Elana Brownfield, Group Minister
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Elana was called by the Lord to be a Group Minister in The ALL IN Movement. In order to do this, she serves by equipping and leading the Group Leaders. Elana is also a wife and a mother of two children, an art teacher, and is also the founder of Redeemer's Heart.
My Verse of Identity 1 Peter 4:10, ESV “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.” I have been blessed with several gifts, one being the desire and ability to reach people with the love and hope of Jesus Christ through the visual arts. God laid it on my heart several years ago to found the ministry known as Redeemer’s Heart. Here fellow artists are encouraged to share their artwork with others in order to bring hope and God’s message of salvation to the world. This ministry also gives other Christian artists a place to gather and fellowship with one another. Ultimately, it is my prayer that Redeemer’s Heart will help them, as the apostle Peter said, to use the gift they have received to serve others through the grace of God. |
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The Woman from the Bible who I relate to...
I have identified with so many women in the Bible during different seasons of my life, but right now God told me I am like the widow mentioned in 2 Kings 4:1-7. This is the one whose husband died and a creditor was going to seize her two sons to pay for their debts. All she had was a little oil. So she asked the prophet Elisha for help and he said to borrow and gather as many empty jars as she could find and then fill each with oil until they were full. When she followed his instructions the oil didn't run out until the last jug was full! She then sold some to pay her debts and still had plenty left to live off of. I can identify with this woman because the enemy has been trying to steal my rightful inheritance. God told me that I need to put my complete trust and faith in Him to provide. He has been teaching me that when I do this "my oil" doesn’t run out and He blesses me in all areas of my life. This has built up my trust and obedience more than I thought possible! I now try to be completely surrendered to His plan and allow Him to use me to “fill the jugs” of others with His “oil”.
I have identified with so many women in the Bible during different seasons of my life, but right now God told me I am like the widow mentioned in 2 Kings 4:1-7. This is the one whose husband died and a creditor was going to seize her two sons to pay for their debts. All she had was a little oil. So she asked the prophet Elisha for help and he said to borrow and gather as many empty jars as she could find and then fill each with oil until they were full. When she followed his instructions the oil didn't run out until the last jug was full! She then sold some to pay her debts and still had plenty left to live off of. I can identify with this woman because the enemy has been trying to steal my rightful inheritance. God told me that I need to put my complete trust and faith in Him to provide. He has been teaching me that when I do this "my oil" doesn’t run out and He blesses me in all areas of my life. This has built up my trust and obedience more than I thought possible! I now try to be completely surrendered to His plan and allow Him to use me to “fill the jugs” of others with His “oil”.
My Testimony
I come from a religious background that looking back, could be very legalistic and even judgmental at times. I was taught that it was about a relationship with the Lord, but because of all the focus on the “rules”, I think subconsciously I was confused and thought that if I could just be good enough the relationship would follow. I spent years trying to “be good” and “do good things” to build the relationship. I depended a lot on my own strength and abilities. It’s not that I didn’t move forward in my faith at all...I actually did and I learned a lot through many years of church attendance, bible study, reading books, etc., but I feel like I took “baby steps” in my personal relationship journey and in allowing the Holy Spirit to direct my path.
Things changed dramatically for me in 2017 during and after an unexpected health situation that was totally out of my control. God showed up in a mighty way to help me through it. He told me, “TRUST”, “PATIENCE” and “RELATIONSHIPS”. I recognized right away that I had been falling short in these three areas. But God gave me hope and helped to correct my perspective and priorities. He reminded me of 2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV) that states “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” God also shared with me four truths:
1. The Bible is 100% true,
2. Problems have been caused over the years by the misinterpretation of His Word,
3. God is good ALL the time, and
4. We need to get back to the source, the Word of God.
He also opened my eyes to the fact that I can never through my own strength build a close relationship with Him. I realized that it’s not about me doing “good things” or being “good enough”.
I have now fully wrapped myself in His grace and I am totally surrendered to Him. I am still not perfect but I know I am forgiven. I have learned that it’s all about building relationships and love - loving God with all my heart and loving people. I have also learned that God truly just wants to spend more time with me. As I have surrendered completely to Him and committed to setting aside time every day to simply be in His presence, my personal relationship with Him has grown tremendously. The intimacy I once longed for is now a reality. I praise and thank God for His love and patience with me over the years.
I come from a religious background that looking back, could be very legalistic and even judgmental at times. I was taught that it was about a relationship with the Lord, but because of all the focus on the “rules”, I think subconsciously I was confused and thought that if I could just be good enough the relationship would follow. I spent years trying to “be good” and “do good things” to build the relationship. I depended a lot on my own strength and abilities. It’s not that I didn’t move forward in my faith at all...I actually did and I learned a lot through many years of church attendance, bible study, reading books, etc., but I feel like I took “baby steps” in my personal relationship journey and in allowing the Holy Spirit to direct my path.
Things changed dramatically for me in 2017 during and after an unexpected health situation that was totally out of my control. God showed up in a mighty way to help me through it. He told me, “TRUST”, “PATIENCE” and “RELATIONSHIPS”. I recognized right away that I had been falling short in these three areas. But God gave me hope and helped to correct my perspective and priorities. He reminded me of 2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV) that states “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” God also shared with me four truths:
1. The Bible is 100% true,
2. Problems have been caused over the years by the misinterpretation of His Word,
3. God is good ALL the time, and
4. We need to get back to the source, the Word of God.
He also opened my eyes to the fact that I can never through my own strength build a close relationship with Him. I realized that it’s not about me doing “good things” or being “good enough”.
I have now fully wrapped myself in His grace and I am totally surrendered to Him. I am still not perfect but I know I am forgiven. I have learned that it’s all about building relationships and love - loving God with all my heart and loving people. I have also learned that God truly just wants to spend more time with me. As I have surrendered completely to Him and committed to setting aside time every day to simply be in His presence, my personal relationship with Him has grown tremendously. The intimacy I once longed for is now a reality. I praise and thank God for His love and patience with me over the years.