Become What You Believe

I have a theme for 2015.

Deeper Faith
Deeper Trust
Deeper Gratitude

I want to grow. It’s not possible to just stay at the same place, so I’m always moving whether I recognize it or not. It’s more a matter of what direction I’m moving and growing? Am I growing closer to my Heavenly Father or further away from Him? Do I desire Him more today than I did yesterday or less? Am I seeking His Face or settling just to seek His hand and what He can do for me?

I want deeper faith. I’ve been a Christian for more than 30 years and I’m still surprised at how little faith I have in certain situations. The Bible talks about having the faith of a mustard seed. (Matt. 17:20) An itty-bitty mustard seed. I’m happy that’s all it takes because at times, that’s all I have, but I want more. I want a deeper faith. Why?

1. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. No matter what I do in life or ministry, if it’s not done in faith, it’s not pleasing to Him and I want to please Him. He’s my Abba Father. The One who knit me together in my mother’s womb. He loves me passionately and I love Him passionately. I want to please and glorify Him.
2. I am also stubborn enough to say that I don’t want to miss anything God has for me. This past Sunday our Pastor preached a powerful message on faith from Matthew 9:27-30 about Jesus healing two blind men. He reminded me that I can only go as far as my faith will take me. I don’t want to come to the end of my life having missed out on so much of what God had for me simply because I had such little faith. I want ALL He has for me. Here is Matthew 9:27-30 from The Message:

As Jesus left the house, he was followed by two blind men crying out, “Mercy, Son of David! Mercy on us!” When Jesus got home, the blind men went in with him. Jesus said to them, “Do you really believe I can do this?” They said, “Why, yes, Master!” He touched their eyes and said, “Become what you believe.” It happened. They saw.

“Become what you believe.” Such powerful words. What do I believe I can become through Him? How far will my faith take me?

Those seem to be the foundational questions at our Finally Free Women’s Conferences and with our Stripped Free Ministry. I have met so many women both inside the church and inside the strip clubs of Indianapolis that are literally becoming what they believe. What do many of them believe? They believe they are worthless and no one cares if they even exist. They believe they aren’t lovable and they have fallen too far for even God to reach them. They believe they are failures not worthy of love or even the smallest bit of success. So there they sit, in the pews of our churches or on the bar stools in the clubs marinating in a sea of worthlessness and unbelief. Things will never change so why should I even try? No one cares, least of all God.

My Friends, let’s begin with the faith of a mustard seed. Do you know how small that is? You’ll see a mustard seed pictured at the side. Can you muster even that much faith? In Matthew 17 Jesus performed a particular miracle, something the disciples had already tried, but failed to do. They asked Jesus why they didn’t succeed. In Matthew 17:20 Jesus says in The Message version:

“Because you’re not yet taking God seriously. The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.”

Can you try an experiment for just a few days? Can you give God a chance? Take Him seriously and begin to believe with just the faith of a tiny mustard seed. Start there and see what He does with it. The Bible tells us that “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1). He is the Living One and even though you may feel you can’t see Him, He sees you and He loves you. No matter where you are or where you’ve been, you are never too far for Him to find you. If you have had a hard time buying into this whole concept of God, begin to believe He exists and He loves you. Allow those thoughts to even enter your mind for the first time and become a part of your thinking. Begin to believe He has a special plan and purpose for your life. Begin to believe things can be different. Begin to become what you believe.

Let’s Connect On Twitter: @KimTabor

For more information on the Finally Free Women’s Conference or to bring the conference to your church, visit us on the web by clicking HERE.

My Year Of Stripping

Can a woman in ministry experience a year of stripping? Should she even say such a thing or talk about a subject so controversial? As I sit here at my computer during the month of March 2015, I can without a doubt say, Yes, 2014 was my year of stripping. I’m sure I’ll get a few choice comments about this like I do every blog I’ve written about the Stripped Free Ministry and going into the strip clubs in Indianapolis to minister to the women there, but I hope you’ll continue to read on to make a very important discovery with me. I had no idea when Stripped Free launched back in April of 2014 that God was not only going to do a work in the lives of the women in the clubs we were going to meet, but He was going to do the biggest work in my own heart and life along the way. You see, Stripped Free is not just about the women inside the clubs, it’s about all women and that has become very clear to me over the past few months.

Let me recap 2014 for you so you can better understand what I mean. I’ll just give you the highlights. First, calling someone like me into strip clubs was a bold move on God’s part. I have a reputation of being a singer, speaker, pastor’s wife, not perfect by any sense of the imagination, but someone who would never go into a strip club. Why would she go into a club? People quickly began to misunderstand what I was doing and the judgments began to be hurled back and forth. “Is she actually stripping for Jesus? That’s awful!” (And laughable. No one in this ministry is taking her clothes off in the Name of Jesus. Just felt I should clarify that for the 100^th time. Bless it.) “Can you still support their ministry if they’re going into strip clubs?” “You are helping Satan.” What? Now, I know the addition of this ministry was quite a stretch. Believe me, no one had a more difficult time wrapping their mind around all of this than me. Worship, singing, women’s conferences and……. strip clubs? At one point I sat in my bedroom by myself and had a very frank conversation with God. I told Him I didn’t even recognize my life anymore. This was a difficult and painful piece of ministry that I wasn’t sure I could be involved in for the long haul.

I found myself in an interesting limbo between those that had known me for many years and those that were meeting me for the very first time. Those who know me as Kim Tabor the singer/speaker looked at me quizzically when they found out I was going into strip clubs. Why? That was usually the first question out of their mouths. Then there were those meeting me for the first time inside the clubs or as a result of Stripped Free and after a long period of time they would somehow find out I have this other piece of my life involving music and worship in the church. Their first response? Really? And then there were those who thought Stripped Free was all I was doing and they worried that I had forsaken my other calling with the Church. I even had one woman ask, “Are you the Kim Tabor that used to be a singer?” That question was like a kick in the gut. Used to be a singer, I thought. Wow. What’s going on? Whose life am I living now?

This may not sound like a big deal to many of you, but when you see your life going comfortably in one direction and all of sudden God drops something in your lap that you never saw coming, it tends to cause a little angst. Right or wrong, my identity had become wrapped up in what I saw as my primary role in ministry. I am a singer and speaker at conferences, worship services and other events that minister to the people in God’s Church. I know how to do those things. That’s where I’m most secure. This added role of going into the dark places of the clubs wasn’t anywhere on my radar. No one was more surprised than I was to have this added assignment. And trust me when I say no one is more insecure about her role in this piece of the ministry than me. At times I felt as if I was losing my identity. My stripping had begun…..

The pressure got turned up in September when for the first time in my life I lost my voice – completely. You want to make someone reevaluate things in their life? You take away the thing that’s defined them and that they have begun to unknowingly depend on. The thing that affects the way they make their living. You take that away and they begin to reevaluate very quickly and the fear and insecurity is overwhelming. I still had a major conference and a few other events to sing at over the fall. How was that going to happen when I couldn’t make a peep?

I went to my ENT and found out I had a nasty virus that landed in my vocal chords. The impact would last for 3 months, but thankfully I didn’t know that at the time. I had a conference to do 6 days after my diagnosis and that was my biggest concern. I remember asking the doctor if my voice would be back by then. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, “I don’t think so. Can anyone else do the conference?” He knew how awful my chords looked. I went home, got down on me knees on the family room floor and cried out to God from my heart since my voice was useless. I kept asking Him how this was going to work? I had a strong sense this conference was supposed to happen and I shouldn’t cancel even though I wasn’t sure how. That’s when I heard it. The familiar still small Voice that echoed in my heart and mind, “You’ll get your speaking voice back in time for the conference, but you won’t be able to sing.” What? How do I do a conference with no music? And in such a loving and tender way He responded to that question even before I officially asked it. Don’t ever think God doesn’t hear our every concern. He hears and He responds. He whispered again, “Do you think I need your voice in order to work and move?” I felt the lump in my throat as my eyes welled up with tears. That’s when I understood. I knew the answer to His question. Sure enough, it happened just as He said. I woke up 6 days later on Saturday morning and I had just enough voice to speak for 3 sessions, but I couldn’t sing one note. It was one of the most powerful conferences I’ve ever had the privilege to be a part of and God made it obvious it had nothing to do with me. I felt the stripping once again…….

Little did I know this was just the beginning of God doing major heart work on me. Work I didn’t even know needed to be done. Add to the identity crisis I was going through, the death of a major influence in my life, the man who was like a second father to me. Phil Fair had been in my life for 25 years. He helped me get my first job, he was instrumental in me meeting my husband, Brian, and beginning Tabor Ministries. He’s been on our ministry board since day one and has been a mentor, friend and father figure. It’s hard to remember life before Phil. The Lord called him home this past October and I managed to squeak a song out at his funeral since he passed in the middle of my illness. Phil’s death rocked my world. It still doesn’t seem real. More stripping…….

As I look back I realize I was being stripped of people, my gifts, my identity, my definition of ministry and success, and even some of my dreams. It was an overwhelming and painful time. That’s when I really began to discover the deeper meaning behind this new ministry.

Friends, Stripped Free isn’t just for the women in the clubs, it’s for me, it’s for you, it’s for all women. Truthfully, it’s for all people. God used 2014 to strip me. He didn’t do it in a mean or condemning way. He did it in the most loving and compassionate way because He wants all of me. He wants me to be totally reliant on Him and He wants to be the deepest desire of my heart. That’s His desire for each of us.

Oswald Chambers sums it up in a beautiful way, “Am I willing to reduce myself down to simply ‘me’”? Am I determined enough to strip myself of all that my friends think of me, and all that I think of myself? Am I willing and determined to hand over my simple naked self to God? Once I am, He will immediately sanctify me completely, and my life will be free from being determined and persistent toward anything except God.” This is what it means to be Stripped Free.

The girls in the clubs sometime giggle when they see the name Stripped Free. They giggle because they think it’s cute and they understand how it relates to what they do. What they don’t realize is that the women handing them the cards with the name Stripped Free on them are being stripped themselves by a God who refuses to leave any of us just as we are. He sees all we can be and He knows we can only be our very best when we’re fully relying and pressing into Him. He is our best!

At one point in this stripping process I found myself on a boat dock one evening and I finally began to have a deeper understanding of what was happening. I needed to surrender. I told God I will go wherever He calls me to go no matter how dark. I will continue to use my gifts in whatever way He wants and will hold them loosely because they are ultimately His. I will trust Him no matter what. I brought Him all of myself on that dock. It’s what He wanted….complete surrender. My life is not my own. He can do as He pleases because I love and trust Him.

Am I still singing? Yes. Am I still speaking? Yes. Am I still going into strip clubs? Yes. For now, this is how my life looks and the opportunities I get today to share His love and freedom are sweeter than ever as I continue to be stripped and learn what it means to be simply “me.”

Let’s Connect On Twitter: @KimTabor

For more information on the Finally Free Women’s Conference or to bring the conference to your church, visit us on the web by clicking HERE.

Where Is Your Focus?

 But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14

Do you have things in your past that you want to forget? I know I do. Poor choices, painful circumstances and tragic loss are just a few of the things we all experience that we would rather forget. But what about the pieces of our past that were joyful and brought great pleasure to our lives? The good old’ days as some like to call them. Do you want to forget those?

I find it interesting that Paul says there is one very important thing he does: he forgets. He forgets or neglects the things of the past and instead he pursues or chases the goal ahead. For many of us, it’s hard to let go of the past no matter how good or how tough it was. I know there are events that will always be lodged in our memoires, but I believe Paul is talking about dwelling in the past.

Where are we living? Are our eyes focused on the failures or successes of yesterday or on God and what He is doing today? God doesn’t want us living in the sorrows or the joys of yesterday. We each have a life that is worth living right now. He has something special for us in this current moment, but many of us are missing it because we are so focused on our past.

Both the triumphs and the tragedies of yesterday are done. There’s no going back. We must press on in this new year. There is too much life yet to live and I don’t want to miss any of it, so let’s keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and what He is doing today in our lives. He is working and moving this very day and has a glorious plan for all of us!

Let’s Connect On Twitter: @KimTabor  @StrippedFree

You can also find us on Facebook, Here: Kim and Brian Tabor    Stripped Free

The Comfort Of Darkness

My Beautiful Friend Stefanie

Periodically I will have different people guest blogging for me. God has allowed my path to cross with some amazing individuals and I want you to hear what He’s been doing in their lives. This is my friend and ministry partner, Stefanie Jeffers. Let’s Connect On Twitter: @KimTabor @StrippedFree @stefjeff1107

“I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night – but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.” Psalm 139:11-12

To many, the dark is a frightening place. Darkness blinds our eyes to that which surrounds us and hides our path from us. But for some, the darkness becomes a solitary place of existence where neither good nor evil seem to permeate; instead it seems timeless, even as days and weeks and years go by.

I once attempted to live my life in the duality of both light and dark. In the light, I was with my daughter. I was myself a daughter, an aunt, and a sister. There were times of love and laughter. But just beyond the light were the shadows of the life I lived in the dark. I would remove the cross necklace from around my neck and turn away from the light. In this dark place I was whoever someone wanted me to be. I was a stripper, a prostitute, a fantasy; I was Carmen or I was Stefanie, and in the darkness the line between the two blurred.

Why, then, did I not run towards all that was lovely and full of light? Where in the darkness did I lose so much of myself that it became home? And once you are gone, lost in the dark, how can you ever find your way home? Please understand this about me and many other women who are in similar situations all over the world…there is often comfort in the darkness. In a world without light, there is relief in the belief that you cannot be seen. In dark places, there is no more expectation placed on shoulders that can barely bear the burdens of surviving the day. If there is no expectation, there is no failure. In the dark you can fool yourself into believing that you are courageous, though fear is the major force that drives you. It becomes what you know, and there is always comfort in that which is familiar. Hope is not an option because it is always followed by disappointment.

“Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.” Luke 1:78-79

There is, however, hope. There are moments in this ministry when this hope is received with the urgency of one who hasn’t had something to drink in years. It is so beautiful to see light begin to dawn in someone’s eyes when they realize they are loved by Jesus. There is laughter and tears, triumphs and disappointments, and love and forgiveness when we journey with a woman who chooses the Light. There are also times of great sadness when we see someone turn away from the gift of grace over and over again. Our hearts break when we see someone we love retreat back into the comfort of darkness, fearful of all that the light both promises and exposes.

And still, we will go. We have been called to be carriers of Light into dark places and we have faith in the God of the universe that nothing is impossible and no one is too far gone for His saving grace.   We are learning to love like He loves; knowing that to truly love someone where they are at means sometimes watching them travel back into the darkness while still holding their hand, standing still with the ones who can’t believe, and continuing the slow journey towards Jesus with those who are ready.

“I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.” John 12:46

Men and Strippers

Periodically I will have different people guest blogging for me. God has allowed my path to cross with some amazing individuals and I want you to hear what He’s been doing in their lives. This is my friend and ministry partner, Stefanie Jeffers. What a great reminder that God can use us in places where we least expect it!

Here’s Stefanie:

Every time I say “never” I’m pretty sure God laughs. I had every intention of keeping my past to myself. God had other plans. Since I was sure that would be all He would ask of me, I was completely firm in my stance on never going back into a strip club. Ever.   I wonder how big He grinned when I said that. I currently spend every week in strip clubs in Indianapolis, two of which were clubs where I worked.   And since I left the industry almost 11 years ago, I have thought that men were most likely the enemy and there was no way possible for them to help strippers. So what did God do? He sent me to talk to a bunch of men. And He laughed.

A man I highly respect who attends my church asked me to come and talk to his men’s small group about Stripped Free and a little about my life when I worked in the sex industry. Now let’s be honest, this had the potential to be extremely awkward, uncomfortable and embarrassing. God, however, doesn’t call us to be comfortable and I am willing to look foolish for Him. After all, He rescued me and I love Him. He also calls us sometimes to teach us something new, not to just be the teacher.   I learned that night that godly men are real, they care that women in the sex industry are dying without knowing Jesus, and they want to help. Hallelujah.

Every man who was in the room has a daughter, a sister, an aunt, or a mother. They listened to every statistic I shared and were not just interested, but truly compassionate for the many sufferings of women working in the sex industry. They were shocked to discover that a woman who recently asked Jesus into her heart had to return to a strip club out of economic necessity. One man relayed his sadness to me that his new sister in Christ had to go back to a club to work and if he had known, he would have assisted financially. These men asked thoughtful questions and were honest with me about their own pasts and struggles. The men did not just want to know what was going on in the sex industry, but they wanted to know something more…they wanted to know how to help.

Can a man really help a stripper? If you had asked me that a few weeks ago, I am not sure how I would have answered this question. However, today the answer is an emphatic yes! These men have agreed to stand in prayer for us and for the women in the clubs we visit. This is huge! Prayer is a vital component of this ministry. We would never go out on the battlefield without the backing of some serious prayer warriors. The group also gave a substantial monetary donation to this ministry. We are so grateful! There are so many aspects of this ministry that require funding, from outreach to aftercare, and this gift was a wonderful blessing. These men, my friends, are an example of godly men wanting to show the love of Jesus to women. They know that they can’t take part in outreach or in the aftercare pieces of this ministry, but they are going to do what they can to reach one life at a time in the name of Jesus.

If you want to be a part of helping this ministry, would you commit to prayer? You can also help keep the ministry thriving by donating monthly to the Tabor Ministries Kingdom Fund and writing Stripped Free in the comment section. Your gift is tax-deductible. Your financial contribution will help to provide gifts taken into the clubs, immediate economic needs of women trying to exit the industry, continuing Bible study and discipleship, counseling and/or addiction treatment, and help in many other ways as we walk with women on their journey into freedom in Christ. We can’t do this without you! Thank you!

Strippers Can’t Be Saved

Yes, that title was a comment in response to one of my previous blogs about our new Stripped Free ministry. But before I get into all that let me just say the last six weeks are a bit of a blur. They have been a whirlwind and I’m still trying to sort through all of the events in my own mind. I’ve been in ministry in some form or another for almost twenty-five years now and never have I experienced anything like what has taken place the last few weeks with the launch of this new ministry. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it all.

It started with me putting out a little blog titled, “You’re Doing WHAT???” Now you need to understand something. I’ve been blogging, albeit sporadically, for the last four or five years. My husband, Brian, would say one or two blogs a year doesn’t count as “blogging,” but hey, I was trying!  I had managed to get a following of a whopping fifty readers for my “hugely popular” blog and I was fine with that. (and thank you for reading!) A few months ago I decided it was time to step up my writing efforts so I wrote six blogs in one day to have on the shelf for future use. One was about a new ministry to strippers in the clubs of Indianapolis where I live. I had no intentions of releasing that blog right away. I wasn’t sure about this new ministry or how people would respond to it, so I kept it on the shelf for a few weeks until my partner in the strip ministry, Stef, saw it and read it. She said, “This is really good and you need to put it out there and let people know what we’re doing in the clubs.” I said, “Really? Now?”  She convinced me, so I published the blog on a Tuesday morning intending to make this “grand” announcement to my robust readership of fifty. I then went about my day. Later that morning the texts from Brian started. “Have you seen your blog stats? You’re at 300 reads.” I texted back, “Wow, that’s impressive for me.”  Well, that was just the beginning.  At the end of it all roughly 5,000 people read that blog. What????  Believe me, no one was more stunned than I was. I told Brian, “I guess we’re launching this ministry now!”

The blog led to different interviews, which in turn led to many interesting comments about this new ministry. It turns out loving women in strips clubs in the name of Jesus is pretty controversial.  Who knew?!  I’ve heard everything from accolades to condemnation and that is just from my Christian brothers and sisters. It’s been quite an eye-opener.

I feel compelled to address a few things. While I appreciate the kind words, I don’t deserve accolades. I’m just trying to do what Jesus calls each of us to do as His followers: to love God and love people and that means ALL people.There are many who have been involved in different strip ministries in the city of Indianapolis far longer than I have. I am learning a lot and am so grateful to have others to turn to for prayer and advice.

By the same token, I’ve been surprised at the condemnation. Now in all fairness, some obviously chose not to read the original blog, which explained in detail what I was doing. Some only read the title and the first line and jumped to the conclusion that I was actually going into the clubs to BE a stripper under the guise of a “strip ministry.” Oh yes, there are more than a few who think I have lost my mind and am stripping in the name of Jesus. I know. It’s laughable.

But then there are those who made comments that not only made me scratch my head, but also were so contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ it was mind blowing. Comments like, “Strippers can’t be saved,” and the ever popular, “You are the devil’s helper.” Really? After reading those comments, I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or cry, so I opted instead to find living proof that those statements are inaccurate and a lie from the pit of hell. And yes, those comments were also from some of my brothers and sisters in Christ.

I didn’t have to look very far for living proof. I’m walking with someone every day who is proof and so much more. My friend, Stef, is an ex-dancer who has been transformed by the power of God. She courageously shared her story on Easter Sunday during our church services. She is living and breathing proof that strippers CAN be saved and that God loves everyone regardless of where they find themselves. I am so thankful for her being the trophy of God’s grace that she is. Where would any of us be without the transforming grace of Jesus?

God also gave me the privilege of watching one of the dancers from the clubs we go into give her heart to Him during the Easter services at our church a little over a week ago. I’ll talk more about that amazing and joyous experience in my next blog so stay tuned!

Luke 5:29-32 says:

Levi gave a large dinner at his home for Jesus. Everybody was there, tax men and other disreputable characters as guests at the dinner. The Pharisees and their religion scholars came to his disciples greatly offended. “What is he doing eating and drinking with crooks and ‘sinners’?” Jesus heard about it and spoke up, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting outsiders, not insiders—an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out.” The Message

I only want to introduce people to the Great Physician, the One who can bring healing, freedom and ultimately heart-transformation. My heart’s desire is to please my Father by inviting others to experience His life-changing grace and love.

To my family members in the Church I would just say this: Please don’t think better or worse of me than I am. I actually would prefer you not think of me in this at all. This ministry has nothing to do with me. Every single thing that happens with Stripped Free happens by the hand of Almighty God and He IS moving. I would, however, ask one thing of all of you, especially my sisters in Christ: Will you join me? Will you join me in getting your hands dirty in the name of Jesus? Maybe it’s with a strip ministry or maybe it’s in a completely different area, but can you imagine what would happen if all the women sitting in the pews of our churches would take a step out of their comfort zones and love someone who is in need and different than they are? I get excited just thinking about it!

I know there are many who are already doing so much in Jesus’ name, but I wonder if there are others that are like I was, afraid and not quite sure where to start. There is such a huge need and there are many organizations that are desperate for help. I can say that I’ve learned more about myself and about my Savior by taking this step out and joining Him where He is working than I have at any other time in my life.  If God has set you free FROM something in your life, I guarantee He has set you free FOR something. It’s just a matter of asking Him to reveal what that is!

Continue to pray for me and I will pray for you. I would also love to hear what God is calling you to do in the comment section below. God has great things in store and I can’t wait to hear all the amazing life-changing stories to come!

Let’s Connect On Twitter: @KimTabor and @StrippedFree

Stripped Free :: Rescued | Redeemed | Restored

Tabor Ministries is thrilled to announce a new facet of our Finally Free Women’s Ministry. Stripped Free is a ministry to women who dance in strip clubs in the city of Indianapolis.  Our team works to develop relationships with the dancers in order to show them they are loved and they matter to God and us. As followers of Christ, we ourselves have been rescued, redeemed and restored by Him and we know He desires the same for the dancers in these clubs. We are just the mouthpieces to share His love and message.

We would love to connect with you on Twitter – @StrippedFree & Facebook! You can like our Facebook page by clicking HERE.

We want to take this opportunity to thank a few people and organizations that have been inspirations to us on this new journey. They have helped to pave the way and have been doing this type of ministry for many years and we are humbled that God has allowed our paths to cross with such extraordinary women. We specifically want to thank Jeanie Turner of One Way Out Ministries in Ft. Myers, Florida, Kimberly Majeski of Stripped Love in Anderson, Indiana and Sarah Tabb of Unconditional Ministries in Indianapolis, Indiana. We have learned so much from these women and their amazing teams. They have taken the time to pour into us and we are eternally grateful. God is using each of them to impact and transform the women of their cities. We look forward to working with them to build the Kingdom!

Stripped Free Christmas Outreach 2014

We also want to thank our team of beautiful Freedom Fighters! The women we are ministering to aren’t strong enough (spiritually speaking) to fight for themselves, so we are called to fight for them. These are the ladies who are doing spiritual battle in many different ways for Stripped Free. Stefanie Jeffers has to be thanked first. Without God’s work in her life, there would be no Stripped Free. Stefanie is a part of our Finally Free Women’s Ministry and this new facet was birthed out of her own personal story of being an ex-dancer and God’s transforming power of redemption in her life. Thank you also to Misty Javorka, Alex Rufatto-Perry, Elizabeth Sliwa, Jamie Kendall, Johnette Cruz, Kristin Katsis and Cheri Bate. These ladies are all filling different and unique roles and we are SO grateful!

How can you get involved? We’re so glad you asked! There are three ways to get involved:

1. Pray, Pray, Pray – Please lift up the women in the clubs. Pray that many would come to know Christ and His saving power and that they would realize there IS hope for a different life in Him! Also pray for our team. We need wisdom and protection both physically and spiritually. Pray that we would love these women well, like Jesus loves them.
2. Invest – There are many different ways to invest with both your time and your resources. We need volunteers. We are putting a prayer team together. A prayer covering is perhaps our most important need. Prayer warriors are a must! We are hoping to have a group who can be praying while we are actually in the clubs. We also need volunteers to supply and assemble gift bags of goodies for the girls. You can also invest financially by making a check out to Tabor Ministries and writing Stripped Free on the memo line and mailing it to the address below or by going to either of our websites www.taborministries.org or www.finallyfreeconference.org and donating to the TM Kingdom Fund and specifying Stripped Free in the Special Instructions/Message area of the payment page. Tabor Ministries is a 501(c)(3) and all gifts are tax deductible.
3. Share – Please share this ministry with others. Share our blogs with your friends and your churches and help us spread the word.  God is already doing some powerful things and we can’t wait to see what He has in store. This is just the beginning!

We hope you will connect with us on Twitter – @StrippedFree & Facebook! You can like our Facebook page by clicking HERE.

Tabor Ministries, Inc.
11057 Allisonville Road, #303
Fishers, IN 46038
http://www.TaborMinistries.org
http://www.FinallyFreeConference.org

 

Waiting……UGH!

Let’s Connect!

• Twitter: @KimTabor
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/KimandBrianTabor

In a previous blog I mentioned that I would be talking more about what I have been learning through my “stay by the stuff” desert time. (See my Stay By The Stuff Blog) One of the words I immediately received from God was about the importance of waiting on Him.  I know using phrases like, “I received a word from the Lord,” can be controversial. I didn’t hear an audible voice, but it became clear through Scripture and during my prayer time that was the message God had for me at the moment.

I’m just going to be really honest here. Waiting stinks! I don’t like it. Never have and probably never will. The beautiful thing is that God already knows my true feelings about waiting and He’s ok with it. He’s not going to spare me from seasons of waiting. He knows how important those seasons are for building character. Let’s face it, would any of us take the time to REALLY press into Him and have gut-level conversations if life was always going along smoothly and if we got whatever we wanted exactly WHEN we wanted it?  I think the honest answer would have to be “no.”  The desert times that are full of questions are when God does His most powerful work in us. That’s just a fact.

One of the promises of God I’m still clinging to is Isaiah 64:4. “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” I also love Exodus 14:14, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” My heart-felt prayer has been that God would act and, yes, even fight on my behalf while I wait on Him. I don’t want to get ahead of Him and try to manipulate circumstances.  I’ve done that too many times and just made a mess of things.  God doesn’t need my “help” in this regard. There’s a reason, perhaps multiple reasons He wants me to wait. So you know what? I’m going to do just that….wait.

Is God bringing you through a time of waiting right now? Maybe it’s related to a job, finances, health or even a relationship. Whatever it is, if He’s telling you to wait, then wait. You don’t know better than Him. You may be tempted to think you do, but take it from me, you don’t. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way.

Start praying those two scripture verses.  Don’t just read them. Pray them. Tell God you are counting on Him to fight for you and to act on your behalf and see what happens in the process. And most importantly, DON’T move until He tells you to move!

If you are in a time of waiting I would love to pray with you. Please share in general what you are waiting for and I will join you in lifting that to the Father. It would be a privilege!

God Redeems EVERY Part – Stefanie’s Story

“Well, you all know I used to be a stripper,” declared the woman sitting next to me at a Bible study I had been invited to lead that evening. She then followed this shocking statement by quoting verses from the Book of Zephaniah. She spoke with clarity and passion and her obvious love of Jesus was contagious. Let me be very candid. I was having a hard time wrapping my mind around all of this. I had never met a stripper, not even an ex-stripper. Throw verses from Zephaniah on top of the situation and it was almost more than this little naive mind could take. “Who IS this woman,” I thought to myself. “I’ve got to meet her and hear more of her story.” That is how I met Stefanie.

I describe Stef as someone who “oozes Jesus.” She is radical in her love of God and love of people. She’s very honest about where she’s been, how she got there and the One who saved and transformed her. I’m privileged to go into local strip clubs with her through a new ministry to strippers in Indianapolis. (More about that in my next blog.) She is the epitome of a living, breathing message of hope for the dancers we meet. John Wesley says, “Catch on fire and others will love to come watch you burn.” Stef is on fire for Jesus and I get to watch her burn inside those clubs and IT IS POWERFUL. This is her story:

Three years.  That is how long it took for me to lose almost everything.  And it took almost losing it all for me to turn back to Jesus.

The day I walked out of my job as a paralegal I went to a gravesite to mourn the loss of a child I carried for 4 months but would never have.  It was the day my child should have been born.  I grieved not only for the baby I would never see, but for a life that looked nothing like I dreamed it would.  I was a divorced, single mother of a beautiful daughter.  Dead was the dream that marriage would last forever.  The new man in my life, the father of the child I lost, was abusive and gone.  Dead was the plan that I could create a new family for myself and my daughter.  So on that day, in the pouring rain, I cried out in agony for so many things and I never once called upon the name of the Lord.  Instead, I listened to the whisper of the enemy and walked right into darkness.

At the age of thirty, I walked into a strip club for the first time.  It seems like that should be the day when I came to the end of myself, but it was just the beginning.  For three years I sold little pieces of myself and my soul a dollar at a time.  Each time I kneeled to pick up money that was thrown at me, I threw away another piece of me.  My name would ring out many times as the DJ would call me to the stage, but I didn’t even know who I was anymore.  The only thing I knew was the more money I made the more worthless I became.  I was bitten, grabbed, pinched, groped, degraded, and humiliated and this was a world I walked into willingly.  My surroundings had been dark for so long that my eyes became accustomed to it and I didn’t even realize how lost I was.  What I knew, though, was when I looked in the mirror I didn’t recognize myself at all.  The empty shell of a woman looked nothing like the child who once loved Jesus with her whole heart.

It became impossible to separate the darkness of my life from the light of the life I had with my daughter. I tried, but as much as I loved her, I didn’t create a home for her that she deserved, so I lost her.  The day she left to go live with her dad and stepmom almost killed me.  If it hadn’t been for the daily phone calls, the weekly visits, and the weekend visitation I would have just let go and ended it.  My life was filled with a crushing despair that I numbed with drugs.  I lost my daughter, my home, and most of my possessions.  I lost friends.  I disappointed my family.  This is how far I had to fall to land on my knees and cry out to Jesus to save me.  I walked out of the club and left all of my costumes and shoes behind.  I have often wondered how long little pieces of me were walking around the bar on the backs of other broken women.  I walked out, turned back to God, and swore I would never return.

It has been ten years since I left the clubs for what I thought was the last time.  It has been an amazing journey.  One step at a time, God has restored my life in ways I could never have imagined.  I am now married, have a new daughter, and the daughter I lost has been back home for six years.  God’s mercy is not just for me.  I will never pretend that I deserve any of the grace He has shown me.  Without Him I am nothing.  But it was never too late for me to discover His life-changing love, and I have a burning desire to share that with other hurting women.  I have been rescued, redeemed, and restored and THAT is why I have returned to strip clubs.  The love and hope that I know is for everyone who reaches out to accept it.  Someone, though, has to be the one to share Light in dark places, so I go to familiar places I never dreamed I would return to and share Jesus and His love with other women just like me.

Stepping out in faith, saying yes to God’s call on my life, and following Him back into the clubs has been a blessing I could never have anticipated.  To be able to speak the name of Jesus in a place where I once thought I could hide from Him is amazing.  The first club I stepped into many years after leaving the strip world was the same club where I used to dance. I remember getting ready at home that night and how different it was from years ago when I would be getting ready in the club’s dressing room. I put on my jeans, t-shirt and flip-flops. I walked in there as a woman changed by the power of God. He has redeemed everything. What used to be a private dance area for me has become a place where I have been given the chance to share the Gospel with a sweet dancer who needs to know she is loved right where she is. I have even recently been given money within those walls, not for dancing, but for ministry. Yes, He redeems every part and I am so overwhelmed and grateful.

When I look in the mirror now all these years later, I see someone who is loved by God.  I see someone who finally accepts His love, full to overflowing, and I share it with others…one step at a time, one club at a time, one woman at a time…in the name of Jesus and for His glory. 

You’re Doing WHAT???

So…..I’ve been going into strip clubs lately. There. I’ve said it. Now pick your jaw up off the floor. I know that confession shocks many of you. I recently shared that juicy tidbit of information with some friends I hadn’t seen in a while and to say they were shocked would be an understatement. Why in the world would I, the next best thing to Sandra Dee (ok, so I grew up on the movie Grease), go into a strip club? The answer is simple. There are women in those clubs who are broken and devastated (whether they know it or not) and they need to be told that someone loves and cares about them. There is One who will never leave them and whose love will never change. They need to be introduced to the Great Lover of their souls, Jesus.

The truth is, I go into the clubs for the same reason I go into churches all over the country with our Finally Free Women’s Conferences.  There are women sitting in every church in America who are just as broken and devastated as any woman dancing in a club. How can I say that? Because women are women no matter where you find them. We all have insecurities. We’re all afraid we will never measure up. (I have no idea who is holding the measuring stick.) We’re all secretly hoping that somehow someone will find us worth loving and tell us we matter.

My Beautiful Friend Stefanie

This point was made very clear to me just a few weeks ago. My friend, Stefanie, and I were in one of the clubs handing out small gifts to the dancers, which is something we do each time. Inevitably one of the dancers will ask why we are giving them gifts and being so nice? That’s when we have the great privilege of mentioning the name of Jesus inside the walls of those clubs and literally being His Hands and Feet.

On this particular night we were about to leave the club when we noticed a new dancer had just arrived going straight to the stage. We wanted to make sure she received a gift as well, so we walked up to her and held out the gift bag. She stopped and came over to us and asked, “What is this for?” Stefanie spoke right up and said, “We are loved and we want you to know that you are loved too. God loves you and you matter.” I’ll never forget the look in the dancer’s eyes as they began to well with tears. I’ll never forget it because it’s very familiar. I’ve seen it time and again in the eyes of women at our conferences when they hear those same powerful words. God loves you and you matter. I saw that same look as I stared into my own eyes in the mirror many years ago having heard that life-changing truth for the first time. It’s a sacred moment when the words go beyond the ears and enter the mind and begin to sprout in the heart. The moment the tiny fragile seed of belief is planted in a heart with the simple question we secretly ask ourselves, What if? You can see the dancers as the wheels begin to turn in their own minds.  “What if these “church ladies” are right? Oh please, let them be right!”

We’ve been developing some amazing relationships inside those walls and each time we enter the clubs we get to throw a splash of water on the tiny seeds that God has already planted in some of the girl’s hearts. It’s truly amazing.

So that’s one of the things I’ve been up to recently. You will be hearing more about this in future blogs as well. I can’t wait to see what God has in store!

Can we make a deal? I’ll pray for you and you pray for me. Please pray for our outreach team that goes into the clubs. Pray for protection and that we would fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel by showing these women God’s unconditional love. And I’ll pray for you as God continues to reveal Himself and as He shows you where you can most effectively use the gifts He’s entrusted to you.  It might be in a place where you least expect it!