About Rochelle: Life, Family, God’s Word, Ministry, Love
A Snapshot of Rochelle’s History
Rochelle grew up in Detroit, Michigan; the youngest of four children of a master brick layer and pianist. She matriculated at the University of Detroit Mercy, where she earned a Bachelors of Science Degree in Business Administration, with an Accounting Major. She was also blessed to earn a Masters of Divinity Degree from Ashland Theological Seminary. She is preparing for PhD studies in Theology.
In April, 2009, Rochelle was stricken with and survived a ruptured brain aneurysm, and subsequently, four brain surgeries. This caused her to not be able to return to her job of seventeen years in the health insurance industry, where she received her initial leadership and training skills. In October, 2016, while Rochelle was having a routine outpatient hospital procedure, the enemy attacked her brain again with a mini stroke. But, God is merciful. He has blessed Rochelle to read and write in intervals. God has also taught Rochelle to pay attention to her body, recognize when her brain is strained, know when to rest, and to maintain healthy eating habits.
Rochelle is the mother of two sons, Justin and Melvin, (daughter, Tamika is deceased), three precious grandsons, Jordan, Million and Jackson and one granddaughter, Emelia.
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Rochelle’s Abbreviated Bio
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Matthew 28:18-20 KJV
Rochelle acknowledged her call to ministry in 1994. She started preaching and teaching in 1996, and received her Evangelist license in 2000. Rochelle serves in her local church, under the leadership of her Pastor, on the Ministry Administration Team, as Dean of Education, lead Ministerial Staff Instructor, and Overseer of multiple ministries. She also serves on the Women’s Committee under the leadership of her First Lady.
She has ministered In Sunday morning and evening Worship services, other Worship services, women's luncheons, empowerment sessions, and taught Bible Study classes. She has trained ministerial teams, evangelism teams, teachers and lay ministry leaders. She has facilitated team building and vision board workshops. She developed an empowerment series and ministered to women in shelters. She has served on conference planning teams for men and women in leadership, and has 20 years of experience in coordinating Women’s Leadership Conferences.
Rochelle writes ministerial lessons, witnessing tracts, and develops workshops, presentations, and conference agendas. She teaches homiletics and Old and New Testament classes to licensing and ordination candidates. She also consults preachers on homiletics, and ministry leaders in developing training curricula tailored for specific areas of kingdom work. She does developmental editing, and writes lessons and handouts and develops presentations for workshop, seminar, and conference speakers, etc. She writes on her blog: www.springingbeyondthesewalls.com.
Rochelle has a heart to help God’s people discover, give birth to, and walk in their purpose, and enhance their service in ministry. She lives to give God glory and to please God. She does this through living her life committed to God, striving to always obey God's Holy Word, prayerfully fulfilling assignments from God, and making Jesus Christ's disciples of all people groups.
Most importantly, Rochelle lives to hear the Lord tell her, “Well done thou good and faithful servant….enter into the joy of the Lord.” Praise God!
My Favorites
I love The God of Heaven! I love His Son, Jesus! I love being filled with, comforted, and guided by the Holy Spirit. After God; family is everything! I love my children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, cousins, and the rest of my huge family. I love my church family, and all God's people! I love learning; especially new revelations from God’s Word. I am thankful for my mom, who is deceased, for her role in igniting my love for God’s Word. When I was 7 years old, my mother often took me and my late sister, Angie to our great grandfather, Deacon Allen Wakefield’s (aka Papa’s) house on Saturdays to read the Bible. Reading God’s Word sparked curiosity in me to question the validity of what we learned in school about the theory of evolution. This ignited a hunger in me at an early age to study God’s Word, and learn about Jesus Christ and Christianity.
I love studying God’s Word, researching the culture of the days when the Scriptures were written, and making hermeneutical bridges of how Scriptures apply to today. I love teaching the Bible, teaching leaders and potential leaders, having Theological discussions, and winning souls to Christ. Praise God!
I love reading self-help books and theological articles, listening to great preaching and educational discussions, and sharing with others to help empower them in their ministries. I also love learning new words.
I love, love, love spending time with my sons, my precious grandchildren and others in my family. I love teaching my grandsons how to play the piano. I love listening to, and playing classical music. That’s another thing attributed to my mom. She saw me and my sister's natural abilities to play the piano. She hired a music teacher to come to our home once a week to give us piano lessons. That is how my sister and I learned how to read music, and how we acquired a fondness in playing Beethoven and Bach.
I also enjoy listening to the melodic sound of various birds chirping during the early morning hours.
My favorite colors are blue (all shades of blue), and gold. My favorite dish is Cornish hens and wild rice. Roses and tulips are my favorite flowers. I also love watching and laughing at clean comedy.
I live in Michigan; and appreciate the multiple seasons. The changing weather contributes to this being a nice place to live. Also, there is the Detroit River at Belle Isle. I love sitting by the river during the Spring and Summer months, reading the Word of God, praying, and writing. Watching and listening to the water’s waves as they flow invokes thought.