Announcing Our New Ministry: Eden’s Redemption
Teaching people to understand who they are, why they’re broken, and the hope of the redemption of all creation through Christ Jesus. We aim to teach God’s incredible design of male and female, why it matters, and the glory of God it points to.
God has called my husband, Perry, and me to start a new ministry. Please read about this exciting new direction below and share this with others who might want to join us in prayer, or financial support, or who might need our ministry and resources. The launch of this exciting new ministry will mean that I will be ending my time with First Stone Ministries, but I hope that our two ministries will collaborate in the future. Please see more info about my departure from First Stone near the bottom of this email.
Over the past seven years, God has given me (and now Perry as well) many opportunities all across the country and in México to share my testimony of God’s transforming power from a transgender identity to transformed in Christ. I will give an update of some of the opportunities in another newsletter, but suffice it to say that God has given me the privilege to share in places I never dreamed possible. He has used my testimony to touch so many lives, to give parents hope, and to encourage those trapped in darkness to trust Jesus with their hearts and their identity.
While spreading my testimony in so many places, the Lord has built an incredible platform to bring our vision and mission to fruition. We are so excited about joining the Lord in His future work in our lives and in the lives of all those He will impact through it. We hope you will join us and labor together with us in this new ministry.
While I will still share my testimony of how Jesus delivered me from transgenderism, the Lord has taught me so much over the past several years that we feel God shifting the direction of our speaking engagements. Our heart is to not only share the hope and power of Christ, but to teach and equip the church, students, and whoever else will listen. This equipping will focus primarily (though not exclusively) on gender, sexuality and marriage. We want to proactively teach young people God’s amazing design of male and female, of holy sexuality, and the Gospel story displayed in covenant marriage.
The Meaning Behind the Name:
As I have traveled and spoken to so many diverse audiences and talked to so many broken people, I began to understand that at the root of transgenderism is the root of all humanity: We were created for the Garden of Eden, we were exiled, and we are all longing to go home.
Romans 8:18-25 “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
| In fact, Perry and I had a very difficult time coming up with the name of our ministry. Initially, we wanted to call it “Created for Eden”, but just before the setup was finalized, we realized that name was unavailable. We spent several days (and sleepless nights) wrestling, as if travailing in labor, for the name of this ministry. All of our plans were brought to a screeching halt until we could name it. All our website, emails, accounts, and everything else required the business name. It seemed as if all but the name was falling place. The Lord was pouring confirmation and connections on us. He reminded me that we were setting up a ministry about identity, for people who don’t know who they are, and the only thing we could not seem to give it was its name. We forget (and our children don’t understand) the perfect paradise God created us for. We were all Created for the Garden of Eden. They know they’re broken, but they don’t know why. They begin to believe something is wrong with them, that they are not good, that God dealt them a short hand in life, and they wish they were someone else. They feel awkwardness and shame in their bodies, but they don’t know where it comes from. They don’t realize their bodies are under the curse of sin and this is not the perfect, sinless, body Christ created that would have never been broken, full of shame, or imperfect. Yet, God doesn’t want us to just know what we were created for. That would leave us feeling hopeless. He wants us to know that He is coming again, and He will restore all of creation! He wants us to be a part of His eternal kingdom, that will never again be marred and broken by sin. That’s why we have named this ministry Eden’s Redemption. The Bible says that not only will our souls be saved (for those who trust in Christ and give their lives to Him), but Heaven and Earth will be made new, and we will live in the eternal, perfect, paradise God created us for. We do not know what it will be named, but we know that Earth will be like the Garden of Eden once again. Everything these lost and broken souls are searching for, God has promised them. We hope that you will be a part of the redemption of all creation by trusting Christ as Lord and Savior, and that you will partner with us to bring many others into His eternal Kingdom in the new Heavens and Earth. |
Our Vision and Heart:
| We believe God has asked us to travel and speak even more and to share these things He has taught us and given us a passion about. |
We want to proactively teach the beauty of God’s design, how every part of the body is designed as male or female, and how that design displays the Gospel and our reflection of Him as image-bearers of God. Other teachings currently include:
and many more to come. Additionally, we long to provide resources for the church, schools, parents, teens, and those struggling with these desires. These resources will include:
We have already had the opportunity to speak at many churches, and our teachings have been well-received and have left the churches asking for more. We will continue to collaborate with other ministries as guests on their podcasts, speakers at their conferences, and to share resources. We also hope to teach our own conferences in the future. Please check our website https://edensredemption.org/ for information about our upcoming speaking engagements. |
Upcoming Events:
Typically, our speaking engagements are only scheduled 2-3 months out (with a few exceptions), so we believe there will be much more to come. We will keep an updated schedule on our website so you can pray for us and share events with those who live near that area.
- January 14: Stones Crossing Church – Greenwood, IN (Near Indianapolis)
- February 19: I am presenting a lecture at a Seminary in Georgia
- February 23-25: Love Well Conference – Columbus, NE
- March 8-10: Fervent Hearts Conference – Las Vegas, NV
- March 22: Warner University – Orlando, FL
- April 1-6: Answers in Genesis Women’s Conference @ the Ark Encounter
- April 28: Grace City Church – Leesburg, GA
- May 4: Victory Baptist Church – Lake Charles, LA
- June 7-9: Candlelight Fellowship Women’s Conference – Coeur d’Alene, ID
- October 19: Answers in Genesis Hispanic Conference @ the Ark Encounter
- October 24-31: Conference in Santiago, Chile
How Can You Be a Part of This Ministry:
We are still in the process of setting everything up legally. We will have a follow-up announcement coming soon with ways to donate. Eden’s Redemption will be a registered 501(c)(3), so for those who would like to contribute financial donations, they will be tax-deductible. Please email me at laura@edensredemption.org if you would like to be a financial partner.
We also plan in the future to have prayer partners who will receive updates on specific prayer needs. I will set aside specific times to join several of us together in prayer in a conference or zoom call. Please let me know if you would like to be a part of that with us.
More to Come!
We believe God has plans for this ministry that even we can’t see yet. So far, my book has been translated into Spanish and Dutch and might possibly soon be translated into German, Italian, and Chinese. We will also have the opportunity to minister in Chile this year. We are humbled to be just a tiny part of God reaching these people who are lost and don’t know who they are.
In addition, one of my biggest regrets over the past several years is that I have not communicated well with my supporters. God has reached thousands of people through my opportunities to speak and through the many phone and email conversations. I am committed in this new ministry to send out more regular updates. Please know that your prayers and support have reached far and wide.