Yolanda (Pastor Yolanda Townsend) Townsend

I have been in ministry since I was young, with salvation coming at age 12, and I delivered my initial trial sermon on December 29th, 1999. In 2010, the Lord gave me the vision for Divas for Christ Ministries, which stands for Divinely Inspired Victorious Anointed Sisters for Christ. Our motto is 'we empower women, one sister at a time.' I've always worked with women's ministry, and I saw that many mothers couldn't attend women's conferences because of registration fees, whether they were single parents or struggling in two-parent households. So the vision was to put on events where moms could come for free. I started the Pink Pajama Party where moms and daughters come in their pajamas, and we cater to them with manicures, facials, massage treatments, and prepared meals. We have speakers come in to talk about health topics like breast cancer and help them sign up for screening. We also help women prepare for the workforce who may have stopped working, through resume building and providing donated clothing for job interviews. Under the ministry umbrella, I created two programs: Junior Divas for ages 13-18 to mentor them and prepare them for college life and beyond, and Princess Pearls for ages 8-12, which is a three-month training program teaching etiquette and lessons from the book of Esther about the purification process. At the end, we have a formal event where dads walk their daughters down the aisle and present them with promise rings, and we do the waltz. My husband and I also run a marriage ministry called Our Love Story Continues (with dot, dot, dot, because there's no single period) because marriage is still evolving and growing. We've counseled numerous couples, helping them grow together through the different stages of their marriages. I also have a jewelry design business called Theikos Designs (spelled T-H-E-I-K-O-S Designs with a Z), which means divine. Everything is custom and handmade, each piece unique. In March 2024, I was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. They were able to remove the mass, and I went through a two-part chemo treatment with pills and infusion. I made it through round one, but almost didn't make it through round two as they thought I was threatening a stroke. My oncologist stopped treatment after that because the third round could have possibly taken my life. I am healed and now use my platforms to fundraise and bring awareness to colorectal cancer. When I was first diagnosed, it was the fourth leading cause of death, by May it moved to number three, and currently it's number one. I'm grateful my doctors moved the colonoscopy age from 50 to 45, but I plan to go to the Capitol to get a bill passed to move it back to at least age 35. I'm a part of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance and focus on this advocacy alongside my ministry. My professional background is in customer service, which is all about supporting people and their needs. Currently, I work for Wayfair in the security department preventing fraud, kind of like a detective from a customer service standpoint. I take my professional strengths and apply them to my ministry, learning to meet people where they are. I would say my main area of expertise is being an influence and being a mentor. I've become a mentor to many around the world, including women in Africa and throughout the States, as well as men and their families. I'm grateful I can take my platform to minister and help mend the brokenhearted for those who are struggling. My personality and love for people, combined with my heart and passion for the family dynamic, is what got me to where I am today.