Cynthia Massie, grew up with a deep love and appreciation for music. Whether it was Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, Ragtime or Rock, music was her greatest influence.
While attending high school, she was always involved in choir and loved to sing. One day she was invited by her schoolmate to attend a weekend youth retreat. It was during this powerful weekend she encountered the love of God. After witnessing HIS power, she made a decision to accept Christ into her heart. It wasn’t too long afterwards she fell in love with worship and sensed God’s call for her to write songs and serve in worship ministry.
Living in the inner city awakened within her a longing to see communities and neighborhoods impacted by Christ’s love. After graduating from high school, Cynthia attended Olivet Nazarene University and received a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science. Over the next seven years, she began leading worship at a small local church and continued to grow and develop as a worship leader.
Since this time, Cynthia has authored a worship blog and is featured on a recurring column of worship in the Movement Magazine. Inspired to help other “fellow creators” find their voice in the church, she co-founded Stain Glass Saints Worship Collective, which is a collaboration of artists united around the theme of worship and expression. She attends Uturn Covenant Church and currently serves as a worship leader on the UPraise Worship Team. She lives in Chicago, Illinois with her husband and three children.
As Founder and President of Awaken, Inc., Victoria Thomas has a passion for healing, and educating the community about domestic violence and sexual assault. Working with Awaken has brought her in contact with so many exceptional people. Together, they have learned to embrace and look forward to the promise of the change they can bring to the lives of so many others.
Victoria serves as a victim’s advocate, activist, motivational speaker, and author of Unspoken Truths, Shades of Abuse. She is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, incest, rape and child abuse. She has dedicated her time and talent to giving a voice to the silent tears of abuse.
Victoria is very passionate about breaking the chains of abuse against women and children. No longer a victim of abuse, she stands firm on the motto, “abuse no longer silent,” when it comes to getting the community and churches involved and raising awareness.
Victoria has been trained in domestic violence, abuse intervention, crisis intervention, children and teen issues. Her vision and inspiration will give hope and healing to so many survivors, who have been silently living in the shadows of their abuse and abusers for years. Her courage and strength will give voice for freedom to all survivors.
As an amazing seamstress and designer, Victoria has learned the importance of detail and how they breed honesty, which brings people closer to God, their creator. Although she has struggled much, Victoria has loved much and has found balance between her humanity and her Christianity.
Reverend Oluwatoyin Olabisi Hines MA, MS, MEd, LPC, AMFT, NCC Veteran, is Founder/CEO of Grace Revealed Ministry, Co-Director and Ministry Coordinator for the Multi-Faith Veteran Support Project (MVP) at DePaul University Egan Office for Urban Education and Community Partnerships (UECP) and Licensed Professional Counselor at Road Home Program: The Center for Veterans and their Families at Rush. She also serves as Family Life Chaplain at the rank of Major in the Illinois Army National Guard (ILARNG).
In her role as Founder/CEO, Hines provides individualized and customized pastoral care, spiritual care, life coaching, ministry and training to faith/community leaders and groups.
As Co-Director and Ministry Coordinator, Hines collaborates with the MVP Team and faith communities to build military cultural competencies and awareness around services and care for Veterans and Veteran Families. Hines leads the development of the Spiritual Care Training; the training will inform faith communities about the impact of a psycho-theological model that integrates spiritual care and behavioral health to enhance care and resources for Veterans and Veteran Families.
As Counselor, Hines provides timely and confidential support, counseling and veteran health services to help understand, heal from and cope with the invisible wounds of war.
As Family Life Chaplain, Hines provides care and consultation to ILARNG Unit Ministry Teams (UMTs) and trains UMTs in Family Life Ministry. She educates, conducts religious services and counsels. Chaplain Hines also provides emergency religious support to casualties and survivors of traumatic events/critical incidents.
Hines received the gift of salvation at the age of nine at Jackson Tabernacle Church of God in Christ. At the age of twelve she preached her first sermon at Love Cathedral Community Church. She also began serving as choir director, youth ministry leader and worship team member. She served in several leadership capacities thereafter. Hines accepted the call to military Chaplaincy at the age of twenty-four. She became a licensed Evangelist at the age of thirty-four and ordained Pastor at the age of thirty-eight and Senior Pastor at the age of thirty-nine. Hines is ordained as an Elder, commissioned as a Chaplain and consecrated as an Emerging Apostle with Hope Outreach Ministries, Incorporated: The Apostolic Company Empowerment Network.
Mrs. Angela Robinson is the mother to one adult son and married 16 years to her Sweetheart, Pernell. Angela is the Assistant Chief Deputy Clerk of the Criminal Division with the Office of the Circuit Court of Cook County, which keeps her quite busy.
She loves spending time with her family and giving back to others by sharing what God has given her. One way she does that is by serving faithfully at Destined to Win Christian Center ministry located in Park Forest, where her husband, Pernell serves as one of the church’s ministers. She also enjoys travelling, bowling and dining out.
At the young age of 16, Mrs. Jacqueline Calhoun, accepted Jesus after hearing the call to salvation at Tabernacle of Faith in Cleveland, Ohio. Some years later, Dr. Sherman Arrington mentored her in the prophetic ministry. In 1992, God placed her at Abundant Life Teaching Center (ALTC) ministry, where she served for 14 years under the Pastorate leadership of the late James E. Watson.
In July 2009, Jacqueline was licensed as a minister and in October 2011, she graduated from Eagles International Training Institute in Dallas, Texas, with a concentration in Intercessory Prayer Program, and licensed as a Minister of Prayer.
She currently serves as a minister at Destined to Win Christian Center ministry, under the leadership of Apostle Kelvin Easter and she serves as interim Administrator at Inspired Word International Ministries under the leadership of Pastor Doris H. Love.
Jacqueline has been an intercessor for 29 years and considers it a privilege and honor to pray and stand before God on behalf of others. Over the years, she has learned praying in light of the Word and making requests in accordance to God’s will with Holy Spirit’s leading is best, yielding a harvest only God can produce.
Married to her husband, James for 21 years, she is the mother of 5, and grandmother of 6. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Science, has been a Registered Nurse for 19 years, where she works as a Utilization Review Nurse for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois.
An ordained Elder and Prophet of Body Builders Ministry in Chicago, Elder Harris prefers to be addressed as Mama Yoli, but loves being called grandma more than anything else. Her love for family, God and God’s people is the premise of all her teachings in ministry. She is the sole proprietor of Ingredients For Success In Child Care, her private business that addresses parents and childcare providers on early childhood education. She is passionate about teaching parenting classes and has written a book called, “DISCIPLINE AN ACT OF LOVE” which is now being prepared for publishing.
Mama Yoli has retired from 41 years in the childcare industry as Director over Child Care Programs with the City of Chicago, the YMCA and Chicago State University. She now devotes her efforts in a refreshing new direction in ministry orchestrated by God through Body Builders Ministry: a ministry birthed in the spirits of her two sons Evangelist Jameel and now Pastor Mikkal Harris, before Jameel went home to be with his Heavenly Father in 2012.
She has dedicated her life to ensure God’s vision given to her sons for a non-traditional church that reaches the unchurched and those disenchanted with religion will come to fruition. Mama Harris believes God has ordained a new generation of ministers, pastors, and prophets for the last dispensation before Jesus returns, who will bring souls back to the original way Jesus did church – and that is – meeting them where they are without the rudiments of religion – but rather, through pure unadulterated love and grace.
Mama Yoli ministers monthly to DUI arrestees through the Illinois Judicial System and AAIM (Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists) to deter drunk drivers from killing another victim because that is how her son, Jameel died – at the hands of a drunk driver. But as she says, “God desires none perish…” He is a God of a second chance, and commands we walk in forgiveness. This is what she preaches and teaches – unconditional love. Know her by the spirit, not her title.
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Have you ever heard someone say while playing a game of cards, “It just wasn’t in the cards”? When I first learned how to play Bid Whist, I was told this phrase meant whatever cards you played or didn’t play during the game were not the only deciding factor in determining if you won the game, but also it mattered how the cards were shuffled and dealt to each player.
Gurls Talk’n 