CHURCH OF THE WEEK
Immanuel House of Prayer: Women of the Word
By Mia Evans
The 700 Club
CBN.com
– Yolanda King spent most of her life in church singing in the choir and preaching. But she also had a dark secret.
She says, "I started going back out, hanging out, started drinking, sex, different men, boyfriends, you name it. Because I had went through my whole life going to church but I didn't know God.”
Michelle Nix grew up on wrong the side of the tracks. It didn’t take long for her to find crack cocaine and get hooked.
"I liked it and I did it but it took me down a bad road,” she says. “I began to steal, cheat, and my husband… I married a man who was a drug dealer. I was bound up in so many areas. I was on drugs, on home detention. I practiced homosexuality.”
Two women with two totally different lives. They both met Jesus Christ at Immanuel House of Prayer in Indianapolis, Indiana. The church reaches out to women from different backgrounds who share painful pasts and broken dreams. It's called the WOW ministry.
Pastor Alice Jones says, “WOW stands for Women of the Word, and I believe if a woman gives herself over to the power of God's word then any and everything can be changed. We seek to minister through the arts and drama and dance and music. Maybe we'll offer a shopping trip, pedicures, things that make a woman feel special because you know, we are special to God."
Michelle says, “That’s what happened when I came to Immanuel House of Prayer. The Word began to analyze me. It showed me what I was and what I wasn’t doing. It shows me how God feels about me. It shows me that He loves me.”
Here's another thing that makes this ministry so special. A house that was donated to the church is now home to women who are part of WOW ministry like Yolanda and Michelle! They have a place to live and learn everyday life skills like cooking, cleaning, and living on a budget.
On the day we were there, Pastor Alice told Yolanda and Michelle the good news: that they would be living rent-free for the next year as they pull their lives back together. In the future, WOW hopes to do this for other women as well, providing a safe haven as they discover the power of God's Word.
Yolanda says, “I bless God for Immanuel House of Prayer. I'm really grateful and thankful to God that He loved me so much that He didn't leave me where I was. He loved me that much.”
For reaching out to hurting women through their Woman of the Word ministry, The 700 Club salutes you, Immanuel House of Prayer in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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