As a young child, Helen Cummings Henry was left in her native country of Trinidad to care for her dying father while her mother lived and worked in the USA to provide a better life for the family. It was not easy for her as a child to watch her father die, but his illness and death would birth in her a passion for helping hurting women. With a father figure missing from her life, Helen would initially go astray, but the realisation that she had a heavenly father would get her back on track, help her discover her purpose and reach out to help other women. She sincerely desires that women would get out of their comfort zone to seek what God has called them to do and become the women that He has created them to be. She is transforming lives and changing the world, one hurting woman at a time. As you read her story be inspired to transform lives and change your world.
Helen, please tell us a little about yourself; where did you grow up, what are some of your fondest memories as a child, and what childhood experiences shaped you?
I was born in Trinidad; it’s a small island in the Caribbean, West Indies. As a child growing up in Belmont, that’s the city where I grew up; I remember playing in the rain and bathing in the rain and picking mangoes from the mango trees. And I recall taking care of my father when he was sick, I believe God had put me in that position to help my father by doing the household chores that were needed, and I was there to help him.
It looks like you took on some pretty severe responsibilities even from a child.
Yes, I did. It was very hard for me to see him die. I watched him dying, and it was very hard to see that.
You lost your dad when you were just a child; please tell us about that experience and how his death changed the course of your life, if at all.
Okay, when my father took sick, I was very responsible for helping him in many tasks that he needed to be done around the house. I was glad to be there to help him. As I said, I watched him in his dying stages. It was not an easy sight to see my father dying, and at that time, my mum was in the USA, making a better life for the family. So, after his death, my mum brought me to the USA to have a better life.
Helen, you’re currently an ordained minister of the gospel. Please share with us the journey to your ordination and as a young child did you see this happening?
As an ordained minister, I did not see it as a young child, but I felt the Lord’s presence with me. After the death of my earthly father, I began to develop worldly habits and fleshy ways. I did things my way and paid the consequences for it. Then, my girlfriend, who was a minister, she taught me the word of God, and that changed my life. She told me I had a heavenly father, and I became a Christian believer. My struggle with everyday life led me to want to know Jesus. I got saved, water baptised, and I joined the church. I did not understand the Bible; over time, I began to understand and became hungry for Jesus. Through classes and my marriage to my husband Arthur, I have learned how to make the word of God my food for each day.
So, what was it like discovering your purpose? What is your life like as a pastor, and what was it like before you became a pastor?
Okay, my life is blessed beyond measure. It is fulfilling; I love the Lord with all my heart. Before I became a pastor, I was searching, trying to live a better life. There were times I fell, but God picked me back up. My Christian walk now is much stronger with the help of the word of God because every day I apply the word into my life, so God can give me the strength to do what He has me here to do.
What experiences do you think prepared you for this line of work?
The experiences that I had with my dad in helping him in the house and seeing before he died that whatever he needed I could be of assistance for him because my mum was making a better life for us in the USA at the time. As of now, I feel that these experiences that the Lord had given me when I was helping my father are the same experience I have here helping the sisters in Christ to have a better life with Jesus. And what I mean is that I can help the hurting; there are a lot of hurting men and women out there who are seeking something, and I can show them what they are seeking is the Lord Jesus Christ. And I’m here to bring them up in the word.
What do you find most fulfilling about this line of work?
Working alongside my husband. You know, iron sharpens iron. When I married my husband, he was already a minister, so he helped me a lot in my Bible study, and I grew stronger in the word, and I grew till God showed me in His word certain things that I did not know myself. He gave me revelation knowledge, to know the things that I need to know so that I can see what is out there. He gave me discernment of spirit to know what is right and what is wrong. So, my marriage to my husband helped me a lot in my walk with Christ.
What are some of the challenges that are associated with pastoring generally and what is particularly challenging for you?
What is challenging for me is ministering to people, trying to meet their needs. You know in ministry we are not supposed to minister to everyone because everyone is not your assignment. Not everyone is your assignment. Being patient and waiting on God is important, and hearing from Him directly. Because we take on so many responsibilities in ministry and God is telling you that you need to do this when you are doing something else. We have to know our calling; we have to do what is required. The gift that God gave us, we have to use it, and sometimes we try to do things that are not our calling. So, we have to stay in our calling.
Let’s talk about Women on the R.U.N for Jesus; this is a Bible study group that meets monthly. When and how did you begin this? What was the motivation for starting this women’s group?
This is all God because Women on the R.U.N for Jesus started in 2012 and while I was sleeping one night, the Lord awakened my spirit, He said, I want you to invite a few women to your house and start a Bible study. And in 2012, the Women on the R.U.N for Jesus started, my book was published in 2013. So, I stepped out in faith in March 2012, and I called a few women who I knew that was hungry for Jesus, and they said yes. Two came to my house, and that’s how it started. And after that, more women started coming to my house for this Bible study. The Bible says where two or three are gathered, Jesus will be there, and He was there in our presence, and this Bible study is all over the place now. People in churches are using Women on the R.U.N for Jesus for their Bible studies, women are using it for their groups, it’s international, and it’s growing wider.
What is unique, or special about Women on the R.U.N? Because there are other Bible study groups and programmes. What has caused it to experience this exponential growth?
What caused this to happen is the purpose. The vision of the Women on the R.U.N is the minister to the total woman spirit, soul, and body. And we gather women from different ethnic backgrounds and Christian denominations. The purpose is to open the door of communication through fellowship, and that’s what we did in our home. We opened the doors of communication towards the women who were hurting, who were looking for something, and we provided the tools that were necessary for them to become the women that God has called them to be. So, the purpose is for the women to get out of their comfort zone and to seek what God has called them to do. Because they are hurting, they felt like they were alone. But they were never alone because we gave them the tools to become, which is Christ, to be closer to Christ. So, for the question you ask me, I think it’s the tools we gave them to become the woman and man – because men are also using it. So, it is not only for women; men are also in this group.
Do you find that a lot of women are hurting and looking for healing? From your experience, do you find that this is the case?
Yes, yes. That is definitely the case because some of them come from homes that are hurting. Some of them came from shelters that we ministered to. Some of them were broken; some of them needed something to hold on to. And what they needed was the word of God. And they were focusing on their problems, so the word of God and the tools that my husband and I had given to them helped them to come closer to God, to remove themselves from the problem. Because the problem is always going to be there, but once you feed yourself in the word, it helps you to become stronger. God gives you strength. And that’s what we did for them.
Let’s talk about the impact that this study group has had not just on the lives of the women that you’ve ministered to but on your life. So, first of all, tell us what impact it has had on your life then tell us what effect it has had on the lives of the women that you’ve ministered to.
The impact on my life, really it changed me as an individual. It changed my heart towards them because sometimes ministering to people it could be difficult; it could drain you sometimes because of certain things that you encounter. So, it changed my life to know that I can look beyond the differences and apply and call on the word of God to strengthen me as an individual because we as pastors need strength as well, we as pastors need a little more boost also sometimes. We are not perfect, no one is perfect, so sometimes too we need people to minister to us as well. So, the impact on me, I felt sometimes I need someone to encourage my soul too, you know, and we need that from time to time. And it helped change the women’s lives because when I get encouraged, then I can encourage them too. And they came hungry for something as I said, and when they left our home, they left feeling whole, and that’s important.
Can you share with us a testimony, some change of story, the way and way this has impacted even if it is one woman?
Well, a testimony is that the women that came to my house, some came from shelters. There was one that came from a shelter, and it changed her life and her husband’s life. They moved into a better home, and they bettered themselves. The tools that we gave them helped them. And being that they were in the shelter and they are out of the shelter, we see that they improved their lifestyle a bit. And, there are women who were divorced, and they made the word of God strength for themselves. They were focusing more on divorce and the pain that they had, but they made the word of God health and healing. So, we’ve seen those changes as well.
Tell us about your book, Women on the R.U.N for Jesus, which bears the same name as the women’s group. Is it like a study book used at the fellowship?
The book is linked to the study group. But it has grown since I started the group. Since I started the group, people are using it in churches and different states. The book itself is being used internationally; it is linked to different groups, and they can use it in their workplace, they can use it in their homes and Bible studies. It helps the reader to use it as a small Bible. It is like a little Bible so that they can use it as scriptures; they can go into the Women on the R.U.N for Jesus book and use what is written, compare it to the Bible and use it as a small Bible tool.
You are also the author of the book, Telling it All from the Heart; when was this released, what is it about, and what do you hope that the readers will glean from it?
The book, Telling it All from the Heart, was released in 2008. It was about my inner expression in coping with many issues in my life. At that time, I was going through a very difficult period in my life. I felt alone; I felt like my words were not important. By the grace of God, God spoke to my heart, and He said, you have to share what’s on your heart to me, tell it to me. You are telling it to everyone, but you are not telling it to me. And in the midst of that, I started writing what’s on my heart and it developed into a book. So, I took some of the issues that I had, that I was pondering, and I put it in my book, to share it with people. And what I will tell my readers is there is hope. And the serenity prayer says it all; it says God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can and wisdom to know the difference. And God put it in my heart to speak that in my book because it is true if you read it carefully. There is hope.
Helen, you are the co-host of, It’s All About the Word; I am assuming that you co-host this with your husband. Is this a TV or radio programme? What is it exactly?
It’s All About the Word, is about how the word of God can be applied to every area of your life. When my husband started this group, it is not a group, but a YouTube video that he puts out or used to put out every month, and he spoke about the word of God. He would teach from the Bible and apply the word of God in his teachings that he gave to the people. But we have a new programme now, which is, Righteous Uplifting and Nourishing and it teaches people how to use biblical principles in living a full and satisfying life. So, It’s All About the Word and Righteous Uplifting and Nourishing; both teach biblical principles in living a full and satisfying life for Jesus.
As a woman who runs a women’s group, what advice do you have for our female readers and indeed all women?
My advice is to have a relationship with Christ. Invite Jesus into your heart, get to know Him personally for yourself. Learn to have a relationship with Him each and every day. Accept Jesus, and you will see changes in your life; you will begin to feel something different, and that difference is Jesus. Jesus all the way. So, what I will tell people who are going through hurtful situations is to have a relationship with Jesus, accept Him as your Lord and Saviour, and develop a pattern of an every day walk with Him by being in His word, which is the Bible.
How can people contact you if they want to know more about you and what you do?
They can contact me on my email address which is helenjc08@yahoo.com, and they can also contact me on my website which is www.helench.org
