on back to where you belong and get into that place of confidence. Like, a person who has grown up in church or has those fundamental values, they were… just like you [Pastor WG] say all the time, “life happens” and so what they did was they exchanged belief systems, for the faulty system that they began operating on. So they succumbed to that system. We again, provide a safe place for you to just pick up where you left off. Just you know, we call it rededicating yourself. Just saying , “Lord I may have strayed away,” but we reiterate and just let them know that you can come back! It's OK for you to come back, and we're not going to judge you. We're going to train you, we're going to empower
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you and give you the knowledge and wisdom that you need. Personally, in my experience of dealing with people that have gone through those things or that particular instance, I pretty much tell them, “do you trust me?” “Do you trust the God in me?” If so, then just continue to receive the instruction and the strategy that God releases and implement it into your life. Be consistent, be disciplined. Get yourself in a good church, a Word church and gather yourself around the Champions. We gather with the Champions on Sundays and Thursdays, we're champions and so we're stronger together. We can't lose! We're representative of Christ’s victory and so, hey! Just come on back home, allow us to love you and to build you up. Don't disconnect, even when it feels like you want to disconnect. Just push past that and push through it and just continue to build.
Pastor WG: Yeah, a lot of times as people grow into their career, they commit their lives more to their career. Although they have roots in church and Spirituality, they shift their focus into more involvement of their career and their daily life as opposed to centering their life and their career around God. . So, like you [Pastor LJ] were saying, we invite them to come back. Life happened and this is how you responded. So, this is what we see, your career became your focus. Your relationships became your focus. And in you shifting your focus to those specific areas, you lost focus on your relationship with God. God said that He's faithful and just to restore such a one. So we just invite you to just come back. Come back, just get engaged.. Take your time, hear the Word of God. Allow us to feed you with knowledge and understanding to help you grow and recenter. Just like in a garden, sometimes you have to dig up and replant and prune. When you’re pruning , put a little bit of miracle grow on it, and then boom it just blossoms just like that. It's the same thing in life. You walked away, you're successful in life and in your career you got all this stuff, but there's that empty space, that loneliness, that space that only God can fill that's calling you back. So, the opportunity now is to come back and we have to welcome people back and invite people back with open arms and just help them to get to where they need to be in life.
Isaiah: Can you share some insight on how you balance leadership, business and your relationship with God?
Pastor LJ: This is who I am, this is who I am every day. You know I say all the time, you know people love to try to separate who you are. One of the things that we believe in at our church is wholeness, we believe in taking what you learn in the Word of God and being able to navigate through everyday life. When you enter into that life of wholeness you recognize I'm not to be this certain person over here when I'm at work, this person when I'm at church, this person when I'm with my friends. This is who I am consistently in every situation. And so, that's where the strength comes. The Word of God says He wants us to be one just as they are one. A[God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit]. So, a lot of times
people try to separate you. I've dealt with people saying, “well I don't want to talk to the pastor, I want to talk to my cousin. I don't want to talk to the pastor, I want to talk to my neighbor.” But that's who you're talking to all the time. And so, I depend on God in everything that I do and in who I am daily in any situation. God is the center of my life! And so in every decision that I make, I may not say the literal word God, but He's on the inside of me empowering me to make every decision. Every decision that I make, every conversation that I enter into when I'm dealing with my husband, when I'm dealing with my children, I'm a pastor when I need to be a pastor, I know how to be a wife when it's time to be a wife, I know how to be a mother when it's time to be a mother. But at the end of the day God is the source that's fueling me to be able to navigate those different areas of my life.
Pastor WG: Because God is in me, He's active in every situation that I'm involved in. When I'm at work I'm providing a service, I believe that the Spirit of God is working in me and through me to provide the service in excellence. So everything that I do and when I'm handling business, God is active in my situation. I believe He's providing me with the wisdom to make sound and timely decisions that will manifest His glory and cause me to prosper. Even in my marriage I know God is active in my situation. As long as God is active in the situation, everything we do is done in the spirit of excellence. You balance life by keeping God in the center. You allow Him to be active in every scenario or every situation in your life. When you incorporate Him into every decision or conversation, He speaks to you, He tells you what to say when you don't know what to say, He gives you guidance. That's what the scripture tells us, that the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth, and He teaches us all things. So, there's never a point in time in my life that God is not active in my situation unless I'm beside myself and the human side of me tries to rise up, you know. Other than that, God is at the center. He's in me and when I'm working or whatever I'm doing, I know that the Spirit of God is active in me and flowing through me in everything that I do.
Pastor LJ: And when you're dealing with leadership, I'm reminded of when Paul says, “I've become all things to all men without becoming who they are.” So although you know their imperfections, “all for the sake of the gospel.” And so, when I'm at work or when I'm being that example, or I'm being that leader, or I’m in a relationship, I'm operating in a business deal, or whatever the case may be. I'm operating with mental fortitude and moral standards. I'm being the best version of me with God being my source, the Holy Spirit being my source. And so I'm able to show up at my job and because that's who I am and that's what is built up in me I can go into a situation strong and sure. I can go into an atmosphere, and I can change the atmosphere! I can go into a conversation and I can be in control of that conversation because God is fueling me. We want the things of God without God. We want to have the house and the car, this life that the world
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"
The Spirit of God can function through whoever He wants to function through . We honor the God in each other , and we respect that as Co - pastors understanding our roles and our responsibilities ."
has said that we should have, but we don't want to acknowledge God. We don't want to give Him glory. It's time for us to be able to say who's fueling you. to acknowledge where this power is coming from, and to be OK with that. When you go to college you're OK with saying “I got a degree in this” or “I'm a doctor, a lawyer, and I went to college here or I'm married to so and so my last name is this.” We've got to get to the place where we are comfortable and confident in saying that “I love Jesus, I love the Lord, He's in my life, He fuels me.” You know, “God is my source.” We've got to get to that place where we are standing up strong,, a community of believers, that culture within the church of being strong and confident in who we are.
Isaiah: Historically there has been stigma related to women leadership in the church. How do you navigate and honor each other as co-pastors and husband and wife?
Pastor WG: One of the greatest challenges that I personally see in the church today is we are more focused on religion as opposed to spirituality. When you talk about religion you’re talking about physical, external. When you talk about spiritual, you're talking about internal. The scripture says that the Spirit of God lives on the inside of us. Most people have issues with the woman preacher because they're stuck in the law. Jesus came preaching the gospel of Kingdom which introduced us to what we call grace. The scripture says in Galatians 3, that if you are in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither male nor female. So the scripture is relating to spiritual operation and function as opposed to the natural, the physical. When you talk spiritually, you
can't limit spiritual function and operation to your natural ability. So because we are in Christ, I honor the God that's in her [LJ]. And because I honor the God that's in her, I'm not hindered or bothered by her gender. That doesn't stop me from receiving from her, because God speaks to her. I know Paul said “I do not permit a woman to speak or have authority in the church” that's what Paul said, but he never said God said. So I don't limit my thought process and my revelation off of information. That's what he said but what is the true revelation? The true revelation is the Spirit of God can function through whoever He wants to function through. So we honor each other, we honor the God in each other, and we respect each other t as Co-pastors, understanding our roles and our responsibilities. So, we're never in a place where we're bumping heads and “well I'm the pastor, I'm the pastor” there's no competition in this, we are just us being led by the Spirit of God because we’re one. So, people have challenges with women leaders in the church because of the religious bondage but we don't teach religious bondage, we teach Kingdom.
Pastor LJ: It's really about being confident in who you are. I'm so confident in who I am, you're [Pastor WG] so confident in who you are in Christ, that we're not intimidated by each other, but we are grateful that we have each other and we build off
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of each other's strengths. Where you're weak I'm strong, where I'm weak you're strong. And so, we don't have time. There's so many lives that need to be changed and breakthrough that needs to take place, we don't have time to stop or hinder each other. All hands on deck, everybody needs to be working! So he does not stop me, I’ll go to him and say that the Lord said we need to do this and do that he doesn’t say “Let me go in my closet and pray after the prayer” To say that God doesn't speak to me or He speaks to you different would say that God is unstable because He’s one God, the same God. When God speaks, God speaks, and that's just it. I'm confident in who I am and who God has called me to be. You're confident in your calling [WG] and who God has called you to be. That's what has worked, no conflict, no intimidation, no inferiority, no hierarchy, no nothing! We are brothers and sisters in Christ, we're pastoring together, we're working together, we're demonstrating the love of Christ together. We have the same goal and the same focus. We take ourselves out of the equation and God is first and that's how we're able to complete the work. We don't have the focus on ourselves, because when we put the focus on ourselves the work stops. So we have to keep moving, we have to keep going, we have to honor the God that's in each other.
In the pursuit of faith, their voices echo with the message of hope and commitment helping us to remember the importance of spiritual identity Through their words, we are motivated to set out on our own journeys with courage, empathy, and an unfaltering devotion to the qualities that characterize our humanity.
We extend the utmost appreciation to their inspiring partnership for their honesty, vulnerability, and faithful commitment to serving others. May their profound wisdom continue to motivate all of us to walk in the light of confidence with grace and intention, aware of the groundbreaking force of love. As we bid goodbye to this engaging conversation, let us carry the valuable lessons learned and the knowledge acquired, realizing that the fellowship of spirituality, there is always hope to guide us through hard times
Contact
The Kingdom of Heaven Church International 406 Hope Mills Rd. Fayetteville, NC
The Kingdom of Heaven Church International
@thekohci
thekohcifayetteville@gmail.com
thekohci.org
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