Teaching people and telling about Jesus Christ are two missions of Donna Howard, 73, of LaFayette. For two years, she was a physical education teacher and then an English teacher for 31 years. Even now, she sometimes leads special unit studies in schools. Each week at her church, she teaches lessons to adults, young adults and children. For 30 years, she also volunteered in her church’s Awana program.
Ministry description: I currently teach the college and career Sunday School class and the adult discipleship class. I also give a children’s lesson right before the sermon in the Sunday morning worship service.
Church name: LaFayette Heights Baptist Church, LaFayette, in East Liberty Baptist Association.
Life verse: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8–9).
Describe where you focus your greatest ministry efforts. I have been a pastor’s wife for 52 years. I feel that I still continue to focus my greatest ministry efforts on caring for the needs of the members of our congregation.
Q: Who was or is one of the most influential people in your faith life? Why?
A: My husband (now a retired pastor) is the most influential person in my faith life. Serving alongside him in his ministry for 52 years has been the greatest blessing of my life. Growing up, I would have never dreamed that this was what God had planned for me. I am so thankful for the life that we have shared serving the Lord. So many lives have crossed our path.
Q: Tell about a “turning point” in your life and how God was involved.
A: When I graduated from the University of Alabama in 1972, I had a hard time finding an available job as an English teacher. I had decided to apply to graduate school. The night before I turned in my application, I received a call from the principal of LaFayette High School. He was attending Alabama that summer working on an advanced degree. He asked me if I would be interested in teaching physical education, which was my minor, at LaFayette High School. I immediately said, “Yes.” I had no idea where LaFayette was, but I wanted a job. So, I moved to LaFayette, met Paul Howard in September and we were married on Dec. 16, 1972. We have no doubt that God was involved in this from the very beginning. We have told this story so many times over the years.
Q: What has God been teaching you lately?
A: The biggest thing that God has been teaching me lately is that I am not God. I have a tendency (as do so many mothers and women) to want to fix every unpleasant situation. It has taken me a long, long time to realize that I cannot fix everything and every situation. I have even come to realize that the very things that I want so badly to fix to avoid heartache or trouble are the very things that God will often use to work in a person’s life.
Q: If there were one thing you would tell your younger self about faith, what would it be?
A: I would tell my younger self how very important the Word of God is. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
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