Clear Vision and Purpose
Late 2012 and early 2013, circumstances led me to spend extensive time in prayer seeking God’s will for direction. Having already worked in multiple full-time ministry contexts, God led me to recognize women’s hunger for authentic relationships, like iron sharpening iron. Additionally, I had seen the need for women’s small group Bible study materials simple enough for anyone to lead, but deep enough for everyone to grow. Equipping seminars with personal and practical application of the biblical teaching, empowering women in their own spiritual walks was also a primary focus from the very beginning.
In mid-January, in a matter of less than 24-hours, almost like a divine download, God revealed to me the name of the ministry, the image of the logo, the application of the Common Threads, the clarity of vision and purpose, as well as the direction of growth for the future (i.e. that Portuguese would be our 3rd language since the vision was for equipping across the Americas).
A Leap of Faith
In February 2013, I publicly announced that I would be quitting my job and selling my house to take a tremendous leap of faith to launch Iron Rose Sister Ministries.
Katie Forbess, our founding Board President, stepped in immediately with an offer to serve in whatever way she could, “If nothing else, I will be a glorified cheerleader.”
My sister and brother-in-law, Paxton and Kim Edwards, offered to host me and this budding ministry in their basement. Our humble beginnings were housed in a corner of their basement for our first two years, starting June 2013.
First International Trip
In May 2013, I was invited to be a part of a team in support of women church workers in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. I provided the teaching, small group guided discussion questions, and pastoral counseling. Other team members provided professional counseling, as well as logistical coordination of travel, food, outings, etc.
I used this opportunity to “test” some of the content for the first small group Bible Study Book to be published later that year, Human AND Holy.
A Nonprofit Organization is Born
July 26, 2013, marked the official registration of our name as a nonprofit organization based in Denver, Colorado. We commenced the extensive paperwork preparation of all documentation for our 501(c)(3) status approval (retroactively approved mid-2014). August 6, 2013, was the first official Board Meeting with founding Board Members Katie Forbess, Cynthia Cedeño, Kim Edwards, Ron Hanegan, and Daniel Mata.
Libby Isenhower assisted with the initial logo design and the foundational photography that later were used for the Human AND Holy book cover, the Facebook background images, and more.
Venezuela Trip
The Western Venezuela Women’s Conference was hosted by the Barcelona Iglesia de Cristo. They invited me to speak for a couple of keynotes and to guide the breakout classes for the young women in attendance. Pictured are two young ladies applying the Common Threads to the teaching on God’s challenge that we be the light of the world, reflecting His light.
First Bilingual Event
Our first English/Spanish bilingual event took place at the Northwest Church of Christ in Westminster, Colorado. “CHRISTian Relationships,” the theme for the two-day conference, still reflects one of the primary focuses for our seminars.
Other events took place in 2013, including an international women’s conference in Houston, Texas, in which I was able to speak to 450 Spanish-speaking women. English-only and Spanish-only classes were realized in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and again in Houston. However, the first bilingual event there in the Denver metro area has always served as a significant marker and model for future Iron Rose Sister Ministries bilingual activities. That watershed moment was an opening of the flood gates to meet yet another tremendous need amongst women and women’s ministries across the Americas.
Leadership
The elders of the Northwest Church of Christ served as our first advisory eldership with Ron Hanegan serving in the liaison role.
Katie Forbess, another founding Board Member, and I reunited at the first bilingual event after nine years of not seeing one another and nine months of praying and talking on the phone every day. (We first met in college at Harding University and worked with Spanish-speaking church plants in the Denver area, along with her husband, Jeff.)
The Blog
“You really are crazy” was the response of those who learned that daily blog posts were one of the initial resources and points of connection.
The themes were based on the day of the week:
- Makeover Monday
- Transformational Tuesday
- Wake-up Wednesday
- Throwback Thursday
- Food and Family on Friday
- Sabbath Sunday (Bible verse only) and Storytime Saturday were dropped quickly
The blog has continued to be a source of fresh material and an encouragement to women in English and Spanish every week (currently twice/week in each language). Now, this equipping and encouraging resource has expanded to Portuguese, being shared twice/month!
An Emphasis on Prayer
Since the beginning we have established and maintained a focus on prayer. February has always been our prayer month and we have provided prayer prompts on a prayer calendar to join as one voice on the same topic for that day.
This image from the 2014 Prayer Month was the call-to-action day, “March 4th”, after having prayed over specific needs and thanksgivings the previous month.
Join us for our next Prayer Month, February 2023!
First ePetal Study
The first ePetal study was released in 2014, Ruth and Naomi: An in-depth look at Iron Rose Sisters. These free resources are stand-alone lessons (a single petal instead of the entire rose of a Bible Study Book). They are designed to be done with an Iron Rose Sister and serve as an introduction to our style of interactive teaching.
That concludes our first passport page, "In the Beginning." Be watching our 10th-year-tour page for more passport pages!
