Reverend Nettie Jorinda—or “Jo” to me—is a powerhouse internationally, supporting women through her words and deeds. I was amazed when she and I were connecting during her trip to Africa, how she went in there and took care of business with elegance and grace. She is a beautiful woman determined to make an impact on the world with her wisdom and caring heart.

Nettie Jo is a United Methodist pastor who formerly served in the military. She started Daughters of Deborah in Leadership Ministry, LLC, last year, but because she was an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer, she has started small with her ministry.

She describes her ministry’s goal as the ability to “… coach women and girls through projects to help them fulfill God’s plans for their lives and understand what an abundant life looks like. I was inspired by the Gospel of John 10:10, which says, ‘I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly.’ I plan on raising up armies of women and girls to recover God’s plans and help them live in abundance.”

She defines an abundant life depending on the person or group she is working with. As a life coach, she guides people through the process of defining and articulating the goals for their lives. Nettie Jo works with group members individually to help them understand their goals and help them see how their role relates to the goals of the group and also works with the entire group, facilitating the process of bringing the group goals to fruition. This way, they will learn how to set and achieve all their life goals.

She has taken several steps to solidify her ministry, both at home and abroad. She participated in the Women’s March this year in Washington, D.C. “to support the issues facing women today because they define what an abundant life looks like and feels like to women physically, spiritually, and emotionally.”

When I sat down with her, Nettie Jo and I discussed how happy I was that she stood with us that day. My entire family and I participated in the Pittsburgh Women’s March. She and I both agreed that was an important event for women and feminism globally.

Also in the states, she is holding the first Spiritual Retreat Immersion at Mt. Alvernia, a convent in Millvale, Pa., July 13–16, 2017, for women business owners and entrepreneurs and girls to have a respite that will refresh or renew them. Interested readers can visit her website www. bullittlifecoach.org for more information.

Also, Nettie Jo attends a women’s conference in South Africa annually. She just came back from her fifth one, and it has helped her expand her thoughts and progress with her ministry. She went to Ghana in December and January by herself to connect with women and girls who are working with women and children.

We had a great conversation about the parallels between the Daughters of Deborah that she spearheads and the Global Sisterhood that I lead. “They are very similar— while my armies of women and girls will recover God’s plans for their lives, yours is not only recovering, but also enhancing and partnering.” The Global Sisterhood collected and sent 350 pounds of books for the library last year. In Ghana, Nettie Jo worked to help the children get the books and to support our Global Sisterhood connection in beginning a daycare.

It is on Nettie Jo’s heart to help provide clean water, along with books, knowledge, and empowerment. Nettie Jo explained, “I worked with New Sun Rising in Millvale as part of AmeriCorps VISTA this year, so I learned about a cool project: someone developed ‘The Book,’ which is a book of paper that can filter water. Each little sheet of paper cleans gallons of water. Clean water, healthy food, and being safe are so valuable and vital.”

In our conversation, I told Nettie Jo about interviewing Aissata Camara and Mariama Camara of the There is No Limit Foundation on my television show, Inspiring Lives with Dr. Shellie. The sisters talked about the water coming out of the spigot. I felt squeamish on camera simply hearing them say, “There are worms in our water.” It was disturbing to me as an American—most of us grew up with good, clean water. You just turn on the tap.

“Yes, we take it for granted,” Nettie Jo said. “The first time I saw that level of poverty was in Honduras on a mission trip. Women and girls went out every day with buckets and whatever would hold water, looking for water. It was amazing. We shouldn’t have to live that way, so I knew I had to help.”

So for all of these huge issues abroad—books, water, etc.—Nettie Jo recommends that we “be proactive. We can partner, but we have to be informed. So we gather information in person—not from TV—and collaborate about what we can do.”

One major way we are already working toward helping the women and children of Africa is through partnerships like that between the Daughters of Deborah and the Global Sisterhood.

SOURCEPhoto: Ray Feather; Makeup: Kourtney Leech
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Dr. Shellie Hipsky is the CEO of Inspiring Lives International, the President of the non-profit 501(c)(3) the Global Sisterhood, and the Editor-In-Chief of Inspiring Lives Magazine. She was deemed “Inspirational Woman of the Month” in Inspirational Woman Magazine and a “Luminary Author” for Inspire Me Today. She earned "Woman of Achievement," “Entrepreneur of the Year in Inspiration and Empowerment,” and “VIP Woman of the Year” and was also a 2015 National Professional Woman’s Association’s “Woman of the Year” and the "2013 Best Business Woman in Pittsburgh” by the Women’s Small Business Association. A former professor of the Global Perspective at the Ph.D. Level for over a decade, she is a proven expert on what she teaches and keynotes events around the globe. Her internationally best-selling Common Threads trilogy provides Inspiration, Empowerment, and Balance based on 100 amazing interviews from her Empowering Women Radio. Dr. Shellie’s latest book, illustrated by her 10-year-old daughter Alyssa, is Hopping off on a Business Trip: the first in her The World is Ours series for children. She is currently writing her 12th book, Woo Hoo! Brand You! through Morgan James Publishing. Dr. Shellie continues to share quality time with her family while helping to inspire the world!