Worship Leader, April Christina Farmer is Here!

Hey, welcome back to Words of Life. We are so excited to tell you that we are starting a new series all about gratitude. Throughout the series, we're going to be joined by April Christina Farmer. She's a singer, worship leader, pastor, and a longtime friend of the Salvation Army.

To learn more about April and her ministry, visit aprilchristinafarmer.com. Yes, they did clap. They clapped on the one.

They did clap. They did good, I was leading them. He's my master strategist. He doesn't waste anything.

He's on the ground. Welcome back to Words of Life. I'm Bernie Dake, and this is my friend, April Farmer, joining us for the first time, which is crazy because we live in the same city. Welcome.

Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here. How are you doing, Bernie?

I'm great. I'm excited for our listeners to get to know who you are because we've had the privilege of knowing each other for, man, is it 13 or 14 years now? Yeah. It's been a while now. That's crazy.

I'm so geeked about that. Yeah. Well, April, I want our listeners to get to know who you are. I had the privilege last year of attending your commissioning at the church here that you are a pastor at. Tell us a little bit about what you're doing.

Yeah. So vocation-wise, I am one of the pastors on staff at Buckhead Church here in Atlanta, and I also serve as the director of care and counseling there as well. So anything that has to do with caring for people in times of need or transition, any kind of prayer requests. I'm also over baptism, counseling referrals, all those types of things.

That's what our team handles there at Buckhead Church. So really excited. I've been there four years now, and I didn't imagine that that's what God had in store for my life, but I am all in. I am. No, my wife and I have been in Atlanta for, I don't know, 19 or 20 years now, and I know that there are not many people that actually are from Georgia here, but you are.

I am. I'm not from Atlanta, but I am a peach through and through. I was born... My dad was in the military when I was born, so I was born in Fort Riley, Kansas, but my earliest memory is Augusta, Georgia. So I was raised there my whole life.

Crazy fact is I've been in Atlanta now more or longer than I was ever in Augusta. So I guess I'm an ATLian. That's true. That's true.

And there's not many of those. I know. I love that our paths have crossed. And for our listeners, we met through a ministry of music because you were leading worship at a conference that we were at together. Yes. What's the rest of that story? Yeah. So a Salvation Army employee went to church with me, and she introduced me to a young man who was directing your youth retreat down in Florida.

And this had to be, what, 2010, 2011 maybe? And so we got to know each other there, and so I met you when our team came down to do that conference, and you came up to me and asked me who I was and did your whole Bernie thing just being such a nice guy. And when you told me about just some of the things that you guys were doing in the Salvation Army, I was blown away because I didn't know much about the Salvation Army besides the things that you see during the holidays and the people serving the community. But that's how we got to know each other, and then we started working together on music here and started working with transmission and doing background vocals and just all the things. And now I feel like we're just fam. Like you can't get rid of me. I can't get rid of you.

That's right. And I've met so many people in the Salvation Army just here and even in other states. And so I'm excited about the collaboration that we have.

It is exciting. And listen, the cool thing is if you want to see April teach or preach, you can find her on YouTube through streaming platforms. But if you want to hear April sing, man, you can find her on all the outlets.

And she's featured on Salvation Army stuff, not just transmission. You've helped us with other projects in other states when people needed some help and some guidance. And I'm so grateful for that and for David's help too, because you guys as a musical duo are a force. Your husband is a fantastic keyboard player.

Yes, he is. A special message from Ainsley Earhart. So many of us believe in something far beyond ourselves. And now there's a special place for us with exclusive, original, premium content that lifts us up, sustains our spirit and fills us with hope. Fox Faith on Fox Nation. Stream exciting series like God Family Football. Martin Scorsese presents The Saints and streaming December 8th, Jesus, Crown of Thorns. Fox Faith is only available by subscribing to Fox Nation.

So go to FoxNation.com and sign up today. Hey, friends, Sadie Rob Hough here, and I'm so excited to tell you about my new book, The Next Step, 50 Devotions to Find Your Way Forward. If you're like me, you probably had times in your life when you felt stuck, like you were unable to change direction from your current path or unsure where you would even go if you could change course. Well, even in these moments, it's so important for us to know that we're never not moving.

We're always moving towards something. I wrote The Next Step for anyone who is searching for God's purpose in their life or guidance in the season that they're in. Inside, we'll walk together through 10 weeks of devotion centered on the wisdom books of the Bible, and I'm going to share practical ideas for steps that you can take in your walk with God each day. This book is filled with scripture, reflection prompts, and even some of my favorite worship songs for you to listen to as you go about your days. I'm so excited for you to start your journey.

You can get your copy of The Next Step in print, audiobook, or ebook now at Amazon or anywhere books are sold. Let's dig into the early life, high school, college age years. What goes on there? Because I know there's a powerful testimony here. Yes. So I grew up as a pastor's kid. So as a pastor's kid, you're at church when it opens, you're at church when it closes. You serve everybody all the time.

You set up all the chairs, you wipe down everything. I did the transparencies for worship when we did transparencies, remember that? And so I just grew up loving the Lord, gave my life to Christ when I was about nine years old.

I remember it very vividly and just knew that he was a part of my life and I was a part of his. And so you kind of grow up in the faith, but then there's this challenge of learning how to grow in the faith. Does that make sense? And so once I got to be a teenager, you're 14, 15 years old, just kind of navigating life, different things are happening. You know right from wrong.

You know what you should do, what you shouldn't do, but you're still wrestling with, well, how do I reconcile what I know from my experiences, from what I'm feeling? And then there's also those dynamics of things that people just don't talk about. It's almost like taboo conversations that you're just not supposed to have because you're saved. I'm like, what's that about? This is a period in our life where a friend of mine has coined the phrase, building up our testimony.

Right. Well, there was a mighty build to come in for me that I did not anticipate. You know, just navigating life and just different seasons and different shifts in my life as a young person, I found myself expecting a child when I was 16 years old.

And so I had my first son when I was 17. I'm the preacher's kid who's now going to her parents at 16 years old saying, I'm expecting. And that was probably one of the hardest days of my life. Just so scared about what was going to happen.

Like how are people going to respond? There were so many expectations on me as a pastor's daughter and I had expectations of myself. And so I wasn't measuring up to what I expected to be. And I felt like I wasn't measuring up to what my friends and family and people around me were expecting.

I got some flack, I guess, from some people about that, but I didn't get flack from my family. Love. Specifically my dad.

My dad was so amazing. Like I remember the day I didn't even tell him, like I came in the living room and I had this pregnancy test in my hand and I just fell on the floor crying. And he was like, what is it? And he just saw it. And he just held me. He didn't ask me any questions.

He didn't say anything. He just held me until I stopped crying. And then he walked with me through that whole journey from going to the health department and getting a test and getting all set up and all the things, you know, for a teenage mom to get set up on and just walking with me through that. And then my son came into the world when I was 17 years old and just totally changed my life.

So I go from a kid trying to figure it out to a kid trying to figure it out with a kid. And so that journey started and my senior year, he was a part of all of that. And fortunately for me, I had watched A Different World every Thursday night at 8.30 long enough to know that I still wanted to go to college. And I went to my parents like, hey, can I go away to college? Like I didn't want to stay in Augusta and go to school. I wanted the whole college experience. And so I went away to Georgia Southern University and my son stayed at home with my parents.

And sure enough, lessons had not been learned. And at 18 years old, I was pregnant again and had my second son. I moved back home, had my son. And then at that point, it was one of those things where I realized that these decisions that I was making not only had an impact on me, but it was impacting my family. And it didn't feel like it was fair for my parents to have to raise my children.

And so I signed up for all the public assistance that I could qualify for. I packed my kids up and with a two year old and a nine month old, moved back to Statesboro and went to school. And we went to college until I graduated about three and a half years later. And after graduation, we moved home for a little bit. And then I moved to Atlanta, got my first job up here working for Enterprise Rent-A-Car. And we moved up here and we've been up here ever since. Your boys, now men, are uber talented and love the Lord.

No question about that. And are raising families of their own now. It's exciting. I can't believe it. I still feel like I'm that 19 year old kid with two babies now.

They're definitely out of my house, but you still, it's just time goes by so fast. And you just, when I look back at that journey and I see what God's done and I see how he carried me and how important my church family was, how important community was in raising them, people always ask me like, how did you raise two kids by yourself for all that time? I was like, I did not do that alone. There was so much community, there was so much help.

The body of Christ is indeed that and was so vital and so important and imparting into my children and coming alongside me to raise them. Because I raised them by myself for 23 years. I didn't get married when they were babies.

They were grown by the time I got married. And so it's definitely been a journey, but we did it together through everything. We went to all my rehearsals together. We went to all of everything that I did. They were there. And so anything that I had, I gave them and I gave them the best of what I had.

And it definitely wasn't a perfect journey by any stretch of the imagination, especially now with them being married and having their own kids. I look back and I'm like, oh my gosh, y'all got that from me. Don't do that.

All those things. No, listen, it's an infectious relationship to see around the boys. Watching the interaction that happens so subtly between you all with references to a movie line or a song that you were raised on or that you raised them on and a lyric that comes to the front of your mind and someone just bursts out in song. I love it. And I love that relationship, April, and I can see the Lord just weaving together every aspect of what was poured into you and now what you've poured into them. It's beautiful.

Absolutely. And I'm so grateful for that. Despite all of the hard times and trying to figure out my way, they came alongside me in figuring that out and trying to reconcile how do I walk out my life in Christ in an honorable way, in a way that brings him glory and not walk in shame. And that was a challenge for a long time because a lot of times people don't want to talk about what's actually going on in life. And so you just move on as if everything's okay. But I carried so much shame for so many years being the single mom in church.

And a lot of times there weren't programs or ministries geared towards single parenting or they might have singles ministry things, but they didn't have things for single parents. So I was like, well, what about my kids? Can they come? Well, this is not so. So now I have to figure out how do I go?

Can I find a babysitter? So it was a lot of things to navigate. But as I learned, I did try to pour into my kids and they were my buddies. We were like the three Musketeers or something. I love it.

It's true. So you see your family together, particularly the Triune, the three of you. We call ourselves the originals.

It's beautiful. So many of us believe in something far beyond ourselves, and now there's a special place for us. Fox Faith on Fox Nation with exclusive original premium content that lifts us up, sustains our spirit and fills us up with hope. Now you can stream hours and hours of commercial free faith-based content anytime, anywhere with exciting series like God Family Football about a coach, a team and their faith. And streaming November 17th, Martin Scorsese presents The Saints, one of America's greatest storytellers, recreates the lives of Joan of Arc, Maximilian Kobe, Sebastian and John the Baptist. Before they were saints, they were people. Then streaming December 8th, Jesus Crown of Thorns, a new epic original docudrama series. They fought for his power. He conquered with love. You know his story, but not like this. Fox Faith is only available by subscribing to Fox Nation.

So go to FoxNation.com and sign up today. Do you ever notice that even when your body is not moving, your mind is still racing? Worries, to-do lists and a spiral of negative thought patterns often keep us from the stillness and deep peace we long for. In her new book, Present in Prayer, Jennifer Tucker invites you to quiet the noise around you and within you as you allow the Holy Spirit to speak through God's word and to renew your mind through the practice of Christian meditation. Inside you'll find 30 beautifully illustrated meditations that call you to silence, prayer and thoughtful reflection on a passage of scripture. This practice will help cultivate a rhythm of being still and casting your mind on what is lovely, pure, excellent and true. This book makes a beautiful gift or an uplifting resource to read through in your own quiet time. Present in Prayer is now available on Amazon and wherever you buy books. I'm so grateful that God has let our paths cross and I can't wait to see how they continue to cross in years to come.

It's really great to have you here. If you're enjoying this part of April's Testimony, there's more to come. Come back next week on Words of Life. The Salvation Army's mission, Doing the Most Good, means helping people with material and spiritual needs. You become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army. Visit salvationarmyusa.org to offer your support. You can subscribe to Words of Life on your favorite podcast store or visit salvationarmysoundcast.org. Join us next time for the Salvation Army's Words of Life. Thanks so much for listening to Words of Life. We want to thank the team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on the show. Visit lifeaudio.com where you'll find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network.

They have shows about prayer, Bible studying, parenting, and more. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time. Well, the physician comes in and says, tells this lovely couple, hey, your son's not going to make it, but there's a young girl here in the hospital who just delivered a baby girl and she's given her up. She's going to leave her here.

Do you want her instead? That was chart topper Ryan Stevenson sharing a personal testimony on The Walk, a podcast for worshipers. Join us weekly to hear artists, songwriters, worship leaders, filmmakers, and other creatives tell their stories in the form of a devotional. The Walk can be found on lifeaudio.com or your favorite podcast platform. The Historical Jesus Podcast is the sweeping saga of the life and times of Galilean Jesus of Nazareth, as well as the faith, religion, and church founded to honor and disseminate his acts and teachings. Join me, Mark Vinet, on this fascinating journey through time exploring the many great works of Christian theology, literature, architecture, music, and art inspired by the words and deeds of Jesus Christ.