Revive Story: Kim Smith
For eight years, Kim Smith has been an essential part of our church family staff, serving as the Assistant to the Lead Pastor. Beyond her main role, she leads our Women's Ministry with care and dedication, organizes all baptisms, and helps connect people through our community groups. Whether she's planning events, encouraging others, or celebrating new steps of faith, Kim’s heart for serving others shines through in everything she does.
May her story encourage you as it has encouraged us!
God gave us the name Revive because He knew He would be starting a revival within our church. We are all in awe as we hear stories of how the Holy Spirit is moving and working around us. God wants a revival, but it must start within each one of us. We must humble ourselves before the Lord, confess our sins to Him and others, and repent – turning away from our sins. Repentance cleanses our hearts. It enables God to work in us and through us for His greater good. God convicted me to humble myself and share my story of confession and repentance in Women’s Bible Study. He used my story to impact these women and glorify Himself. I’m hoping it will help you, too.
My parents came from abusive, neglectful homes, and they dragged their past into our home. At the age of 17, and still children themselves, my parents became parents. They did the best they could to raise our family, but our home was quite dysfunctional. I was exposed to a lot as a young child and in a distorted attempt to make us a happy family, I tried to create a perfect atmosphere. I thought that if I could create clean and orderly surroundings, my parents would be happy.
That was a lie.
This lie distorted my perfectionist mindset, affecting every aspect of my life. Driven by a deep-seated need to please people, I suppressed my feelings and my needs to make others happy. I had a toxic, distorted sense of independence and perfectionism that kept me isolated and reluctant to trust anyone. Fear of vulnerability caused me to push people away and sabotage my relationships.
By the time I met my husband, I was filled with guilt and shame for past decisions, which fostered a codependent relationship. I was looking for my husband to save me from my past, but what I really needed was Jesus. I thought I knew God. I grew up in a family who went to church but showed no signs of real faith. Although I had always felt God’s presence, but I didn’t KNOW Him and didn't understand what it meant to have a relationship with Jesus.
Before I got married, I knew I needed to rid myself of sin. One day, I found myself in a church desperately confessing my sins to God, wanting to feel forgiven yet unable to forgive myself. I didn’t realize God forgave me the moment I confessed my sins.
Many years later, I became a part of the MOPS ministry at Revive and joined a Bible study. My faith flourished. I began to see who God is and how much He loves me. I have been on a long journey to grow closer to God while gaining a better understanding of myself through His eyes. The Lord is good, and He continues to gently unfold and heal layer after layer of lies and dysfunction within me.
In Ephesians 3:20-21, Paul tells us that God can do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us. God wants a deep relationship with each of us. He wants to use us in ways we could never imagine, but He can’t do this if our hearts are filled with sin. Acts 3:19 says that when we repent, our sins are wiped out and a refreshing comes from the Lord. Join God in what He is already doing. Cleanse your heart with repentance and feel the refreshment God brings.
Be a part of the revival!