God Met Me in Boston [Interview]

God Met Me in Boston: Interview with Cherchaela Spellen

If you’re ministering in Boston, you’re probably familiar with the well-worn “godless New England” narrative. Academic reports and popular publications have cited Boston as one of America’s most “post-Christian” cities, reinforcing this image in the national consciousness.

But there’s another reality—of today’s Boston Christian vitality—that such reports do not capture.

We sat down with Cherchaela Spellen, Lead Facilitator of the Making Youth Voices Heard initiative in Roxbury.  She shares that despite being raised in a ministry family she didn’t personally connect with God until she moved to Boston. Here are excerpts from our conversation.

Tell me a little bit about yourself and what brought you to Boston?

I’m 21. I’m from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. I grew up there. I came to Boston through a student exchange. I did a semester at UMass Boston, for my undergrad in Biology. I went back home, graduated, and was like, “Hmm, I really like Boston!” So I decided to take a risk and apply to grad school in Boston.

Tell me a little bit about your spiritual background growing up.

My grandfather started a church called Zion Assembly in St. Thomas. Honestly, I was just going to church because I sort of had to, not really because I had a personal relationship or experienced God in some sort of magnificent way.

Then my grandmother fell sick with Alzheimer’s Disease, and my mother ended up taking over the ministry, which was mind-blowing! My mom had wanted nothing to do with preaching. She was like, “I’m NOT going to be a preacher!” But she ended up taking over the ministry.

But I feel as if I really started understanding God at a better level when I came here to Boston. Christianity was always my parents’ faith. When I came to Boston, I had the freedom to choose whether I wanted to keep a relationship with God, or I wanted to explore other things. Then the Lord just moved in my life magnificently.

“I feel as if I really started understanding God at a better level when I came here to Boston.”

I had done my undergrad in Biology, but I ended up switching to social work for grad school because I felt Him calling me to do that.  Also, I had met some really cool people at CrossTown Church International. I started volunteering there, just as an administrator, and then God was telling me to do more. So I did an open mic night for the youth in the Roxbury community.

What are some challenges you’ve experienced on this journey?

There were some relationships that I’ve had to let go of, and I believe that God brought me here to make it easier, because those relationships were back home. So it was a transition state for me. I just put my full attention on Him and I was like, “Lord, lead, me, direct me, wherever you want me to go, I’ll go.”

And honestly, when I accepted BC’s package to me, I was like, “Why am I going to BC? I’m not equipped to go to BC! I’m just this island girl! I don’t even know how to talk the lingo. I know nothing about social work.”

But He was like, Trust me. And I trusted Him. I still trust Him. I have a better relationship with Him now since I’ve been here. I feel like God is using this time to minister to me, telling me to focus on Him, and get to know Him better.

What would you say is your passion?

I hope it doesn’t sound too cliche. But I feel like my passion right now is to honestly win souls for Christ. I feel like that only started like January or February of this year.

I was just reading Scripture and praying, and I was like, “You have to show me some sort of direction, Lord! I feel as if I’m just going about my life, not knowing what I’m going to do. It has to be more than a career that you have me on this earth for.”  I just heard, evangelism.

“I just really want people to give their lives to Christ. It’s the best decision I ever, ever, ever made.”

My pastor preached that we have to choose whether we’re serving Christ or we’re going to serve someone else—we can’t have two masters.

I was thinking, “Lord, I think I’ve made fear my biggest idol. I’m so fearful of what people will think of me. I don’t want to go out and say, ‘Oh, do you know Jesus?’ I know You’ve done so much for my life. But I’m the type of person who wants people to love and accept me. Not everyone loves and accepts God. So how will they embrace me if I’m outside prophesying about You, Lord?”

But that message kept ringing in my head, “You can’t serve two masters.” I want other people to experience the same joy and contentment that I have, just developing my relationship with Him. So I was like, “Ok, Lord. If they don’t like me, then that’s fine.”

Now I’m being more keen to listen to Him and who He wants me to speak to. I just really want people to give their lives to Christ. It’s the best decision I ever, ever, ever made.

Hard Steps Toward the Light: Meet Bonnie Gatchell [Interview]

Hard Steps Towards the Light: Meet Rev. Bonnie Gatchell [Interview]

Welcome to EGC's Leader Profiles, where you can get to know the unique stories of Boston area Christian leaders. Our vision is for a surprisingly well-connected Christian community across cultural, generational, and denominational lines throughout the city.

Rev. Bonnie Gatchell is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and the Director of EGC’s Route One Ministry. Route One ministers to women exploited in the sex industry in Massachusetts.

Rev. Gatchell also raises awareness among Massachusetts churches about the realities and systems of sex trafficking, exploitation, and abuse, and where the Church can intervene. 

TEDx Wellesley

Interview

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your family.

My parents just celebrated 48 years of marriage. They live in Michigan, that’s where I grew up. My brother is my only sibling, and I’m the oldest. 

Tell me a little bit about your spiritual journey and relationship with Jesus now.

I think, “constant.”  I’m thankful, grateful, that He is constant with me. Constantly shows up, constantly forgives, constantly meets with me despite my own flawed-ness, my own wanting to be distant from Him, forgetting about Him.  So there’s this constant peace in me now of just being more honest about where I messed up the day before with Jesus. This is different than a couple years ago.

What’s a food you can’t live without?

I’ll give you two. M&Ms have always been my Achilles’ heel. Health-wise, anything avocado. I could eat it raw, I could just crack it open and sprinkle a little salt on it, make it into guacamole, mix it with some tomato, and make a salad. 

What’s your most treasured possession?

My grandmother’s journals. When I open them I read of events that happened before me, like commentary on family members and things, which is funny. Most of the people in the journals have passed away. The journals connect me to my family's past in a powerful way.

Tell me about your work in Route One Ministry.  What is your role in that?

I started the ministry. But my role now, 8 years later, is training the trainers and facilitating conversation around, What is trafficking? How are women in strip clubs trafficked? What is exploitation, what does that look like?  What would freedom look like for women who are currently working in strip clubs?

What would you say is your passion?

I think my passion is the Church. In particular, for women to have more of a voice within the Church, and more of a voice more often.

What would you say is your greatest joy in ministry?

When a light bulb comes on – and that may be in a church leader, or a volunteer, or a woman in the strip club.  It’s just this moment where you can almost watch the person’s face shift. Also, any time a woman in the club asks for any type of connection with us, like “Can you come to my daughter’s birthday party?” “Instead of you coming here, can we meet at my house for prayer?”  “Am I allowed to go to church and still work here?”

“He held me together and He whispered in my ear, “Not yet. Don’t give up yet.” And so we move on.”

What do you find challenging?

Helping the church understand that women who work in clubs are victims of exploitation—not perpetrators, not offenders—is challenging.  Getting the Church to come behind us financially can also be slow. I first have to get Christians to understand who strippers really are, and then to understand why we need their support.

What’s been the greatest lesson for you in this ministry so far?

I’m learning about longsuffering. There were so many points where I’ve wanted to throw in the towel. So many points where I thought, What are we doing again?  So many points where I thought, I’m not the right person to lead this team, or, I don’t have anything more in me to give. And yet, He held me together and He whispered in my ear, Not yet. Don’t give up yet. And so we move on. 

What’s your prayer for the people amongst who you work?

My prayer for women who are sexually exploited is that they would find healing.  I pray that they would not walk around with shame, or a jaded perspective of themselves, but that they would be able to take steps to a place of healing, self-confidence, a place of hope, light, fresh air.  

I also pray that women wouldn't suffer silently with the abuse that's happened to them, but that they’d be able to find safety—in the Church and Christian counselors—to start digging that up and handing it over to Christ.

“I pray that they would not walk around with shame, or a jaded perspective of themselves.”

My prayer for the Church would be for a shift in posture in how they understand and see women who are sexually abused and exploited and trafficked, and women experiencing domestic violence.  Sometimes we can be stingy with love, and stingy with forgiveness, and stingy with listening. But in Christ we have this endless bucket of resources. My prayer is that we draw on Christ better to bring people to healing and life.

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