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Mentor Monday: Leigh Hargis Gray
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Kim: On Mentor Mondays we have been getting to know some of the awesome women who give of their time to minister to other Christian women. Could you please give us an overview of some of the things that you do?
Leigh: I have been married for almost 16 years. I love being married and have been blessed with an incredible Godly businessman. He works for GOJO which manufactures many things including Purell Hand sanitizer. He covers the Midwest and travels quite extensively. Together we team teach an adult Sunday school class. We have 4 children: Tucker 11, Emmajoy 10, Sarahjane 8, and Elleigh 6. Yep, that is right, 4 kids in 5.5 years. There has been crazier things done, I do realize that! ha We are extremely active in our community with sports and church involvement! We currently live in Carmi, Il. - Southern Illinois, a small, tiny town just 45 miles west of Evansville, In.
I am answering this as it pertains to ministry, right? Anyway – I do various things in ministry. Most of all I travel speaking to all kinds of groups. Some of them are mixed audiences, but most are to youth and women. I know that the Lord has gifted me with speaking His word, but it sure is a huge responsibility to carry. I fear not exposing the scripture correctly for what He really meant a that time and pertinent to our lives of today!
I also have an almost daily blog. www.leighhargisgray.blogspot.com This is a very personal time for me to write out my thoughts to the Lord and of course for the world wide web as well to see what I am going through. I really am an open book even though I have had to be a bit more discreet now that I have a Middle School student and a 5th grader as well. My 3rd and 1st grader loved to mentioned on the blog. But this blog is a time for me to get really real. This is by no means a professional site of mine. I have many misspellings, many incomplete sentences, and lots of terrible grammar. But it is a place that I am as real as the day is long! I never want anyone to think that I lead any other life than what I do. I have struggles just like all, AND I put my pants on the same way as you! Ha! But seriously, this may be one the most effective ways that He ministers through me because of the rawness, realness, and authenticity. It is not pretty, but it sure is cleansing confessing and doing business with Him!!
As far as other means of technical ministry, I tweet, I facebook, and I even have a MySpace that I never go to! Boo! I so, so, so, so, so need a manager or at least someone to organize me, but have not come across that service for free as of yet – ha!
On a more personal level my husband and I teach a Adult Sunday school class that has recently fired up and caught the vision of taking care of the least of these – not in a foreign land, but in our hometown of 5,000. God is moving and we are standing back in awe!!! I often teach Bible studies at the church, as well as help in the youth department! God is good and keep me busy!!
Kim: How did you become involved in ministry?
Leigh: I received my call in ministry and actually said yes in Jr. High at an Al Denson concert. I was only about 13 years old at the time and really had no idea what that meant. I only knew about Tammy Faye Baker and knew that I could never have eyelashes like that! Since I was unsure of what He was asking me to do it was not until into college, ’91-’95, that I began to see and respond to the calling He had placed years before. Even after speaking a few times in college it was not until the birth of my 3rd child, 3 and under, when I went fulltime “on the road”. Yes, it took much faith on my part, but also much on my husband’s part that had to keep the kids!
My husband is involved in my ministry as far as my prayer support, taking care of the kids while I am gone, and a wonderful house cleaner and flower giver-err when I return. He supports me thoroughly, but does have a full time job that requires him to be gone a bunch. I wonder if God might be changing that though as He has recently called us to lead a few marriage retreats. Clay is incredible and I certainly could not do any of it without him! I am so very thankful for him!!!
When I moved to Charlotte, NC after graduating college I was ready and waiting for God to give me the green light no matter whatever it might be. I heard of Proverbs 31 Ministries over the radio and called in. I then went to a conference they held near by and before I knew had applied and accepted on the speaker team of the ministry. It was not that I was completely green and inexperienced, I had taught many, many classes of various types at my home church. I was with Proverbs 31 for about 3.5 years when I felt it was time to do things on my own.
It was in the spring of 2006 that I left P31 and established Speaking Thru Me Ministries and received our 501 (3) C nonprofit status in the next coming years. Receiving that status was very important to me as our mission was to be a blessing to churches in a financial sense. We wanted to be able to go to a church without giving a direct speaking fee hoping this would alleviate some financial burden on the church. So we had to have donations from anyone and everyone, but make it in a way that was profitable for both involved - nonprofit = tax credit!
The most difficult hurdle was “encouraging” churches and directors that because one does not state a fee does not mean that they are desperate and inexperienced and no good! We require that our speakers have at least 5 years experience and in that time have a pretty packed schedule. These are experienced ladies, not desperate, and very good!
For me personally the hardest transition after leaving P31 was waiting for God to reveal to me who was going to be my partners in ministry. I thrive on a team and wanted more than anything to share in this ministry with ones that had the same heart. I knew I was not alone, but finding those gifted in speaking and ones that didn’t care about the fee they may or may not receive was going to be tough! It has not been easy. We have seen many come and go just in the short time we have been incorporated. I think often a speaker will view us as another speaking agency when in fact that is the last thing we want to be seen as. We are a ministry with a mission and purpose!!
Kim: What are some of the exciting things that God may be calling you to in the near future?
Leigh: Speaking Thru Me Ministries is a nonprofit ministry whose goal is to serve the world in whatever fashion bringing the hope of Jesus to all who may hear or be touched! We have gone worldwide serving churches and organizations, secular and Christian. We are different than most ministries or speakers in that we do not have a set fee and will do anything we possibly can including raising our own support to go to a place that God has called us! We have 5 full time speakers from different areas of the US. We also have a Marketing Director, Prayer Coordinator, and Speaker Consultant. We each have our very own jobs and try to run the ministry as much as like the scripture describes the body of Christ as possible. We can be found at www.speakingthrume.com. That website will be under construction soon! Time too pretty-up!
The future for STMM is so bright we gotta wear shades - ha! But seriously I do feel this way. We have recently been in discussions with an organization in Africa to begin speaking encouragement to the missionaries and church planters that are teaching others. We in the US take for granted all the massive amounts of teaching and encouragement we have at our fingertips. But in the poorer countries where missionaries are serving they are only given the chance to sit under different teaching and speaking when others come to them. STMM is being given that opportunity to serve in this way. We are thrilled and honored!!
I think as the economy continues to be more and more depressed STMM will become more and more valuable to the churches that still need to provide different outlets of ministry to its congregation!
At this time we are not looking to add any more speakers to our team, but most likely within the next year or so we would open up that door again. We would still be glad for someone to apply knowing that we would not be opening that file for at least another year. And while they are waiting it would be most prudent to be filling their calendar and asking God to keep opening more doors.
The most important thing we look for in a speaker is one that is called to STMM. Ideally one would find some way to volunteer for STMM without ever knowing whether they would ever be a speaker or not. We want someone to be sold out to the ministry and its mission with no strings attached. That is a lot to ask, but something we have found with each of our speakers and volunteers so far!
My book “Loving God, Loving People (LGLP) Living Vertical in a Horizontal World” has been out since Sept. 2009. I published through Tate Publishing - I would call them a mid-way house. They are not big house publishers that do everything for you, but they are not totally self-publishing as well! I have been pleased and would probably do it again that way!
LGLP description - Every person we encounter, whether it’s the ‘Far and Away’ grocery store clerk or an ‘Up Close and Personal’ best friend, has the chance to see God through us. But are we living close enough to God for His light to shine through? Allow Leigh Gray and Heather Hargis to take you through a journey to Loving God, Loving People: Living Out the Vertical in a Horizontal World. They’ll introduce you to those ‘Far and Away’ people and show how you can impact their lives. They’ll show you where to find God when He seems ‘Far and Away.’ Soon you’ll be looking into how to react with those ‘Close Encounters’ with the friends who encourage or hinder, as well as how to become a friend of God’s through ‘Close Encounters.’ A look at the ‘Up Close and Personal’ relationships with family and those friends who become like family will help you take a deeper look at your walk with the Lord before delving into connecting with Him on a deeper, ‘Up Close and Personal’ level. Complete with discussion questions for study groups, relatable examples, and biblical references, Leigh and Heather will have you Loving God, Loving People in a new God-centered way.
This book was a co-author adventure with my cousin Heather Hargis.
Kim: What do you love most about serving Christian women?
Leigh: I love how passionate women can be!! I loved that when they catch the fire it can affect many, many people why – because we talk so much!!!
Kim: What are some of the challenges that you face?
Leigh: MY biggest challenge is with myself. I accept, love, and am honored to do what God has equipped me to do, but I am not very organized, detailed, and can be quite a dreamer!! Therefore, when things get dropped or left undone or the likes, 9 times out of 10 it is because of something I have done! I get very frustrated with myself!
Kim: How long have you been a Christian?
Leigh: I have been a Christian since I was 8 years old. I came to know the Lord at VBS.
Kim: What are some of the things that have helped you fall more in love with Jesus?
Trying to get to the best of my ability to get face to face with the Lord has been one way to fall more and more in love with Him. I do study the scripture, but prayer is HUGE!!! When He shares with you things to pray about and then takes the item to allow you to see the fruit of that prayer – wow!!! That will bring you further and further in love with Him!!!
Kim: What are some ways that busy Christian women today can stay close to the Lord?
Leigh: It has to be a priority!! Now that my kids are becoming more independent I find myself even busier trying to keep up with all they do! SO it has to be a priority cause your time will all get completely swallowed if you allow it!
Kim: How can we pray for you in your personal and ministry life?
Leigh: Pray for my organization, my leadership, and direction for STMM. Pray for my humility and my awareness of His hand in all things!
Kim: How can women get in touch with you and/or keep up with what you are doing?
Leigh:
www.leighhargisgray.blogspot.com
Twitter – Leigh gray
Facebook – Leigh Hargis Gray
I can also be found on Blogfrog
