The Vine Article

Assistant Pastor Yvonne Brooks could not have anticipated she would one day help lead a flock of over 200 members when she and her husband, Bishop Melvin Brooks began to pastor at New Jerusalem Apostolic Church in Birmingham. By Natalie Reeves.

Back then they only had eight members, back then was 1981, but God knew the end from the beginning and placed them there strategically for such a time as this. “I didn’t know anything about purpose at that point,” she says reminiscing on her youth. “I didn’t even know that God cared for me as an individual or that there was any importance attached to my life. It was all go to church, pay my tithes then die and go to heaven.”

At New Jerusalem however, emphasis is placed on new beginnings, conjuring up connotations of resurrection, rebirth and renewal, so Yvonne’s challenging but successful career choice as a mental health nurse and counsellor prepared her to minister to those who would walk through the church doors.

“We embrace people with love and acceptance regardless of their backgrounds and the mistakes they have made,” she says. “We’ve discovered that’s the only thing that can make people change, so we’ve deliberately created an environment where people don’t have to feel condemned and guilty regardless of what’s happened in the past.” Coincidence I think not, providence I think so, embodying the spirit of Jesus Christ when he said, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

With her welcoming personal and upbeat personality prone to regular outbursts of laughter, dressed almost always in bright colours, but able to adapt when the occasion calls for serious reverence and professionalism, she is in the unique position to offer guidance especially to women, for whom she has a strong passion.

Regarding the issues faced by the young women in today’s society Yvonne says, “I find that even those who have grown up in the church are losing focus in that now they’re only looking for a relationship to give them some kind of validation, it’s almost as though if they haven’t got a boyfriend, then they don’t feel valuable, they feel they’re not fulfilled.”

It follows that she comes across many young women who need prayers of deliverance with histories of abortion and numerous sexual partners harbouring feelings of unworthiness and low self-esteem. “We have had to make a shift to address the personal needs of women,” noting that it is essential they are taught to love themselves instead of depending on someone else for validation. As a pastor, Yvonne is all too aware of how easy it is to fall victim to the validation of others but has learnt not to harbour feelings of hurt by choosing to maintain a soft heart.

Her insightfulness, personal experience and work with women extend far beyond the work she undertakes in her pastoral role on a daily basis. More than ten years ago, God impressed on her a vision to establish a body that assisted women in their pursuit of purpose. Over the years this has taken on the form of banquets, conferences, workshops and seminars, prayer retreats and other events and now, this body, Women of Purpose Ministries, form the basis of the women’s ministry at New Jerusalem.

This ministry has and continues to have a global impact, transforming the lives of women everywhere and in doing so offers to the women of today some of the answers Yvonne never received growing up in the church.

Her husband of over 30 years is a great supporter of the work she does in this area and together they have found that their call to pastor the church requires full-time commitment and they haven’t looked back since.