Joyce Kelly
Founder
My name is Joyce Kelly and I am the founder of IAMFreedomGirl. In 2007 God awakened my heart to the reality of human trafficking. I saw a documentary about human trafficking in India and stared in disbelief of the reality that little girls in India were being put into cages like animals during the day and brought out at night to be used and abused up to 30 times a night. At that moment God broke my heart for what was breaking His. I was “all in” to do whatever God called me to do. I began to search God’s heart to find my part in this horrible tragedy that I would later learn was in my own backyard. Over 27 million people are in slavery, more than any other time in history. It is a 32 billion dollar industry. So what does one women do? Can I really make a difference? Yes, one person can. God doesn’t call us to solve the whole problem but to find our part and then step out in obedience. So in 2009, through a series of events, God positioned me to step into my first strip club in Tampa, Florida to minister the love of Jesus to women right where they are. That one night God would allow my heart to be broken for the women in my city that were looking for the freedom I has found in Christ. No longer could I live in my “comfortable” Christian world but was compelled to step out and do what God called her to do.
IAMFreedomGirl was birthed. God spoke to me very clearly in a church service. “I am calling you to an area of your city where strip clubs are not being reached. The name of your ministry will be IAMFreedomGirl. Your mission is to teach the truths of my word and meet the practical needs of women.” A short time later, I and my faithful friend Kirsten set out to discover 10 strip clubs in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area. We prayed over each one. God called us to 5 clubs. A team was trained, raised up, and sent out. Since then, IAMFreedomGirl has been able to minister to the women we met in the clubs in various ways including, bible studies, attending church, and meeting the practical needs of some of the precious girls God has entrusted to them. The IAMFreedomGirl team has trained teams from other churches in the area and as of now all 10 clubs are covered and being ministered to. God is on the move in the Tampa Bay Area.
God has also placed a calling and passion to teach God’s word to girls and women. This passion came out of my own experience of going to a Community Bible Study where I realized that I could study God’s word, understand it and hear God’s voice clearly. I devoured the truths of God’s word. God began to set me free and peel back the layers on my heart. I found that God had created and called me to teach. I stepped out in faith and taught God’s word through Community Bible Study for over 9 years. I has been transformed by the power of the word and have an unstoppable passion to bring others to the knowledge that they too can study the bible and it can transform their life! God has me using my gift of teaching through retreats, conferences and through a blog on the IAMFreedomGirl website. I am available to speak at retreats and events.
I call Tampa, Fl my home, and recently was widowed after being married over 28 years to my husband Ronn. I have two adult children who are now married, so I am blessed with 4 kids.
Rori Braum
Outreach Coordinator
As the Outreach Coordinator, I help new volunteers get connected with our outreach team and find their place in the IAMFreedomGirl ministry. We have many areas where a volunteer can serve and we want to make sure you are comfortable in your role within this ministry. Not everyone is meant to go into the strip clubs so we understand if you don’t feel lead to go on outreach with us. Each role within the IAMFreedomGirl is vital and this ministry couldn’t work the way it does without all of our volunteers doing exactly what they have been called to do.
When Joyce Kelly, our founder, started sharing the vision God gave her for this ministry, I knew in my heart I was to join the ministry and help serve the women of the Tampa Bay Area. I have been going into strip clubs for three years now and you never know quite what to expect when you go out. I have come to the understanding that I am just simply to obey and go, then let God do the rest. It has become a great privilege that God allows me to be apart of IAMFreedomgirl. He has given IAMFreedomgirl the responsibility to go out to the lost and broken just to love them right where they are in their lives. God has changed me over the years and given me more understanding and compassion into the lives of the broken and lost. My heart is full of thankfulness that He has chosen us to represent His Kingdom in the strip clubs.
If you asked me to describe this ministry the one word that comes to mind is joy. This ministry is surprisingly joyful, it is hard to explain, but I feel joy every time we go out and see the girls. I am joyful for being able to witness the hope God brings through little things; hugs, prayers, gifts, baked goods, smiles, warm conversations, listening and consistency. The hope in knowing that no one is too far gone for the Lord to chase down and pursuit into the darkest places of this earth; even though He decides to use crazy church ladies going in strip clubs to do it.