Lady Vernesta

loves Jesus and her walk with him.  Every day she lives to please him and lead by example of what the love of Jesus looks like.

Besides her love for Jesus, her greatest joy is being wife to Bishop James, C. Austin Sr., and mom to her four children – James Jr. (Yashika), Dorcas, Prisca, and Marcus – and two grandchildren, James Curtis Austin, III (affectionately called “Hudson”) and Violet Dolores Austin.

Before being called to ministry, she received a Master’s degree at Northern Illinois in Education.  She taught grammar school for more than 7 years. After she began to serve alongside her husband at St. Luke Church of God in Christ on the Near North side of Chicago, she continued to minister and teach God’s word to children and adults alike.  She has a passion for those struggling with addiction and started a ministry called Bondage to Freedom, where she continues to serve, helping people on their journey to complete wellness and wholeness through Jesus’ power and love.

It is very important to her that members and guests of St. Luke Church know and understand that, “Everyone is accepted here and expected not only to hear the Word of God but to embody it! You are expected to BECOME all that God has called you to be. You are expected to GROW spiritually, intellectually, socially, in good health, economically and emotionally.”  It is her sincere desire to see people transformed from inside out through a relationship with Jesus.  She believes, one by one we can ignite great change and transformation in the present world.

Lady Vernesta loves to minister to women because she believes that women are God’s brainchild and design.  They possess beauty, sensitivity, and intelligence and experience God in ways unknown to men.  She understands that God marvelously equipped women to see and sense his awesomeness through our own unique experiences.

It is her pleasure to work alongside her husband in ministry. It is her and her husband’s desire and commitment to lead people to a place of wholeness and wellness by creating opportunities for them to be changed, moved, and inspired.  She lifts people up in prayer every day that they will be charged with the Holy Spirit, prepared to face every tomorrow, and strengthened in every difficult hour.  It is her desire for people to remember that they are stronger than they feel, more blessed than they think, and more powerful than they will ever know.

When Lady Vernesta has downtime, you will find her reading health and wellness books, exercising, traveling, and spending as much time as she can with her family.