New Staff Feature: Meet Madison

To someone who doesn’t know you, how would you describe yourself?

I would describe myself as a people person who is also quiet. I’m what you might call a socialized introvert. I enjoy being around people, but I also really value my quiet time.

 

What is most important to you?

My family is the most important thing to me. I have two brothers—one is six years older, and the other is six years younger, so I’m right in the middle. My little brother and I are super close, and my mom and I share a really special bond. We’re also very close with our extended family; I actually have four sets of grandparents, which is pretty unique!

 

What kinds of things do you enjoy doing with your friends?

My friends and I love doing all the classic “in your twenties” activities—visiting coffee shops, exploring thrift stores, and going to farmers markets. We’re also about to start a Hunger Games movie marathon- it’s my favorite series. I’m also doing another movie marathon with my mom and my little brother. We’re also going through all the Marvel movies in chronological order, which has been a lot of fun.

 

Tell me about your upbringing.

I grew up in Tulsa with my mom, dad, and younger brother. Given the age difference between my brothers, I joke that I have both oldest child and middle child syndrome, because my older brother moved out of the house while I was still young. When I was 16, we moved from Tulsa to Sand Springs, and after I moved out of my parents’ house, I returned to Midtown Tulsa. Eventually, when my roommate got married, I moved back to Sand Springs, which is where I’m at now.

 

Did you grow up Christian?

We talked about the Lord in our home and said prayers before bed at night, like the “Now I lay me down to sleep” prayer, and we occasionally went to church with our grandparents and on the big church holidays. So, we knew God, but weren’t necessarily going out of our way to follow Him.

It wasn’t until the summer after 8th grade that I began to seek a relationship with Christ on my own. My grandma had given me these prayer cards with a prayer on one side and scripture on the other, and one day I took one of those, and journaled out the prayer on the card and then journaled my own thoughts and prayers along with that. That was the first time I remember wanting to learn more about the Lord on my own. From that point on, I chose to pursue a relationship with Christ.

Going into high school, I did online school for the first two and a half years of high school, because we thought we were going to move soon. We didn’t end up moving until my junior year. My freshman year was really lonely because of that. I had gone to Life.Church Midtown a couple of times in middle school because someone invited me, and when I was a sophomore, I invited one of those friends to start going back with me because I realized, “I need community!”

We started attending regularly, and the leaders there began pouring into me, encouraging me to be a student leader and get more involved in the church. That’s when I really started learning more about the Lord. During my sophomore year, I was invited to participate in a student internship, and that’s when I first felt called to ministry. Before then, I had always thought, “Oh, I would never want to do ministry.” But during the internship, I saw what it was like to give your whole life to bringing people to Jesus, and I realized that’s what I wanted to do.

Even after that, though, I was a bit backwards. I was focused on loving people before developing a deep, intimate relationship with God on my own. But eventually, after my internship, I had this moment where I realized, “I don’t have to prove myself. I don’t have to work for the Lord—He just loves me.” So, over the past few years, I’ve really been resting in who He is, focusing on loving Him and letting Him love me. Now, as I’ve grown in my relationship with Him, there’s been this beautiful overflow where I just love Him so much that I want to serve Him, not because I feel like I have to, but because I know who He is.

 

Are you still in touch with the leaders from that time?

Yes, I’m still in touch with some of them. One is in California now, and another is in Missouri. One of them was the associate youth pastor when I was a student, and then she moved away. When I started my internship, she moved back, and we got to live together and become really close friends. She just got married!

 

What challenges in your life have you seen the Lord’s faithfulness in?

One of the biggest challenges was feeling lonely during school. I’m actually so thankful for that time, even though it was really hard. I felt so insecure because I wasn’t having the typical high school or college experience. I felt like I wasn’t growing at the same pace as everyone else because I didn’t have the friends, the football games, or the memories that everyone else seemed to have. But looking back, I can see how the Lord was guiding me through all of that, and He brought me exactly where I needed to be.

 

How did you find Stand in the Gap?

I actually heard about Stand in the Gap through Amy, who I know from Life.Church and the Tulsa Dream Center. I’ve been going to Life.Church Midtown with Amy, and I had meetings with Shannon and Jake for Life Launch stuff at TDC. I had been praying about job stuff for a while, feeling like the Lord was telling me a transition was coming. The Lord started giving me peace about leaving my job at the Dream Center, and Amy was one of the first people I told. She prayed with me that the Lord would open a door. That same weekend, I saw Shannon at a wedding and mentioned that she should pray for Amy because someone had just left her team. I never thought I’d be able to find a job I was passionate about and still be able to balance school, but then this opportunity at Stand in the Gap came along, and it was just perfect timing.

 

What did you do before joining Stand in the Gap?

I was a full-time intern at Life.Church Midtown, where I worked with LifeGroups and LifeMissions. My role was to support LifeGroups at the church and help resource local mission partners. That’s actually how I got connected to the Tulsa Dream Center. I ended up working at the Dream Center for two years as the Programs Coordinator, where I coordinated volunteers and supported both internal and external programs. Toward the end of my time there, I also started helping with the youth homeless diversion program.

 

Why widows?

I’ve always been passionate about serving people, especially those who are often overlooked in the church. Widows, in particular, aren’t served as well as people might think. My grandmother is widowed, as are several women at my church, including Amy. I’ve learned how much they love to talk about their husbands and keep their memories alive, and it’s made me realize how important it is to create spaces for community within those who often feel overlooked and misunderstood.

 

What is something you are most looking forward to as part of Stand in the Gap for Widows?

I’m really looking forward to meeting all of the leaders and hearing their stories. One of my favorite parts of my first week was getting to meet with a widows committee at a church here in Tulsa. I also got to meet Kathy, who flew in to share her story for Stand in the Gap, and it was incredible to hear about her journey.

 

What are your hopes and dreams for the future?

One of my biggest goals is to get my counseling degree, which I’m currently working on. Another goal is to focus on nutrition. It’s through the Nutritional Therapy Association. It’s a year long program, where you become a nutritional therapy practitioner. I started at the beginning of the summer. And, of course, I want to continue serving the Lord and hopefully have a family someday.

 

Who are three spiritual mentors you look up to?

I really look up to Allison Easton, my old. youth pastor who eventually became my co-worker during my Life.Church internship. I really admire the way she practically follows Jesus in her day to day. I definitely got to see that when I was her roommate, but even after being roommates, I still get to learn from her and her Godly wisdom and advice. Secondly, I’d say Julie Wilson. I’ve known Julie from church for a while, and I’ve been meeting with her monthly for the past couple of years. She is just full of wisdom, and she is a part of the local Woven ministry leadership. Lastly, I’d say JP Pokluda. I just love how real he is, and how he addresses relevant topics for young adults that people don’t often talk about.

 

What is your favorite Bible verse?

Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” This verse is key in Life.Church’s student training program, Capacity, and it’s also been a guiding scripture in my life.