“While the leader was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” — John Wesley, May 24, 1738
God calls us to tell our story so that others may come to know Jesus Christ. “Hearts Strangely Warmed” was created to share these stories about transformational encounters with the Living God.
Pastor Elizabeth Jackson
Commissioned as a Provisional Elder in 2022
I always grew up in the church, but never liked going. When my grandfather died and I lost my best friend, I questioned everything in life, including how a loving God would take him away. I couldn’t believe a loving God would do something like that, so I gave up on God. Yet, God never gave up on me. God kept sending people into my life who showed me more of who God is.
When my friend in high school invited me to youth group, everything changed. It brought me to a place where I accepted God as my Savior. A year later when I lost my grandmother, it brought me to a very dark place. But through my pastors at Bethany UMC in Red Lion, Charlie Salisbury and Cathy Boileau, I took that first step out of that dark place and started to believe that God had something better for me.
Memorial Day weekend of 2003, the high schoolers of the youth group held a special event for the junior high youth. It was at this event, that I knew God was calling me to serve him, I was just unsure of how. In college, I realized that God was calling me to pastoral ministry. I started the process, but it terrified me. I had great examples of pastors, but felt that I couldn’t be like them, so therefore, couldn’t be a pastor.
I dropped out of the candidacy process, convinced God made a mistake, and instead pursued the career of mental health counseling. My goal was to become a licensed professional counselor and serve as an outpatient therapist. Through years of hard work, I arrived. The work I was doing was valuable and necessary, but I felt unfulfilled. It felt like something was missing, but I couldn’t put it into words at the time.
When I attended Bible study around that time, at Church of the Good Shepherd (Lebanon, PA), discussion with a retired UM pastor made me realize something; I had been neglecting my call to ministry.
Over the years my call had never changed, even though almost a decade had passed. Still, God used this time to further prepare me and equip me to serve him. When I started the process over again to become a pastor, there was a calm reassurance that I was doing exactly what I needed to be doing. While I still questioned if I had what it would take, I held firm to the words of Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
God has grown me in ways I could have never imagined possible, and I am excited to continue serving God as pastor. It is my hope that I can help those who struggle with mental illness to feel a sense of belonging, welcome, and understanding in the church. Like I experienced in my youth, I hope to help others to find hope in the midst of whatever darkness they are facing. After all, the church is a place where we can go with all our hurts, and lay them at the foot of the cross, experiencing the healing only Jesus can bring.
