Media Matters: Part 4

Sooo….we’ve been on this journey talking about why media matters in the 21st century. We’ve talked about what a blessing it has been in my life and how Tirzah, truly, has been a space for me to be myself, share Jesus, and meet with other believers. You’ve heard my own back story of how I got my start, in the wrong way, with blogging for sexually explicit content. Now, I’d like to build more of a foundation on the types of relationships you can build for God.

Due to social media, God created a whole new world for me within my own city. That city was in Milwaukee. I ended up in a church world that was very performance and social driven - but not necessarily driven to serve in the local community. It was hard to navigate when you spent your days in the streets in some of the worst areas and found none of the church was there with you. I was told by the mom of the woman who had the job before me that her daughter left the church for a while because of the discouragement.

I understand being discouraged, but whenever the local church doesn’t arise - God will raise a standard. It’s the story of the Bible. God never used the people you would expect to accomplish His missions - and it was typically the traditional temples and religious leaders that attacked the most. You don’t give up on Jesus and HIs people though.

Tirzah reminded me of that - and I started sharing my own story on Tirzah. Somehow, through the process of working in the streets and attending churches that were siloed in their buildings, I discovered a need. It was one that I actually knew how to meet. There was a need for a home for teenage mothers. If you want to end abortion, it doesn’t start by changing a mind. It’s looking at all the data in pregnancy centers and talking to people on the streets. After you’ve done this for awhile, you discover that there is a common denominator. That is the majority of unplanned pregnancies originated with a woman’s first pregnancy being in her teens. If we know this to be true, we have to start catching these teenage girls before the first pregnancy or providing all the supports they need during that time.

I knew this because I was blessed to work for a company that did just that in Kentucky (I actually work there again now - in foster care!) This led me to say “Why not?” And I started a journey to figure out how to do a residential home for teenage mothers in Wisconsin. When I wrote my article on Tirzah, a young woman named Courtney read that article and messaged me. She lived in Wisconsin too - ten minutes from me. Courtney also was alone seeing incredible needs in the city of Milwaukee. She wanted to do something - but didn’t know how.

God brought two young women in the same city together through the internet. We embarked on a five year journey leading together - which ended with me leaving Tirzah Place (the home for teen mothers) in her hands. There still isn’t a home for teenage mothers because there still isn’t enough money or enough people passionate enough to get on board. The company still exists today, however.

I believe that God brought Courtney and I together through this need - not just because of a need in the community but our need for community. Through ministering together, we built community. Our friends we made along the way weren’t wealthy. Many came from broken families, new beliefs, and were young adults. They all shared the same heart though - a desire to see the city of Milwaukee transformed by Jesus and the next generation thriving.

I’m in Kentucky now - but I would never change a single thing about that season. For me, it was never about whether or not Tirzah Place succeeded. It was about being obedient to what God asked me to do. Who would I be without that season? I don’t know. It concerns me to think of what I could have been sucked into and the life I could have had IF Courtney and I hadn’t embarked on that journey together.

I’m a big fan of submission, leadership, and working in unity. Sometimes the old systems aren’t working though. The old systems were built on social justice issues and still holding on to the barriers of racism that deeply affect Milwaukee. Courtney and I weren’t looking at those things. We just knew that there was a Jesus who could change lives and if we broke the barriers to the restoration of families, a big part of God’s heart, we could see a new day in the city.

Those years of my life were spent side by side EVERY SINGLE week with another young woman. A time where we weren’t caught in gossip and worldly things. Tirzah Place gave us a space where we could dream of a new beginning for the next generation of all the girls in our cities. We’d eat tacos together, discuss how we advanced the Kingdom in our world, and what needed to happen to continue to build Tirzah. Girls (and guys) from all over would ask to come to our Tuesday nights, and a few were welcome. They would sit and listen in on our hopes and dreams for the city. Our nights would end with a half hour, or sometimes more, of our list of prayer requests and praying over people. My heart is still to see a ministry someday like that, for Milwaukee, in God’s timing.

In the meantime, look what God can do through the internet! It was an article online that sparked a conversation between two girls. That led to a non-profit, unlikely friendships, and a group of young adults on fire for Jesus from all backgrounds. Don’t discount what media can do when it’s purposed towards God’s glory! Stay tuned for next month on how to safely engage in conversation online:)