Women Who Inspire: Meet Ministry Leader & Editor Carolyn Sutton

Meet my friend Carolyn. She is truly an inspiration to me as a writer and leader. She has endured many things in her life and come out the other side holding the hand of Jesus. She is a talented writer and editor as well as public speaking. She inspires me to work for the Lord. Let’s talk with her directly…

Cyndi Woods- Please introduce yourself and tell our readers a little history of you and your family.
Carolyn Sutton- My name is Carolyn Sutton. I am a wife, mother, grandmother, and breast cancer survivor who lives in the State of Alabama. Although technically a retired missionary to Africa, secondary teacher, and book and magazine editor for Christian publications, I still do freelance writing, editing, and public speaking from time to time. I also have a daily weekday radio segment, Staying Vertical, on WFMH, the Big 95.5 out of Hackleburg, Alabama. As of this writing, I am 76.

CW- Have You always wanted to be in ministry of some kind?
CS- Yes. As a five-year-old member of the Kindergarten class at my parents’ church, I found mission stories and gospel needs riveting. That’s when I “let Jesus know” I would be willing to be a missionary someday and tell little boys and girls far away about Jesus. God eventually fulfilled the desire of my heart by allowing me to be an ESL educator in central Africa for the better part of a decade.

CW- What is your earliest memory of church that had a big impact on you?
CS- Answered in the question above.

CW- Were you always involved in church activities?
CS- Yes. As an earliteen, I was beginning to master some playing skills from my piano lessons. The small church we attended always needed piano players for the children’s Bible study classes. I agreed to try accompanying their simple songs. Doing so not only helped develop more self-confidence but also made me feel I was filling a ministry need in our church. Eventually I played the organ for church worship services as well.

CW- Can you give us your journey story with Christ. Tell us when you began it and provide a brief testimony of what He has done in your life?
CS- I was baptized by immersion at the age of twelve because my educator father said it “was time.” I knew it was the right thing to do, but I didn’t truly fall in love with Jesus until I was in ninth grade. That year a guest youth pastor came to speak at our church for a week of youth meetings. Friday’s presentation was about how much God loves us and how much Jesus risked for us by coming to this earth to die in our place. Something clicked between my head knowledge and my heart. I confessed my sins as never before and experienced joy unbounded for the first time in my life.

CW- How has being in ministry impacted your own walk with Christ?
CS- Ministering for Jesus is a growing experience. You can’t truly share Him with someone else without having a living, daily experience with Him yourself.

CW- What is your favorite part of ministry? What has been the most challenging?
CS- My favorite part of ministry is meeting and working with a wide variety of people who are on fire for Jesus. My greatest challenges in ministry have involved working with people who are on fire for Jesus. After all, when “iron sharpeneth iron [Proverbs 27:17, KJV],” sometimes sparks fly, and we have the opportunity to pass on some of the grace and kindness God has bestowed upon us.

CW- Can you recall a time in your ministry or in your life when you knew God alone had made a provision?
CS- After twenty-three years of marriage, the relationship I thought had been rock solid suddenly disintegrated. I was devastated! As a single mother now, I took counsel of godly people and went forward with my life, claiming Isaiah 54:5—that God was truly my heavenly Husband and would never leave nor forsake me (Joshua 1:9; Hebrews 13:5). I resolved never to remarry and continued to teach. Out of nowhere, the principal of a rural school in Oregon offered me a teaching position. I would be leaving the position of a high school department chair in California for junior high teaching at this much smaller school. After I prayed for two weeks, God convicted me to take the job. (Some of my colleagues thought I was crazy.) Within one year, God crossed my path with a godly man. Two years later, we were married. That was almost twenty-four years ago. My husband Jim has been a huge support of my involvement in women’s ministries.

CW- What do you see as being some of the biggest challenges today for women in ministry?
CS- Finding personal balance and time for self-nurture—as we juggle ministry outside the home, yet still try to care for the emotional, spiritual, physical, and appointment needs of our family members.

CW- Where do you find your inspiration to keep going in ministry when you feel like there are roadblocks?
CS- I look both to the words and example of Jesus in the New Testament (John 14:6; 1 John 1:7) and of Nehemiah in the Old Testament (Nehemiah 8:10). One of my books, No More Broken Places (Review and Herald Publishing Association), shares the importance of waiting on, trusting in, and following God’s leading in our lives. I don’t think I would have ever found the courage to risk love again if it hadn’t been for principles I learned from my study of Nehemiah.

CW- What advice do you have for women who feel the call to ministry but aren’t sure what steps to take?
CS- Pray, pray, pray. Then wait, wait, wait on God’s timing and His ways. Faithfully do the tasks that lie nearest at hand until you know the next step. He never fails to lead if we are willing to follow (Isaiah 30:21).

CW- Can you share a little about your past and how it has brought you to where you are now?
CS- In addition to my unexpected divorce, my near-death bout with breast cancer was a defining event in my life, as shared in my book, Leaning on God’s Heart (When Nothing’s Left, You Still Have God). I lost both my parents around this time as well. Yet I have seen how God continues to stand behind His promise (Romans 8:28) to make all things—painful as well as the good—work together for our good. I have lived the reality of that old gospel hymn: “Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go.”

CW- What struggles do you currently face that you lean on God for?
CS- Like everyone else I am experiencing the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, social unrest in this country, and the uncertainty of the future. Yet God is sovereign and, in the end, will care for us forever in a more perfect land (Revelation 21:4).

CW- How have your past and current struggles cultivated your relationship with Jesus?
CS- Answered two questions ago.

CW- Do you have any other thoughts you’d like to share with us about ministry, your life, or anything else?
CS- Though the journey at this point in earth’s history is getting bumpier by the day, let’s keep our eyes, through faith, on Jesus and our hands in His powerful and loving grip! He will strengthen us in our work for Him never let us go!