We have an exciting new addition to the team. Dawn Gurley will be landing in London later today to join us as our Women's Pastoral Care Director. Hear more from her below.
Please tell us about yourself.
I was born in Michigan, but my family moved to San Louis Obispo, California, which has been home. I lived briefly in Mexico and, by God's grace, moved to Abu Dhabi five and a half years ago.
Abu Dhabi is different because it’s so hot, but in an ideal world, I would be out kayaking, hiking, anything outdoors. I also love hanging out at coffee shops with friends and talking for hours.
That's just a sweet spot.
How did you come to know Jesus?
When I was 15—it was just my mom and I at that point—there was a lot of brokenness in my home, and I never really had access to a Bible. But in my new school, there was a Christian volleyball coach. She was a college student who loved Jesus and started spending time with me, a messed-up teenager.
The gospel was compelling at first because of her love and care for me. She wanted to read the Bible with me before school, and I was like, 'Yes!' Through spending time with her opening the Word, the Lord opened my eyes to see my sin, to see Jesus and his glory, and that changed everything. It was through the love of one college student.
Fast-forward a bit. What has ministry looked like for you?
My desire to go cross-culturally with the gospel started in my 20s. I heard the Lord's call to go and make disciples of all nations. Wherever he would place me, I wanted to be. The intentionality and love I experienced from my volleyball coach shaped my desire to step into women's lives with the hope of the gospel. And not just speak it, but walk with women.
I mostly worked full-time in other jobs and would meet with other women to encourage them and open the Word when I had time. Years later, I went to Mexico as a missionary, but when things changed there, I had to leave quicker than I had anticipated. After that, I ended up landing in a seminary, which was trajectory-shifting as it allowed me to study biblical counselling. Having a formal degree behind me opened up opportunities I wouldn’t have expected.
One day, I was listening to a Gospel Coalition podcast, and a woman mentioned the need for women with seminary degrees to go to different parts of the world. The call of Matthew 28 was echoing in the background of my mind and heart, so I reached out to her. "Do you have anybody I could talk to?" I asked, "Anywhere that would be interested in somebody with, you know, my background?" Through her connection in Dubai, the Lord led me to Abu Dhabi.
Living and serving there was one of the greatest privileges of my life - worshipping alongside men and women from all over the world at the heart of a Muslim nation. It was extremely challenging too, but it grew my faith in so many ways. I'm very thankful for the Lord's work in my heart.
How did Grace London come into the picture?
I had no plans to leave, so God leading me to Grace has been a surprise. Before I arrived in Abu Dhabi, my prayer had been, ‘Lord, please keep me there for at least five years. Beyond that too. But please, at least five.’ So, as I reached the five-year mark in Abu Dhabi, I began to pray about my future again. Would the Lord call me to stay, or should I be looking out?
During that time, I connected with Gateway Church in Poole and the Advance network and then with Andrew and Grace London. Seeing and hearing about what the Lord is doing among you excited my heart. London as a global city feels very familiar to me, and I’m looking forward to being part of a ministry that’s so faithful to the Word and is running hard to share the gospel. That excites me. What a privilege to bring the hope of the gospel to women in this massive city that needs Jesus.
How can we pray for you?
I've been in the US for about five months, and leaving family and friends is challenging, as you can imagine. Please pray for steadiness and forward-looking trust in Christ.
Finally, can we support you in any other way?
On a superficial note, I would love to know where there’s good Indian or Mexican food. If anybody has suggestions or wants to take me out for some crazy food, I would love that!
Any coffee shops too. If you’re like, ‘You need to come to this place and try this coffee,’ I would love that.