NCCA Staff Deacon Amy

I was born in a small town in Alabama. I moved to Athens, GA in 1997 after graduation, and soon after I was out of the closet and loving life. I moved to Atlanta in May of 1999 and I met Leah two months later.

Leah and I dated for three years and she tried to talk to me about God many times. I never wanted to hear it. God began calling Leah back to Him in 2002. She joined a gay affirming church and I would attend on occasion to be supportive. Leah had been reading and studying her bible and I expressed interest but could not understand scripture.

Our roommate at the time was attending New Covenant Church of Atlanta (NCCA), and was telling us all about it. Leah went to visit intercessory prayer one night and LOVED it. A few weeks later, I attended intercessory prayer with her on a Sunday night and I loved it too. The first time I stepped through the doors of NCCA it all started to make sense. That week Leah was reading her Bible and sharing with me and I finally began to understand scripture. I began to learn about this God that created me and loved me so much that He gave His son to pay for my sins.

I accepted Jesus into my heart in November 2002 while attending New Covenant Church of Atlanta. I was not raised in church and I never understood when people talked about having a relationship with God. I thought it was crazy to say they could feel His presence, but now I understood.

In February 2003, Leah and I broke up, but we remained friends and turned my focus to God. I was broken, but God had a plan. See www.CovenantCouple.com for more on that.

I was baptized on Easter Sunday 2003 and it was during this time that I had begun to really develop a relationship with God. In December of that year I asked Leah out on a date and she said yes. We had our first date on New Year's Eve of 2003. We were now two totally different people that desired a relationship built upon God.

In 2004, we left NCCA and during this time, we met two women at a small conference that unbeknownst to us would later impart the gifting for the pre-marital counseling ministry.

In April 2005, Leah proposed to me, and of course I said yes. We contacted the pre-marital counselors that we had met and they agreed to do our counseling. We traveled to Texas for counseling, and on the way there we both received the call to do pre-marital counseling for the GLBT community. Our counseling experience was amazing and life changing.

Leah and I were married on May 13, 2006. The two women of God that did our pre-marital counseling traveled from Texas to marry us. During the ceremony these women unexpectedly imparted their anointing to us. The following month at Atlanta Pride Leah had the opportunity to meet and pray for an engaged couple from Mississippi. Two weeks later, they contacted us and said that when they walked away God told them Leah would be the one to marry them. Leah and I did not expect God to get us working on this ministry so quickly but He had other plans and the couple from Mississippi was the first to go through pre-marital counseling with us.

In December 2006, we started to attend NCCA again, and the following year we rejoined the church and finally felt at home and at peace. We had the amazing experience of being a part of the first Fire Institute. After that our lives changed again and Covenant Couple Ministries went full steam ahead.

In January 2008 with the help of many volunteers we were able to start the Events Planning Ministry. This ministry is mostly about fun and fellowship. In 2009, again with the help of many, we have begun to develop 732 the Unmarried Ministry of NCCA. It is our prayer that 732 bring people together to serve God in many ways.

Proverbs 3:5-12 MSG. 5-12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health; your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over. But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline; don't sulk under his loving correction. It's the child he loves that GOD corrects; a father's delight is behind all this.

I have not always looked to God, but I look back over my life and can see that He has ALWAYS looked out for me. I love God and my church family so very much and I am truly blessed to be part of what God is doing in the GLBT nation.