Courtney VanSkike


Interim President, Outreach & Communications Coordinator
Contact Me At: (641)226-4602

How Life Empowered Began: MY TESTIMONY...

Several years ago my family went through a period of hardship. Our marriage & family life began when I was just 17 & had never been centered on Christ. After several moves &  military deployments our marriage was strained, raising our kids was overwhelming, & I was searching to fill gaping holes in my life in all the wrong places (career, college, partying). I felt depressed & everything seemed hopeless & out of control. Finally, I fell to my knees, cried out to God, & recommitted my life to Christ. It was an amazing relief to release control to the Lord. I didn’t know where He would take me, but Christ became my center. I committed to praying, studying His word, & simply answering obediently when He called. God began blessing our lives in more ways than I could have imagined, and, with Christ, those daily struggles weren’t nearly as big as they’d appeared. God had drastically improved our lives, and I yearned for every woman to know and have what I have through Christ.

My burden for women turned into God revealing His plan for a local women’s ministry called Life Empowered. My friend, Jennifer Crady, joined me in answering God’s call. We met with a group of women God laid on our hearts, which would become our first board and close friends. By August 2009, Life Empowered was incorporated as a
501(c) 3 non-profit organization.


A Little More: MY TESTIMONY...

When I devoted my life to Christ, God also renewed my focus on my husband and children. He called me away from my career, not just to Life Empowered, but to life as a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom. God began opening my mind to Him blessing our family with more children. Along came Jenson in June 2010. We are expecting our fourth child at the end of December 2011.

Being a full-time wife and mother is one of the most challenging jobs I've ever had! I am tested daily, and I often fail when I revert to doing things in my own strength. I also have the best training ground. God's helping me overcome a season of depression & anxiety, is walking me through a healing & forgiveness process over an unnecessary c-section I received to deliver my son, and is teaching me to trust Him even through financial struggle. I am reminded daily, sometimes through failure, that serving my husband and children is not about me.

I pray that my service to my family will glorify God's kingdom and that my inadequecies will not get in the way of God's plan. I also pray that I can continue to use my experiences and testimony of God's hand in my life as I serve women through Life Empowered.

Right now my focus in Life Empowered is on our new outreach programming. We are actively reviving women's hearts through discipleship studies, prayer, and special events (like our annual conference), but I hope to build programming that helps women find empowerment in their lives. This programming must bridge the spiritual to the real life stuff. Women need programming that help them see, seek, and follow Christ in every area of their lives (spiritual, emotional, physical, family life, relationships, household management, finances, and interests/gifts). Women also need Godly support when times or seasons of life are tough. This is exactly what God has called Life Empowered to do.