Linda J. Ivey Ministries
Reverend Linda J. Ivey, MSW, Author
Chapter Title: Greater Is Coming
Signature Scripture
Acts 17:28
“For in Him we live and move and have our being.”
Church Membership: Ebenezer Baptist Church, Philadelphia, PA
Signature Scripture: Acts 17:28 “For in Him we live and move and have our being.”
Reverend Ivey’s Background: A former Child Abuse and Neglect investigator, Penn State and Temple University Graduate, a current Adjunct College Professor, writer and author, born and raised in Philadelphia, serving God all her life and as a minister for ten years focusing on empowering women in ministry.
Reverend Ivey Challenges: Despite my being a licensed Social Worker, a certified trainer and an adjunct professor at several colleges and a university, I was reluctant to move forward in ministry as an ordained minister because I was ignorant about how to perform spiritually.
Reverend Ivey Reflections: Once I became ordained and had completed my student period as a licensed minister, I was eager to learn “the ropes” and ready for some “hands on” experience. God immediately began to agitate my spirit, making me uncomfortable with just sitting in the pulpit by continually whispering “greater is coming, greater is coming, greater is coming”. I ignored His Calling me and mistakenly thought my pastor was responsible for spoon feeding me everything I needed to develop my ministry. Of course, my pastor couldn’t set me up in a fulfilling ministry, but I didn’t realize any of this and just kept after him every single Sunday for the first year after my ordination.
Reverend Ivey Testimony: After I submitted my will to God’s will, I began to write two books and I was relieved my outside ministry could still be complementary, yet separate from my ministry inside my church. Once I became brave enough to step out on faith, God allowed me to find the Marys and to serve them with this book.
Reverend Ivey Observations: We are all a part of the struggle. Ministry is a male dominated field, which means the primary role models, mentors and support systems are geared towards men. After hundreds of hours of conducting these autobiographical interviews, researching, writing and praying, I’ve assessed and determined the five most common challenges, which cause women who are considering entering ministry to run from their Calling. It is my hopes this book has lessened their fears, addressed the obstacles and through these wonderful autobiographies has encouraged more young and mature women to say “yes” to their Calls.
- Young women are not taught how to interpret being Called by God and the move of the Holy Spirit that accompanies it.
- Young women have incorrect information about God’s standards for ministry.
- Young women compare their female teaching and preaching styles to other masculine male preachers who are their
dominant role models.
- Young women require, but don’t receive direction and support from family and church family regarding their next steps
into ministry.
- Young Women need a series of female mentors to encourage and guide them during the various stages of their journeys
into ministry.
- Reverend Ivey's Vision for the Church: The Marys have strategies, plans and solutions to address the significant absence of millennials (ages 20- 40 years) in our church membership, which has become obvious as our faithful leaders age out of service. We are willing to sit down and plan with church leadership on how to fill the huge age gaps in our congregations. We understand and know why our millennials, who are our best and our brightest hope for our churches’ future, are staying away in record numbers. We will move forward with these goals in a spirit of love and commitment to our leadership, our churches, our communities and to each other.
i. We, the Marys are committed to continuing to support our leaderships’ visions and when invited into their discussions,
we are also committed to offering solutions to the problems facing our churches.
ii. We, the Marys are committed to promoting self-improvement by teaching and sharing our experiences with other
women in ministry.
iii. We, the Marys are committed to supporting and validating all our sisters in ministry regardless of their denominations
or church affiliations.
iv. We, the Marys are committed to offerings our skills, knowledge and life experiences as mentors to any women’s ministry that would benefit from our journeys.
v. We, the Marys are committed to establishing ourselves as role models of imperfect women faithfully serving a perfect God.