Andrea serves on the Executive Team of the High School ministry of CRU (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ), along with her husband of almost 18 years, Tyrone. They have two amazing kids, Isabelle (or Izzy, cutest nickname ever!) who is 8 and LT who is 2.
Find out her advice on connecting with teenagers and what her calling to ministry looked like, as well as her story with infertility, race and ministry...and of course, what books are on her nightstand!
Does it ever surprise you that you ended up in ministry? Was there anything else you thought about pursuing?
I always wanted to be a nurse, even when I met Tyrone and he was already going down the road with CRU. I had the mindset that those in ministry have had, you know, something big--an audible call from God or someone who had prophesied over you. Like you would know. But I developed a friendship with a lady named Kari Robinson who had been on staff with CRU for years. She called my attention to a few things and really helped me hear the Lord. Tyrone and I were married at this point and I was conflicted whether to go in the direction of nursing or join Tyrone in ministry roles. She encouraged me to try CRU for a year and even if I decided to move on to something else, it wouldn’t be a waste of a year. I went into it praying Tyrone would change his mind! But sure enough, Tyrone and I joined staff together in 2009.
I think that’s actually really powerful! We want a clear, big, loud call from God and sometimes it’s in the daily living that God confirms our calling. That’s a lot of what our mission season “Giving Our Daily” focus is all about. On another note, I know you work with teenagers and I would love to hear your pointers on connecting with teens.
I really think time, not necessarily a formula (although I wish there was a formula!) is key. I have had some of the deepest conversations with teenagers over the most random things. When you make yourself available, there’s a lot of trust building there. They know that you care and then they want to listen to what you have to say. The Lord taught me a lot about patience, especially working with younger teens! There's a great opportunity to shepherd them well as they’re trying to figure out who they are. It’s also important to let them teach you! They aren’t jaded...I love the optimism they have.
The last few years have been really heavy leading people in ministry--the Orlando shooting, protests surrounding George Floyd...how are you doing and where have you guys seen God move?
I agree, it has been a lot. I am super grateful that Tyrone and I talk to and are honest with each other. We don’t like to bury our heads in the sand when things get tough. We’ve met and prayed with people. We’ve shown up at protests for the first time ever--talking and praying with people there. We’ve had really hard conversations with family and friends. I think one of the most encouraging things for us is the willingness we’ve seen for people to engage in those conversations. I always say it’s like heart surgery, having these conversations. It’s so vulnerable to share your experience and to let people get to know you on that kind of level. Another thing is that we have seen so much diversity represented and it’s breathtaking to see people coming together.
I didn’t really seek to understand racism until I was 19 or 20...I had never experienced it myself and didn’t grow up with a ton of diversity around me, so it took awhile for me to look outside my own experience and see that other people have had different experiences. Have you had some good conversations with your kids about race?
One of the things that we’re able to do because we homeschool is supplement. If we don’t see certain people represented, then we say “Hey, let’s talk to your teacher about adding this in.” We take more of an offensive approach. We do have conversations about hard things in the news and things like that, but we work on building that frame of reference and those values so that when things do happen, it will click for Izzy (hopefully!) that something’s not right.
One thing I would love for you to share about is how God created your family. I think a lot of women will be able to relate! I remember exactly where I was when Tyrone called and told me that you were pregnant with your little miracle baby, LT!
So I have something called PCOS, which is why we’ve had trouble conceiving and I knew before I got married that would likely be the case. As the years passed, I always had pregnancy tests because PCOS makes your cycles so irregular, but I never once saw a plus sign. We went to doctors, tried different fertility drugs, I had a surgery...but nothing was successful. We had been married for 14 years and I was 35 when I got my first positive pregnancy test and LT was the first pregnancy I’ve had! But I always say that he is my second miracle baby and Isabelle is my first. Tyrone and I had talked about being open to adopting from the start. We had been married for 9 years when we went through our foster to adopt licensing and put together this Winnie the Pooh nursery. One day we got a call about this baby girl. We show up to the hospital and the case worker tells us her birth mom had named her Patricia Brown, which was crazy because that is Tyrone’s mom’s maiden name. We were like, “God, is this you?” And then she told us the middle name, “Elisabeth”, which had been the top name on my list of baby names, although I wanted to go with a derivative of Elisabeth so we settled on Isabelle. I always had this strong desire to name my child and I love the meanings behind names. It was like the Lord was confirming that this little girl was going to be for us, even though it was a 2 year process before that was official.
Is she loving that she gets to have a little brother?
Oh my gosh...it’s two peas in a pod! She’s so sweet to him. She really wanted a sister, so when we popped the balloon at our gender reveal party and it was blue, she wasn’t so sure...but after she got over that, it’s been downhill! They have 6 1/2 years between them, so she’s a little mama.
I know it is hard and stings when you’re in the middle of the pain of infertility. Was there something that meant a lot to you that either someone said or a Scripture?
I certainly had people who prayed and fasted for me during that journey. It meant so much to me that they would stop their lives to do that for me. Tyrone was always really great and we had a great counselor, Dallas Demmitt. The Lord really met me in these places of identity and purpose struggles and had to do a lot of work within my heart. I know people think of The Shack in different ways and it’s a bit controversial, but when it came out, there was a part of that book and movie that I loved when the main character sees that God has a jar of his tears. There were so many nights of crying myself to sleep...I felt like it was just me and this pain, but the Lord saw me every time I cried...all those years. It was the first time I thought about my pain not being in vain. Sometimes life is hard. Period. But the fact that our pain isn’t in vain and that God cares about me in my individual pain is amazing to me. It was also crazy because, even in the midst of the amazing and unexpected pregnancy with LT, the enemy tried to get in there too. We were celebrating and then I started having all this anxiety about the pregnancy, all these “what ifs” started happening.
I just read this great book (Myths of Singleness by Sam Allberry) and one of the points he made that was so good was how everyone, no matter whether they are single, married, with kids or without, widowed...all of us experience highs and lows no matter what. The truth is there’s pain in every stage of life, no matter how much we want to avoid it! It’s tempting to think that when you arrive at a season of life you’ve been yearning for that it will be easy and happy and pain-free.
That is 100% true and hits the nail on the head! One of the things I’ve learned is that even though God gave me this gift of being able to conceive, it didn’t take away my fears or desires for other things. I saw the same thing with Isabelle—we wanted to be parents, I wanted to be a mother, and God gave me this beautiful baby girl. But the desire to conceive never went away! Even now, I still have those “what if” fears. Whenever we have a source of pain, we have a tendency to say, “Whenever I get x,y, or z,” all of this is going to go away, I’ll be happier...but the truth is that whatever you’re struggling with is just replaced! It just shifts! So there’s a theme here. The Lord wants me to get more of Him, because there’s always something. Knowing how to walk with the Lord and walk with pain is really important.
I totally agree. Thank you so much for sharing that! Our theme for missions season is “Giving Our Daily” and I would love to know the things you do daily that help you stay connected to God.
I always go back to the callings that God has given me. The things I know for sure. It’s kind of like, “Okay, God, you knew this was comin’ and you were still sure??” That helps me to zoom out just a little bit so I don’t miss the big picture. One of my favorite books is “Knowledge of the Holy” by A.W. Tozer--it focuses on the attributes of God. Sometimes when you are really suffering, you can only think of that particular pain. But when you focus on how good God is, it blows everything up. Now, you might have to revisit it often! I have a screensaver on my phone of a bible verse and my kids, because I am constantly trying to memorize Scripture to help calm me. Going back to what I know is true, as often as needed, really helps me.
What other books do you have on your nightstand?
I’m a big reader! Because I recently did 23andMe, I wanted to read a book by a Nigerian author, so I read Americanah by Chmanda Ngozi Adichie and then read Purple Hibiscus by her as well! The most grounding books for me are “Knowledge of the Holy” that I mentioned and then “The Great Divorce” by C.S. Lewis. I get something new every time I read it.
I loved Americanah and The Great Divorce is my favorite C.S. Lewis book!! (*We both went on an excited little rabbit trail here, but I’ll spare you!*)
Last, but not least, how do you drink your coffee?
I don’t drink coffee...I like all tea! But I like coffee flavored stuff like ice cream and candy. So maybe that’s one step before liking actual coffee? But I love tea—black, green, white...any and all tea.
Thanks so much for doing this, Andrea! I love every chance I get to talk to you and Tyrone, and we are so grateful for you, your family, your ministry and faithfulness.
Meet the Author!
Makenzie graduated from Wheaton College where she majored in Christian Ministry, Urban Studies, and Photography and somehow managed to apply all of her degrees to work in the real world! She has a passion for community development after years working in urban ministry in Chicago, non-profits in Austin, and has been on staff at CRBC since 2012. She loves being able to equip and serve the church through her role as Minister of Missions at CRBC which includes both local and global partnerships. Despite being the missions minister, she is quite the homebody. She is an avid Harry Potter fan, loves Oklahoma City, and is happiest when surrounded by friends, family, and her ADORABLE weenie dog, May.