Three Sisters, One Mission

Mary Beth Sallee

Reporter, Hart Co. News-Herald

 

Across Hart and Barren Counties live three women from different communities. They vary in age, background, occupation, and seasons of life.

But despite any differences, these women share a common goal: to spread the good news of Jesus.

Three Sisters in Christ on a Mission is a non-profit religious ministry that was established in 2017 and uses in-person and Facebook platforms to share the Gospel. The group came to fruition beginning with Jennifer Briggs, a family nurse practitioner from Cave City.

“Three Sisters came to me in a dream,” Jennifer explained. “During this time, I was having a lot of dreams and visions from the Lord. I saw me hosting a show where we talked about Jesus and helped people to understand they did not have to be perfect to follow Jesus and that He alone could help them to navigate through all of life’s troubles. I prayed about this dream for a long time.”

After much praying for guidance, God delivered the names of who Jennifer’s fellow sisters would be.

“The first sister was longtime friend Janice Hall,” Jennifer said. “She and I were ER nurses that developed a friendship in the late 90s. We reunited in our profession when she came to work with me in Munfordville. She was on fire for the Lord and really was instrumental in witnessing to me about Jesus. She made loving God look so fun and what the ‘in crowd’ would do. I wanted it for myself. In just a short time of being around her, I got saved. I called and asked her and after she, too, prayed, she accepted the challenge.”

Next, Jennifer said God spoke to her about sister Deborah Bradley, a retired seamstress from Munfordville, who was again another influential person in her life.

“I saw her (Deborah) everywhere I went, and her joy rubbed off on me,” Jennifer said. “She started as my patient and then became my friend and now sister. I remember calling her on my way to work and said we needed to talk. I pulled in the parking lot at work and told her my dream and my vision and God’s calling of her. She said, ‘Wait. I am in town. I’m coming over.’ She walked to me, and she said, ‘Nurse Briggs, are you sure God told you that?’ I think maybe she even said, ‘Are you sure you got the right Deborah?’ I remember telling her it was her, and she told me she just didn’t know about this, and I remember telling her she needed to take it to God. We both laughed and then soon hugged. See, she knew I had dreamed this because I dreamed I would sing Delta Dawn at her funeral. Those that know her know she loves this song. For me and the two ladies, it had to come to pass. It was spoken by the Master.”

Deborah and Jennifer have known one another for about 15 years.

“She is a very special friend and sister,” Deborah said of Jennifer. “She had prayed for me so many times in her office. My family tells me all the time that I am blessed to have her in my life, and I know that for sure!”

A couple of years later, just prior to the pandemic, Janice felt the Lord pulling her in a different direction. As a result, she resigned from Three Sisters, and God opened up a door for her to minister to those within hospice care and her church.

Nevertheless, Jennifer and Deborah continued onward.

“We had guest speakers (with us on Three Sisters), and we said that we were gonna pray for God to send us someone, and we were not going to go looking for anyone,” Jennifer said. “We knew God knew what we needed better than we did. It wasn’t much longer after we decided to wait upon the Lord (Isaiah 40:31) that he brought us Candice.”

Candice Bailey, a stay-at-home mom from Horse Cave, began watching videos of the original Three Sisters in 2020 and immediately felt connected to them. Around April of 2020, Jennifer had shared during one of the live videos that Three Sisters was looking for a new third sister to join them.

“As I was watching that live, God came to me and said, ‘It’s you. You’re the third sister,’” Candice said. “I ignored God’s calling at first and thought, ‘No, it’s not me. I’m too shy to get in front of a camera, and I’m not worthy enough.’ God continued to work on me for the next few days until I finally said, ‘Okay, God, if this is what you want me to do, then I will do it.’”

Candice then reached out to Jennifer and Deborah. She explained that, although they didn’t know her well, she felt like God was pulling her to Three Sisters.

Both Jennifer and Deborah prayed and knew that Candace had to be the one to become the newest member of Three Sisters.

“Sister Candice came to us right on time,” Deborah said. “God gave us Candice Bailey for a reason. She a very special young lady! She brings so much to the Three Sisters.”

Candice added, “I’m glad I listened to God’s calling because I’m blessed to be a part of this amazing group.”

Before the pandemic, Three Sisters met two to four times a month for a live one-hour ministry that would be streamed on Facebook. That has since evolved in a variety of ways.

“Over the years, we have had churches come to our homes where we stream live to sing and worship,” Jennifer said. “We have had guest speakers talk about how God had delivered them from illness and situations. We have visited churches and had both Facebook live and in-person/off-camera meetings…Connecting through social media helps us to spread the gospel to so many more people than we would have been able to before. I feel like in some ways, we were pioneers in the concept of streaming messages.”

The Three Sisters group discusses many different topics as well, including real life issues and how God would approach a situation.

“We talk about hard things like lost family members, prodigal children, divorce, loving one another, serving others, forgiving others, death of family, surviving illnesses, battling current illness, etc.,” Jennifer said. “…Personally, Three Sisters is a way of connecting to other Christian women and connecting us with people that follow Christ. We can share our praise reports and our sufferings. We can pray together and grow together. Sometimes the Christian walk seems so alone and often we feel like failures. Three Sisters shows us we all feel those same emotions at some point in our walk.”

“We have not only helped others to heal and grow in the Lord, but I believe the three of us have grown in our own faith,” Jennifer continued. “…Being accountable to deliver a message and scriptures makes all three of us accountable and motivates us to study more.”

For these Three Sisters, they all shared that it is a blessing to not only share Christ with others, but to also have the friendship found in one another.

“I am honored to be a part of Three Sisters with Jennifer and Deborah,” Candice said. “I’m blessed to have two Godly women in my life who I know I can always turn to. You can see God through the both of them, and they both have giving and caring hearts. They are not only my role models but role models to our community.”

All Three Sisters said they are able to continue on in this group not only because of God’s direction for them, but also because of the support they have for one another and from their husbands.

“I am so thankful God gave us the gifts of salvation and sisterhood. I am especially thankful to my sisters Deborah and Candice for walking with me,” Jennifer said. “To George Briggs our media man, thank you for setting this up every time we get together. And to Brother Glen Bradley, thank you for your live prayers and your commentary during lives. And Adam Bailey, thank you for watching Braxton so Candice can be there with us every live. We could not do this without our supportive spouses. They really are the MVPs of our mission.”

As life continues on and the world is ever-changing, the mission of Three Sisters has been and will continue to be the same: to help others with their daily walk with Christ and to share the need of Jesus to those that have not surrendered to Him.

“Our community is suffering. The world is ever changing,” Jennifer said. “Romans 12:2 tells us to not conform to the world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. It is very easy to conform and follow the world leaders. And I am not talking political leaders but anyone who has a platform of notoriety and a loud voice. Three Sisters strives to be a voice for Christ. We want Jesus’ name to be shared in our community and abroad through friends and family. Three Sisters is grounded in scriptures and a point of reference for someone hungry for the truth and peace from the world.”

“We really need to reach people that don’t know who Christ is,” Deborah added. “We are true believers of Christ, and we want everyone to be saved!”

“The world we live in today is filled with sin and hate, and I believe it’s important for our community to know that God is still in control and is a loving and forgiving God,” Candice said. “It’s important that we remember how God wants us to live and not how the world wants us to live.”

Three Sisters in Christ on a Mission welcomes everyone to follow the group’s Facebook page. The live streams and event venues are advertised in advance on the group’s Facebook page and also shared on social media. Additionally, Three Sisters also enjoys working with others in-person and love to speak at churches, other women’s Bible study groups, and conferences.

“I would like everyone to know that anyone is welcome to watch Three Sisters in Christ on a Mission,” Candice said. “It doesn’t matter what your past looks like or what your current situation is. God still loves you, and he wants you to lean on Him.”