Rev. Lenore A. Artis: Understanding the Dark Blessings
http://www.laartisministries.org
Written by Kimberly Smith, Sr. Staff Editor
Have you ever dared to reach for the vision resulting from your personal hopes and dreams only to find that as you walk by faith an insurmountable mountain seems to stand right in your way? While doing all that you know to do, have you encountered some dark moments, days or seasons that just didn't seem to be fair? Well, you are not alone. While doing great exploits for the Kingdom of God, undoubtedly we all will endure some difficult and challenging situations in our lives. However, some feats are necessary in order for us to overcome as triumphant vessels of God's grace.
Preachingwoman.com had the exceptional opportunity to speak with a humble, committed, and sober woman of God, Reverend Lenore A. Artis of L.A. Artis Ministries, Inc. As one who can certainly attest to knowing how to walk in the Light, while in the midst of a dark trial, she graciously accepted our invitation to be featured on our website and share how you too can see the greater illumination of light in the midst of a dark storm or trial. Through her wisdom and uncanny insight, you will find that surely, while you are in your midnight hour, your season, time, or unveiling may be predestined within a "dark blessing."
Like the prophet Samuel when he was a child, L.A. Artis was in the temple at a young age. By age eight, she accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. Reverend Artis grew up in a strong Christian home along with her three siblings and developed an unbreakable bond with the Lord as a young girl. By fifteen, Lenore boldly responded to the call of ministry with an attentive ear and yielded will saying, "Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth Thee." It is with this early foundation and steadfast posture, Rev. Lenore A. Artis is preaching and exemplifying a life that God uses to advance the Kingdom of God.
Rev. Artis walks the walk that reinforces the talk. This messenger of the Lord believes in preaching the Word emphasizing the tenets of faith, righteousness and holiness. Although she is firmly committed to her local assembly, Union Gospel Tabernacle, United Holy Church of America in Newark, New Jersey where she is a licensed minister in good standing, intercessor and altar worker, she and her husband, Michael Artis, of whom she loves and is undeniably loyal, manage to maintain a growing and successful ministry. L.A. Artis Ministries, Inc. was formed in 2002 and is an evangelistic, deliverance and counseling ministry to reach people of all nations, with a specific call to women and youth.
Rev. Artis has a prolific anointing, relevant Word and burning passion for young people and the souls of this generation. She formed a dynamic ministry, Cross Training Youth Ministries, to mentor and mobilize young people for the work of the Kingdom.
PreachingWoman.com asked Elder Artis to expound on her passion for young people.
"They are my passion because they [are] Christ's passion. When Christ invented evangelism, He asked Peter if he [Peter] loved Him. Peter said yes and Jesus told him, well if you love me feed my Lambs. The Lambs were His priority and they should be the priority of the church and of every preacher. Many preachers feel that youth ministry is beneath them. But, any service where the Lambs are praising and worshipping God is the most powerful of all worship services…Our breakthrough, deliverance and healing is in the mouth of the Lambs. That's why I love youth ministry with every fiber of my being!"
Reverend Artis' heart is full when it comes to the youth, but certainly has so much room for more. God uses her mightily as she conducts revivals, conferences, seminars and retreats ministering to all people with a burden for the "unchurched". Rev. Artis ministers powerful messages of salvation, healing and deliverance provoking lives to be transformed for the glory of God. Because of the world's cry for the Truth and the answer in Jesus, her ministry is attracting an international audience. Rev. Artis' preaching style is one that is simplistic enough for anyone to comprehend, yet laced with intellectually compelling commentary, full of parabolic teaching with practical and contemporary insights and applications addressing the challenges that many face in this present world.
Reverend Artis' journey in the preaching ministry has not always been an easy one. Preachingwoman.com asked Rev. Artis whether the "female" factor caused her to see a different path in ministry than she otherwise would have.
"…I have only and will only look through eyes that are female. I believe that I have had to face tests, ugly things, hardships, struggles and trials because I am a woman preacher, but I also believe that the adversities I have faced have made me love, honor, respect, revere and protect God's choice of me at all costs." Additionally, Rev. Artis added, "women face satanic attacks that are masked as sexism but, I also believe that this is also the very thing that makes us powerful beyond defeat."
Like many women preachers, Reverend Artis recognizes that the road to the pulpit has not been always an easy one, in many respects, because she is a woman. However, she is careful to provide some remarkable considerations that make the perseverance worth it all for women preachers; She hasn't just been bruised, she's also been crushed. And, there is no anointing without crushing! Rev. Artis further disclosed some positive and powerful insights for preaching women regarding how women in ministry could be more effective.
- "Women in ministry need to know that we can be feminine and yet ferocious. The Word of God says that Jael approached Sisera softly but even with her soft approach, by the time she left Sisera's presence [an enemy of the Lord] his head was nailed to the ground.
- Women do not have to forsake their femininity to be fierce or feared by the Devil. If we would walk in purity, sincerity, authority, anointing and integrity we can't help but be effective and have good success. People remember 20% of what they hear but 80% of what they see. So if women would preach the Gospel and dare to be living epistles and examples of the powerful messages they preach, the people that they minister to and walk before would have a 100% retention of the Word that was birthed in the Woman Warrior's heart, mind, soul and spirit!
- Lastly, to be effective you must know your God, be a serious student of the Word, be led by the Spirit of God and preach until Agrippa is fully persuaded to become a Christian."
And so this living epistle does...Rev. Artis preaches until people are converted and lives are changed. Like many preachers, she preaches in the midst of her own sufferings. She has learned to see the blessing in the dark. In her first book entitled, "Dark Blessing," she candidly shares personal experiences and God inspired revelations. Rev. Artis unravels the mystery of truly knowing the God of the plains, the mountains and the valleys, and the midnight revealed through fellowship and sufferings we all experience.
PreachingWoman.com asked Rev. Artis to share with us a personal dark blessing.
" I desired above all things to have children, [but] having children was a life-threatening struggle for me. I was finally blessed to have them only to have them turn out to be sick children who have had to fight daily for existence and survival. But...the light of God shines clearest in the darkest of times. When light joins other lights, the change isn't as dramatic. But, when it is dark and a light comes on, you turn towards that light. ...Because things are often hard for me, I am always turned toward the Light. Hardships ensure that God's light keeps my full and undivided attention,"
With the growing ministry, Reverend Artis praises God and cares for the children God has given her and Michael. She is mindful that their children are the first "charter members" and the people who will be the most influenced by her ministry. Accordingly, L.A. Artis Ministries, Inc. is the parent ministry to Lamb Speak, a charitable foundation in its infancy which provides education, therapy and treatment to children struggling to acquire speech, language and communication skills. Rev. Artis established this work that is dear to her heart as a mother who can identify with the need for such services.
It is through the dark times that Elder Artis has seen the blessings that are released in the dark and the miraculous change that happens in the midnight of life. She encourages all those whose strongest desires seem to have "flopped;" ministries seem to be taking longer to manifest than anticipated; natural children have not survived; or, have children that may be incarcerated; to know that God is releasing a blessing in your life right in the dark. Somewhere, somehow, you are becoming a better you, equipped to see the Light in a more meaningful way, because you will know the God of the midnight and can still praise Him in the dark. Continue to till the ground, it will bring forth.
Rev. Artis says inspite of all she has been through, she is well-balanced and happy. She is honored to serve in the Kingdom of God and has encountered "a glimpse of heaven" in doing so. Whether in her hometown, the urban city of Newark, New Jersey, or abroad in Europe, Rev. Artis lives her life praising the Only True and Living God one day at a time with the evidence of knowing that Jesus is truly the Light of the world and will always cause us to experience the power, joy, and blessings released because of the dark times in our lives.
