Celebrating 40 years in ministry, I had the pleasure to speak with Bishop Marva Mitchell of Revival Center Ministries and Founder of International Women Ministerial Alliance (IWMA) of Dayton in her home.
How can two walk together unless they agree?
An agreement was made between Mitchell and her late husband Pastor Willie Mitchell Sr. “Being an abandoned child, my husband and I made a vow that we would put our family first before ministry. My children were going to be my No. 1 goal in life. Being watchful of their Christian and secular education became a very important part of my goal,” Mitchell said.
The mother of seven adult children and 24 grandchildren, Mitchell shared:, “Preacher kids do not have to be the worst kids if you put your life into your kids before the church. I did not work while they were growing up. Now, I am tired and I do not have to work so hard. They are raising their own children and as a grandparent of 24 grandchildren, all are returnable, to their parents.”
Respect comes from relationships. “Rules without relationships breeds rebellion. In today’s world, many families, there are no relationships, and what we have is ‘top notch’ rebellion. Nobody put the children in check. If you don’t put time into your children’s lives, you may have to raise your grandchildren. There’s a point when you stop raising your children, but we are to never stop ‘relating’ with them. As a mother of adult children, I now share wisdom, instruction and experience,” Mitchell said.
The power of a praying mother
Mitchell prayed her children through crisis. “All my children witness me pray. I had to believe in what God said they would be and not in how they were acting. Their actions were temporary, and understanding this, I spoke out the call of God that was on their lives. One of my children was sick from over-drinking of alcohol. I laid hands on my son and began praying that “he was a man of God.” The best thing we can do is to return them back to God and stand on what his word said that never changes. Six of Mitchell’s children are now in ministry here at Revival Center.
“The greatest thing in motherhood is to be an example. The same mother in the church is the same mother in the home,” Mitchell said.
Happy Mothers’ Day!
More info: Revival Center International Ministries, www.rcmionline.cm
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