Stephanie’s Calling to God’s work
By: Jasmine Rouse
Stephanie Edmonds, 17, believes her true calling in life is to blend her strong Christian beliefs with being a journalist and motivational speaker to young generations.
This sense of duty to minister came four years ago when she participated as a Sunday school teacher volunteer at Westover Church in Greensboro, N.C. This opening in her church gave high school students a chance to serve and minister to the youth through God. Edmonds said it was a “guided light” from God that this door opened for her.
“I can see myself in these kids,” Edmonds stated as she talked about how invested she wants to be in the kids’ lives as a mentor and encourage them to “continue to stay in their walk of faith.” Her experience in Sunday school herself and guidance from her teacher, who could relate to her, also steered her in that same direction.
Along with being a volunteer as a Sunday school teacher, Edmonds has joined numerous school activities that include public speaking class and a member of the yearbook staff that increased her love for writing and journalism. Defining herself as an extroverted, fun-loving person, she feels she can help others break barriers they face as well.
One of her biggest accomplishments was the creation of a fashion blog. This blog not only discussed the haves and the have not’s of today’s fashion trends, but it also promoted the empowerment of inner beauty. Edmonds states in her description about her blog that it is centered on creating a “healthy body, mind, and soul,” while also encompassing her faith, calling each individual “fearfully and wonderfully made by our Savior.”
Edmond’s role models that she has looked up to include her mother and Beth Moore, who have both been strong, encouraging women who have taught her to continue to push in her faith despite hardships. Her mother has taught her to always keep God by her side. She says how much of a blessing it is to have a family that is “invested in your faith.” Beth Moore is a minister who can be seen teaching Bible studies and communicating with women of all denominations about the grace of God.
Growing up in a strong Christian family, she started to realize how much of a routine her Christian faith had become. Around her sophomore year of high school, Edmonds said, “I wished to rid of that habit, take my parents faith, and make it my own.”
Struggling within herself, she began to find exactly where she wanted to fit in life. She finally found her true calling. She sees some of the barriers that young girls face in life and aspired to relinquish them. Being a constant force in young girl’s lives, Stephanie Edmonds would like to advocate about the importance of inner beauty through spoken and written words.
One of her favorite quotes comes from Proverbs 31:30 in the Bible that proclaims, “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Tying that in with her passion for writing, she hopes to become a traveling journalist and motivational speaker.