Teresa "Tessa" O'Hara

Tessa is a resident of 

​Nominated by:
Lisette Bonano

Tessa is schedule for ordination on Thursday,
​Dec 14th, 2023 @ The Upper Room. 

AS: Pastor / Evangelist / Teacher

My name is Teresa "Tessa" O'Hara and this is how God changed my life.
 
In 2018, I was a single Momma who was hurt and broken. Through one of many tragedy's, I came to a point in my life where I realized that I had been living my life for the wrong reasons. I was living for my kids, my job, my to-do list and I had put God as #2 in my life. I became enlightened that everything that I had been "living" for held very little value. That when I am to pass away, I can't take any of it with me and my eyes were opened to see the error in my ways.

I quickly repented to God for how I had been living my life and wanted a deeper relationship with Him. That heart cry was all it took for Him to begin moving things around in my life. Within 3 months, I began to see the evidence of His fingerprints on my life. He brought me to a church that was 30 miles away and nothing like any I had ever experienced. He reminded me that I had said that I wanted a deeper relationship with Him and He had brought me to this church during one of their Camp Meetings. That's 8 days and 16 meetings of saturation. 

Within 3 days, I grew to understand Hosea 4:6 and could not justify going back to where I had been. Within the next 5 months, God had been calling me into His Ministry and I had a lot of "But's" to say about it. Finally, I put my life on the Altar, quit my job, enrolled in school for Ministry and purposed in my heart that there was no going back. After everything that He had done for me, I can give Him my life. I've led over 3 Nursing Home bible studies, pulled together resources to do multiple Nursing Home Outreaches and fought to get back in after Covid before we lost any more. 
 
After 3 years, I graduated knowing that I had fulfilled what He had told me to do and that He was not done with me yet. There are no limits with Him except the limits that I place on myself. He has taught me that no matter what may come, that I can trust Him to complete the work that He has started in me. He is my shelter in the storm and I have surrendered it all to Him. I don't want His permissible will for my life but His Perfect Will in every area of my life. 
 
After graduation, I began a season of preparation for the next phase. He started speaking to me about starting a Ministry and that is how "Reigning Love For All" was birthed.  At night, I would go to our downtown area and pray with people. Sometimes until 3 in the morning, depending on how late the Lord led. I usually got them as they stumbled out of the bars. People are hurting and they don't know that they don't have to live like that. I stepped into the role that God needed me to. I was the Momma to the lost college students, the Apology to those that were abused, the sisterly hug to the hurting. During this time, I led a weekly bible study and we averaged 10 people, of all ages. The majority of those people were ones that I had met while soul winning at night. 
 
In the last year of school, God had started breaking my heart for the place where I grew up. A place that I said I would never return to. But God. In July of 2023, God gave the dates and said "GO". With a 51% poverty level, the need is great and it's a place where not many have ventured.  I had a 2 day Outreach where God blessed that community in greater ways than I could have imagined. Everything that was needed, was provided in greater proportions than what I could have done. I actually had people stop by to see me, just to tell me "Thank you, you have no idea how much we need things like this out here. We need Hope.".  If I don't tell them, then who will? 
 
Thank you for taking the time to consider me for your Ordination. I should have already done this but I had held off for personal reasons. When it was brought to me, I felt the Holy Ghost on it and knew this was God's way of opening another door for me. 
 
Blessings
 
Tessa O'Hara