Jennifer Gerelds - Member Spotlight

Hi Jennifer, where are you from?

I grew up in Birmingham (Hoover area) and went to Briarwood Church and school from 4-K through 12th grade. After Todd and I got married, we moved numerous times (7 in the first 10 years), but eventually landed back in Birmingham to be near family.

What do you do?

I mainly work at home with our 4 kids…and my husband, Todd. On the side, I freelance-write for various publishing companies, writing children and adult devotional products.

Tell us about your family.

We have 4 girls: Morgan (12), Bailey Kay (10), Allison (8), and Maggie Leigh (4); two dogs: Biscuit and Barkley; 3 cats: Mindy, Hunter, and Belle…and a partridge in a pear tree.

My parents, Chuck and Alene Morgan, have worked/taught at Briarwood for decades. I have an older sister, Darby Travers, who (along with her husband, Mark, and 6 kids) has a ministry to families called “Turning Hearts,” and I have an older brother who works in Birmingham for a computer company.

What do you truly love?

Hot Tamales (the candy), and chocolate chip cookies—especially from the Great American Cookie Co. Then I enjoy walking/jogging with my ipod or a friend to burn off all those calories. I love the beach, and I love the quiet in my house very early in the morning, and I love playing with Todd and my girls (particularly when they are getting along). Steven Curtis Chapman and Sara Groves are my favorite artists, and C.S. Lewis and John Piper my favorite authors (though I like Francine Rivers’ fiction). I love escaping life’s routine chaos by sitting on my front porch with a cup of coffee and a good read.

When did you discover a love for Jesus in your heart?

I was young—3 years old, actually. My mom was/is an avid evangelist who clearly communicated that I was a sinner who needed a Savior, and that Jesus was that Savior. My family was very active in the PCA church and in service around the city, so I was very exposed to truth everywhere I went, it seems. The Lord drew me into a deeper, more personal relationship with Him when I was 12, and I’ve been growing in the knowledge of His love and grace ever since.

Tell us of a time when you've been overwhelmed by God's grace or work in your life.

Though I had been a Christian nearly all of my life, I still didn’t understand the truly unconditional nature of God’s love for me (salvation was a sure bet, but I feared His approval of me vacillated with my performance). In my early 30’s, God finally turned head knowledge into true understanding when He stripped me of everything/person that had boosted my identity apart from Him. Then, to go with it, He exposed me to the depth of my own depravity. Strangely, the combination was a lethal blow to my performance mentality and I began resting for the first time in Christ’s record and affirmation alone.

What do you enjoy or value about Christ Community Church?

I love that other believers who have experienced the same liberating grace of Christ want to now team together to tell others how awesome Jesus and His gospel really is. I also love the “smallness”—kind of like getting to experience how it was in Acts in the church’s beginning. I can’t wait to see what God is going to do.