From her earliest days, Jereca felt called to pour into others, a passion shaped by loving adults who invested in her. This led her through diverse vocations: teaching preschool in inner-city settings, serving as a kids’ pastor, leading a nonprofit through life’s hardships, and now directing local and global impact at Whitewater Crossing Christian Church. In her current role, she builds healthy partnerships with nonprofits and missionaries, stewarding relationships that extend God’s care far and wide. What stands out is her realization in her mid-twenties, as an independent adult, parent, and leader, that integrating faith at work isn’t automatic. It requires intentional choice. The gifts Jesus has given her: creating belonging, helping people feel seen and valued, are not reserved for church activities. She brings them into every interaction, every day. “I would do that no matter what my vocation was,” she shares. This mindset transforms ordinary work into a tangible way to reveal Jesus’ love.

Yet her path hasn’t been without deep valleys. At 28, Jereca became a widow when her husband died of lung cancer after an 11-month battle, leaving her to raise their two-year-old daughter amid the challenges of COVID. In that season, her lifelong relationship with God became something she had to cling to fiercely. God provided grace, space to grieve authentically, and good days alongside the hard ones. Rather than shattering her calling, this loss equipped her uniquely to empathize, to serve others walking through grief, and to volunteer in supporting women facing similar pain.

For Christian business people, Jereca’s story challenges the compartmentalization we often fall into: work here, family there, faith over there. Society, and sometimes even church culture, encourages silos, separating “professional” from “personal” or “ministry” from marketplace roles. But true vocational transformation happens when we embrace integrated wholeness. Your business decisions, client interactions, team leadership, and even handling setbacks can become extensions of Christ’s compassion.

Hardships don’t disqualify us from impact. They refine and deepen it. Jereca’s grief didn’t sideline her; it amplified her ability to connect and care. In the same way, the pressures of business; economic uncertainty, tough negotiations, work-life strain can become places where God’s presence shines through resilience, integrity, and genuine concern for others.

Whatever your role: executive, entrepreneur, manager, or employee, your daily work is sacred ground. Bring your God-given gifts intentionally. Let belonging and care mark your leadership. And when life lands you in the pits, remember that God’s grace sustains, equips, and redeems. As Jereca demonstrates, a life poured out in love, through every season, becomes a powerful testimony that points others to Jesus.