The Priceless Voice of Truth

 
By Ebonie Davis (Washington DC 2021) 

Jackie Thornton (Houston 2018) will never forget how her cohort challenged her to a new level of accountability when a participant said to her, “You talked about everything concerning your youth ministry but had very little to say about your family.”  

You talked about everything concerning your youth ministry but had very little to say about your family.

A decade before her DVULI experience, God gave Jackie a heavy burden to create a youth workshop. She had no experience to build upon, yet couldn’t escape the calling. “God told me, ‘The world has a lot to show our kids, but we need to show them that I have so much more for them,’” she recalls. For Jackie, this was personal. Growing up, she was bullied, often felt alone, and even contemplated suicide. She wanted to be there for kids with similar struggles and point them to the “Source” of hope.   

Jackie’s Central Texas Youth Gospel workshop would unite young people to worship with their peers and experience the joy of living for the Lord. In the first year, 150 kids registered. By the time Jackie joined DVULI, the workshop had grown to 400 annual attendees. The growth required Jackie to invest more time to ensure she had all the necessary resources.  

In addition to her workshop responsibilities and her full-time job at Texas A&M, she became the Youth Director at her church, another ministry that operated with scarce resources. The bulk of the ministry’s work—programming, developing curriculum, even driving the church van—was dependent on her. Any free moment was consumed with preparing for youth discipleship or the workshop. Everything else took a back seat. When Jackie inevitably became exhausted, her thoughts turned to the testimonies of teens who reached out each year to say what an impact her workshop had made on their lives. “I always thought about what else I could do for the kids,” she recalls.  

Jackie’s Breakthrough Plan was ministry-heavy, but the words of accountability from her cohort mates awakened her to a greater breakthrough calling—balance. “It wasn’t until they asked, ‘Where did your family come in, Jackie?’ that I realized I had a decision to make. I wanted to continue to do ministry, but I also needed to do ministry at home.”  

The 2019 DVULI reunion allowed Jackie to take a big step toward resetting her priorities. She invited her husband, Vincent, who had long struggled with a chronic illness, to join her. They decided to drive, knowing the extra time would require another level of trust on her part. If she wanted to achieve balance, Jackie would need to allow the principles of empowerment and interdependence to take root. “I felt like I had to always be the person leading the kids because I was so overprotective,” she explains. “I didn’t want anybody else to come in and undo what I’d already instilled in them. Now, I had to trust others to step in when I couldn’t be there.”   

I didn’t want anybody else to come in and undo what I’d already instilled in them. Now, I had to trust others to step in when I couldn’t be there.

The road trip was a much-needed marital reconnection. “We laughed, talked, watched movies, and just enjoyed one another.” Little did she know that it would be their last trip together. Two months later, Vincent was hospitalized in the ICU. Jackie’s father was hospitalized with COVID-19 shortly thereafter. Her newfound balance turned out to be a timely gift. “Let me tell you the beautiful thing about this,” she shares. “God allowed my husband and I to have that time. I had the accountability, the time, and the balance I needed to be with my husband.”   

The beautiful thing about this is God allowed my husband and I to have that time. I had the accountability, the time, and the balance I needed to be with my husband.   

Vincent had not been big on attending church, but they started praying and saying Psalm 23 together while in the hospital. When he recovered enough to be released, Vincent began to join Jackie on a daily prayer call that grew out of the workshop. “DVULI taught me how to use my resources. Often, people think resources are just money, but the resource I had at that time was the prayer line—everyone joining me to pray for the healing of my dad and my husband.” Eventually, Vincent started attending church with an oxygen tank in tow. Jackie could see God transforming and delivering her husband. He became so passionate about their prayer time that he didn’t dare miss a day! Reflecting on this time, Jackie believes God was moving through prayer and through her obedience to what she committed to do through her leadership training.  

God gave Jackie a few more months with Vincent before he went home to be with the Lord. She shares this story as her testimony. “If my cohort hadn’t held me accountable to balance my time with my family and ministry, would I have had the opportunity to minister to him? Would I have had the opportunity to watch God change my husband the way that He did? Would I have had those moments? Would he be in eternity? I have DVULI to thank for that.”   

If my cohort hadn’t held me accountable to balance my time with my family and ministry, would I have had the opportunity to minister to him? Would I have had the opportunity to watch God change my husband the way that He did? Would I have had those moments? Would he be in eternity? I have DVULI to thank for that.

In honor of Vincent, Jackie and her daughters started the S.T.A.C.K Foundation, which stands for Skills to Achieve Common Knowledge and was her departed husband’s nickname. It helps prepare young people for life after high school by “daring [them] to be different.” Even with this new vision, Jackie is committed to rebuilding on a foundation of healthy balance. She prioritizes taking care of herself and enjoying her family. God is preparing her to return to the workshop ministry soon, but not yet. Jackie recognizes she still needs His help to work through her grief before she can help anyone else. “I know that the work I’ve done in the past was not in vain,” she shares. “There is a time that you must rest to allow God to revive you. I’m at the reviving stage.”