Introducing: The Kerygma Garden Collective and Kerygma Garden Press

I’m excited to introduce the Kerygma Garden Collective coming this Fall! I will begin blogging, Bible study groups, and speaking engagements to nurture and grow your Christian faith. Watch for more information as we approach this new launch! This new logo will appear with these offerings so you can easily identify them and know that I’m the teacher-group leader behind them.

So, you will discover online groups with weekly study lessons, Seed Sheets (study notes), and challenges. I’m still working on these details for you. Watch for more information.

What’s the Story Behind the Kerygma Garden Collective?

When I was a new Christian several years ago, I dreamt about coming from a dark place that felt scary and dangerous into a beautiful brick-walled garden much like some European gardens. I couldn’t wait to go inside. It felt warm, welcoming, and safe. As I began to check out this amazing garden, I heard a booming, Charlton Heston movie voice, “Kerygma!” This voice startled me, and I woke up. I shared it with my husband, who had been a Christian since his teens. Even he didn’t know what Kergyma meant, so he looked it up: To Proclaim the Gospel. “It is related to the Greek verb κηρύσσω (kērússō), literally meaning ‘to cry or proclaim as a herald’ and being used in the sense of ‘to proclaim, announce, preach’—that Jesus died, rose, and is Lord—meant to evoke a personal response of faith, distinct from deeper teaching. The Kerygma is in the Nicene Creed. (Wikipedia)“Kerygmatic” is sometimes used to express the message of Jesus’ whole ministry, as^[3] “a proclamation addressed not to the theoretical reason, but to the hearer as a self.” This is distinguished from the didactic use of Scripture that seeks understanding in the light of what is taught.^[4] The meaning of the crucifixion is central to this concept. I didn’t give it much thought; I just wondered about it.

Several years later, I had another dream about this garden. This time, I noticed more details: a gushing white fountain, neatly kept flowers, plants, and bushes. As I walked further inside, I found a very large wooden cross on a stone pedestal, and it cast a shadow behind it. Intrigued, I walked around behind it, standing in the shadow, and looked up at it. I spread my arms wide, neatly fitting within the shadow of the cross. An incredible peace and joy filled me in that moment. Then I woke up. Even later, I heard the Lord say to me, “I want you to write.” This time, not in a dream, but just His quiet, distinct voice. I began following this call to ministry in the 1990’s, and to write in 2015.

Since then, I’ve answered the call to teach the Bible and write. From a Bible study insert in a Christian women’s magazine to teaching in churches and online, I’ve enjoyed opening up God’s Word with Christians of various Bible understandings.  I’m more of a discipler than an evangelist. It wasn’t until recently that I recognized these dreams as part of my call to ministry. Even as a Bible teacher, I regularly proclaim the Good News.

Since I’ve started writing Bible studies and devotions, I’ve decided to put these studies, devotions, books, and publications under my new publishing brand, Kerygma Garden Collective, with my publishing label, Kergyma Garden Press.

 The motto for Kergyma Garden Collective and Press: “Planting Truth. Cultivating Faith.”

Our mission: Everything we publish exists to make that message to proclaim the Gospel clear, faithful, and teachable through Bible studies, devotions, books, and publications.

I look forward to exploring the Bible with you! Feel free to email me at [email protected] with questions. Watch for updates!

1. New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2002
2.  Bultmann, Rudolf (1960). Jesus Christ and Mythology. London.
3. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 634- 635
4.  Schubert M. Ogden, The Understanding of Christian Faith, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2010, p. 74.