Women Who Inspire: Rhonda Clemons
Having experienced much heartache and pain in her life, Rhonda Clemons, found herself clinging to Jesus and the hope of strength. That hope would be the foundation of a nonprofit organization in Tahlequah, OK that would grow to touch the lives of thousands of people. Zoe Institute was born from a hurting yet determined mother who wanted to help other women who felt the sting of heartache and pain. Christian Women Living Magazine would like you to meet Rhonda and read her story of determination and her ministry of helping women through the Zoe Institute.
Cyndi Kay: Will you please introduce yourself to our readers and give us a little background information?
Rhonda Clemons: When I’m asked to introduce myself and provide a little of my background, I just have to chuckle. There’s never been nothing little about my life, but I’ll try to answer your questions in nutshell form.
My name is Rhonda Clemons, I’m 57, and I grew up as a “Daddy’s Tomboy” on a farm/ranch in a little rural town called Warner, OK. My nickname was Petie and I rode horses, wrangled cows, fished, bailed hay, chopped wood, played basketball, and had a wonderful childhood. My Dad always told me that I could be anything in the world I wanted to be (back in the day little girls weren’t always so empowered as they are today). He told me I was smart, fast, and could outwork anyone and win at whatever I tried. I appreciate having that kind of encouragement because I definitely have needed to be strong in my life.
I was raised in a small Baptist church and was saved and baptized at age 6. I attended regularly and basically had fire insurance as people call it. I was on a mission to conquer the world, so I didn’t really slow down much to allow God to personally lead me.
I blew through high school playing basketball, had the lead as Cat Woman in our senior play, wanting to be a Doctor but got side-tracked by an opportunity to compete in academic competitions in Accounting my senior year. So, I grabbed that opportunity, won several college scholarships in Business, and went on to get my Masters in Business Administration (MBA) as fast as possible. I went on to teach college for a few years and then worked for Cherokee Nation as their Economic and Business Development Director for my first two jobs out of college.
Also, during the summer before my senior year in high school, I met who was then my boss – Michael Clemons. He was a professional, handsome, funny, 6’5”, and the absolute smartest man I had ever talked to. We had our first date on August 16th when my summer job ended and married that following June after I graduated high school. We went on to have 4 children together and a wonderful 17-year marriage with what looked like the perfect life: active in our church/community, two nice careers, beautiful kiddos, 2 vacations a year, the white picket fence and all what seemed like the perfect life.
Things took a turn in April 1997 when Mike came home from work and asked me to sit down on the couch because he had something important he wanted to talk about. He had just returned from a follow-up dentist appointment from a visit the week before. What I didn’t know was at the previous week’s visit, they had noticed a small white canker sore on the side of his tongue and done a biopsy. This week’s trip was to get the news that he shared with me that day on our couch, “Rhonda, I have cancer.” Mike was 43 years old and died after a horrific 11-month battle on March 6, 1998. Our youngest son, Noah Benjamin Clemons, was born on March 24, 1998 just a few weeks after his dad was laid to rest.
Thus, began my “real” journey with Christ…
CK: Can you give us a summary on your journey with Christ — from the time you accepted Christ, to how you started in ministry?
RC: The night my husband passed away, I fed my kids dinner, bathed them, and put them to bed with prayers that we would all be fine. I then curled up in a ball in the floor and began to cry out to God like never before. I knew that no matter how smart, fast, educated, or hard working I was that I could NOT do life as a young widowed single mom. I knew God was my only hope. That night, Jesus became more than just my savior. He became my LORD. From that day forth, my relationship with God has grown and grown and has taken me on a wild adventure following His direction and guidance.
CK: Tell us about Zoe Institute and how you became connected?
RC: God grew Zoe Institute inside if me by taking my heart-breaking experience as a young widowed mom and turning it into a beautiful ministry. After my husband passed, I was running my own consulting business doing grant writing for several organizations and God laid the idea of starting my own nonprofit and funding it with grants. With a few friend’s help, the name Zoe Institute was chosen, a board formed, and Zoe became an official 501 C3 nonprofit on May 6, 2004. Zoe is the Greek word for “Life”. God’s idea of life.
Since becoming a widow, God had grown such a heart for single moms inside of me. I had a life resume that most people did not have and still found the job of parenting children alone very overwhelming. I began to wonder how in the world do single moms make it if they have no education, no role modeling, a broken-down car, working for minimum wage or in an abusive relationship. So, God began to show me ways to help single mothers through Zoe. Since that time, Zoe has grown to include finding many ways to help hungry and hurting families in crisis.
I rented a store front in Tahlequah and opened the doors of Zoe in May 2004. My original goal was to serve 100 single moms by end of that first year. I wrote some press releases for the local paper and to my surprise, about 100 single moms showed up at my front door seemed like that next day. What a wild ride it has been! Zoe serves thousands of families per year through many programs with our biggest ones being the Hands of Grace Food Bank/Community Warehouse and the Tahlequah Day Center.
CK: Do you see Zoe Institute growing?
RC: Zoe Institute is a benevolence monster in Tahlequah. We work with the local Cherokee County Christian Ministerial Alliance as well as organizations throughout Northeastern Oklahoma. God has blessed Zoe with thousands of faithful volunteers, who without them, none of the large-scale programs we offer would happen. Zoe is also blessed with a small faithful crew of five employees who give 110% daily to see God’s will be done in our community.
My job as the founding executive director of Zoe is really simple. I just pray, listen, and type out grants and God provides and blesses our work daily. Yes, Zoe is growing and will continue. We have many other life-changing projects growing in our hearts for fruition soon I believe.
CK: What are some of the biggest challenges facing women today — and women ministries? What about challenges facing institutions such as Zoe?
RC: The biggest challenge I see women facing today is trying to find other things in life to complete them and give them significance. Because they do not realize how valuable they really are in God’s eyes, they allow people and circumstances into their families that cause them great pain and often a lifetime of abuse and neglect. Women need to find their true completion through a real-life day in and day out walk with Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Once a woman lets Jesus fill her empty places with His best, she can then, see herself as valuable and will not be looking for completion with useless and destructive people and habits. Women need to truly believe they are the child of the Most High King. That is a perspective changer for sure!
The second biggest challenge faced by women is the lack of good mentors in all areas of life. We need more strong women to realize their place in helping other women succeed. Instead of ignoring struggling women or participating in tearing down each other, we ladies need to band together with a no “lady” left behind philosophy. We need to make ourselves vulnerable and open to help those women around us that need a strong role model in their life. Get out of your comfort zone and get a little dirty. You’ll be a happier woman when you start giving out. We are meant to have rivers of living water flowing through us.
CK: How can someone support Zoe Institute?
RC: Come volunteer – we have a place for every talent. Checks, cash, and grants are always welcome too 😊
CK: Tell us about a time you had a measurable impact on someone through your personal ministry or through your organized ministry.
RC: God has used Zoe Institute to help so many hurting people and the life-change stories roll in often. It’s messy and exciting work and hard to pick just one story. I guess if I had to pick one I would say that Zoe was able to help an abused single mother with two small daughters (a two-year-old and a newborn) grow in Christ and self-confidence, get away from her abuser, complete a Master’s Degree, get a great job, become a homeowner, and is currently raising two strong teenage daughters successfully. We get to watch people who once stood in line for sandwiches at lunch through the Day Center now able to make sandwiches for others because they now have a job and home. We’ve seen a kid’s face light up when we helped them give their mom a present for Christmas. We have seen people healed of sickness because our secretary took the time to lay hands on them to pray. Our God is truly a miracle working God.
CK: How do you see ministry and churches changing after the pandemic is over and the gathering restrictions have been removed?
RC: Zoe isn’t backing down from the pandemic. We kept serving people through our ministries, in safe and responsible ways, throughout and will continue. Overnight, so many lost jobs and security and Zoe was able to fill the gaps many times during these past few months.
CK: What would you tell someone who was fearful of the future?
RC: Focus on the end game. If you have Jesus as your Lord and Savior, we win in the end – Heaven is our home.
CK: What inspires you?
RC: Believing that God will speak to me (from the smallest life detail to huge life-changing plans) and if I am faithful to listen and be obedient, then amazing things can evolve. It’s very inspirational to have ideas whispered in your heart and take those first steps forward and watch God work. God’s goodness, his unwavering ability to turn bad situations into good things, and his mercy inspire me too.
CK: How do unwind after a busy day?
RC: Taking a bubble bath and sitting in my backyard chair watching my tomato plants.
Best day ever: On vacation somewhere sunny and beautiful. Laying by the pool reading a great book with a good friend after a three-hour spa treatment. Then, planning which seafood restaurant is on the menu for tonight before we watch Thunder win a basketball game on TV and early to bed. Heaven on earth 😊
CK: Is there anything else you would like to say?
RC: I want to tell everyone to follow the dream that God has put in their heart. Just take that first step and God will start to move when you do. You are never too old or too young to put some hard work into what ministry God has placed in front of you.
After my second husband passed from cancer in 2016 and my youngest son flew off to college, I became an empty-nester. One day driving my son Noah to TU in Tulsa, I was asking him a million questions about his college experience and he told me… “Mom, your brain isn’t finished learning yet and I think you need to go back to school now that you have the time and get out of my college experience!” Well, I laughed really hard, but his words began to rattle my world.
I began to think of some of my dreams for Zoe Institute and one was to have a free clinic for our Day Center clients who basically use the Emergency Room as their primary care. I had always been interested in medicine from a young age so at the ripe old age of 55, I enrolled in and completed my Bachelor of Science in Nursing. I became an Oklahoma licensed RN in January 2020. I’m now working as a full-time nurse and am gaining the medical experience and connections I need to administer an eventual free clinic program at Zoe Institute.
A sad side note to this section: My sweet Noah Benjamin Clemons (who had battled cancer starting at age 14) died of a sudden cardiac arrest 17 months ago because of chemo side-effects on his heart. I’m forever grateful to have been his mom and know he is now safe and healthy waiting for me in heaven.
CK: Best piece of advice you’ve ever received.
RC: I have a few:
• A “No” in the grant writing field actually means, “just not right now”. Figure out a different way to turn that present day “no” into a future “yes”.
• Everyone gets to decide how happy they will be in life because everyone gets to decide how grateful they are willing to be.
• “How hard can it be?”
• God talented you to make an income. It’s all from Him and because of him so always give your first 10% and watch Him work financial magic on the rest of your finances.
• “Compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world” – Albert Einstein
• “Mom, your brain isn’t finished learning yet and I think you need to go back to school now that you have the time and get out of my college experience!” – Noah Clemons
CK: How do you see the world in general looking after the pandemic is over? What do you think our “new normal” will look like as a society?
RC: Covid has probably changed our world forever as we now know it. I love change and can’t wait to see what God has in store for Zoe Institute and me personally through the experience.
