Blog Author: April Love-Fordham
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| Rev. Dr. April Love-Fordham, BEE, MSEE, MDiv, Dmin |
I grew up in South Florida in a wonderful Christian home where I learned about Jesus very early in life. In fact, I can't remember a time when I didn't know Jesus loved me and had called me to follow him, but I can clearly remember hearing a message in junior church that brought a spiritual awakening within me that stays with me even today. It happened on a Sunday morning when a female missionary was speaking to the children. She brought a large dollhouse with her. Her message was about how God wants to be 
part of all the rooms of our life - that God's holy presence wants to live in every room. I can remember sitting in my seat and asking God to fill my entire life with the Holy Spirit's presence and feeling a wonderful sense of security that God loved me and wanted to be involved in my life. Even now at times, I look back at that junior church lesson and realize that I have tried to bolt doors to certain rooms in my life in an attempt to keep God at bay. Then realizing that like a little child, my life has the most significance and I have inner peace when I am able to turn the keys back over to God.
There are two experiences in my adult life that have significantly helped me prepare for ministry. The first is my twenty-five years as a wife and mother. My husband is an easygoing person who loves the outdoors and music. He is a software consultant, a wonderful Bible teacher, and a talented guitarist. Learning together to center our family on God has been both exciting and very challenging at times – but always incredibly rewarding. Our oldest son, who was born with a birth defect affecting his vision, is in seminary at Union Presbyterian Seminary. Our youngest son is a senior majoring in Peace and Justice Studies at Warren Wilson College thinking about graduate studies in international law. He is presently studying Arabic in Jordan. Prior to going to to seminary, my husband and I worked as volunteers in the youth group for five years alongside our sons. This was a wonderful blessing to our entire family and w
hat led me into ministry. It was in my work with youth that I discovered my love for teaching the Bible, nurturing the children of God, reaching out to the community, and working with other parents in developing a healthy church community in which all ages could mature spiritually. The second experience is my twenty years in the business world where I held the office of Vice President of Development in both large and small companies. I managed several projects key to our nation's development and security including the Space Shuttle Launch Team Trainer, several Sonar Submarine Systems, and the computer system on board several military air
craft. I also worked for both the Bush and Clinton administrations as a technology consultant to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Under Secretary of Defense, and on several NATO and NASA projects. In more recent years, I have been the VP of Development and Operations in several Internet companies. It has been an exciting career.
craft. I also worked for both the Bush and Clinton administrations as a technology consultant to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Under Secretary of Defense, and on several NATO and NASA projects. In more recent years, I have been the VP of Development and Operations in several Internet companies. It has been an exciting career. I believe that I was called to this career, as much as I am now called to ministry. My expertise was to bring diverse people together to set and achieve common goals. I was often part of an executive team tasked with developing companies during their start up phase until they could stand on their own. Looking back, I can see that God was at work in my life providing me with a wide variety 
of experiences that developed both my passion for helping people find their gifts and my reliance on the Holy Spirit’s guidance. I learned to model my management skills in the servant-leader style that Jesus had taught his followers. This was important, because I quickly found that the people who I led were far more talented and gifted than myself. The most important lessons I learned were to listen, discern, communicate, and inspire. The greatest ideas and efforts never came from me. However, I learned to nurture, organize, and guide people who had skills and talents that I didn't have. Through this kind of teamwork, we were able to accomplish many challenging things together.
of experiences that developed both my passion for helping people find their gifts and my reliance on the Holy Spirit’s guidance. I learned to model my management skills in the servant-leader style that Jesus had taught his followers. This was important, because I quickly found that the people who I led were far more talented and gifted than myself. The most important lessons I learned were to listen, discern, communicate, and inspire. The greatest ideas and efforts never came from me. However, I learned to nurture, organize, and guide people who had skills and talents that I didn't have. Through this kind of teamwork, we were able to accomplish many challenging things together. 
In the church, I continue to try and be a servant-leader who serves the people of God, not by claiming my own vision, but by discerning together the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is my great joy to teach and nurture the people of God so that they may identify and use their God-given gifts to serve Christ. I have walked down many of the same roads – trying to balance career, family, and church. My desire is to use my life to be a blessing to others.More About April
April is a New Church Development Commissioner, a Church and Interfaith Relations Council Member at Warren Wilson College, a Montreat Bridge Volunteer at Montreat Conference Center, and her old blog can still be read at Ignoring Jesus Blog Spot.
