25 Stories | Mollie Gaede

What ministry (or ministries) are you most involved with at Central?

I hope to join more ministries, but I am currently involved with the Welcome Team.

How did God show up in your life in the last 12 months?

Over the past year, God's presence in my life has been transformative. Both profound shelter and power. After losing Brad in May 2024, I could have easily questioned everything. Life felt hard and motionless. Yet, God met me in that devastating silence with an unshakeable certainty of His sovereignty. His presence wasn't just comfort in the darkest of storms; it was the very foundation that held when many things felt as though they were crumbling around me. Lots of saving.

What strikes me most is how God used that sacred space of brokenness to reveal depths of His character I wasn't awakened to before. In the quiet hours when sleep wouldn't come, He was there. In moments when I wondered how to move forward, He provided the strength to take the next breath, the next step. He transformed my understanding of what it means to trust Him completely because He is faithful.

The most remarkable thing is how He's refined my heart for service precisely through suffering. When I felt most empty, He filled me with compassion for others. When I questioned my purpose, He redirected me toward a calling I hadn't yet fully allowed myself to lean into; to be His hands and feet in ways that my comfortable life before had never required. He's teaching me that His strength isn't demonstrated in the absence of pain, but in how He carries us through it and uses it for His glory.

My faith in eternal life is visceral. If God can take the worst moment of my life and use it to draw me closer to Him, to deepen my trust, and to expand my heart for others, then I know with absolute certainty that He is who He says He is. The Great I Am has shown me that His love transcends death itself, and that truth changes everything about how I live each day He gives me.

How do you live differently knowing God is alive & active in your life?

There’s an elevation and a knowing I carry now that is more steadfast and sure than anything I’ve ever experienced. That knowing anchors me, shapes my priorities. I live with more purpose, more clarity, and a quieter confidence. I’ve learned to listen, to wait, to serve, and to stay available for what He wants to do through me.

How did you share the love of Jesus this year with someone who doesn't know Christ?

This past year, sharing the love of Jesus hasn’t been limited to one moment or one conversation. It’s been in how I live, how I speak, and how I show up in the spaces God has placed me. After losing Brad, my walk with Christ deepened in ways I couldn’t have imagined. That experience became a testimony I now share openly. It's not something polished, but something real and ongoing. I’ve had intentional, Spirit-led exchanges with people. In those moments, I’ve had the chance to talk about the source of my strength, the peace that surpasses my understanding, and the hope I now hold with certainty because of Jesus. I simply tell the truth about what He’s done in my life. How He rebuilt me in purpose and how He continues to carry me. My prayer is always that people don’t just hear about Jesus through me, but that they feel something different when they’re with me. Something that reflects His love. I’ve seen that even quiet faith can open hearts. And I’ve learned that sometimes the most powerful witness is living a life that makes people want to ask why.