Narrative Summary
Interview with Kristin Strong by Audrey Pauls
Kristin Strong was born in the 1950’s in Lorain County, Ohio. She grew up in a
Methodist Christian home where her family prayed together each morning and attended church
every Sunday morning as well as every Sunday evening. Both of Kristin's grandparents had been
pastors, so she was, in her words, “saturated”. Kristin gave her life to Christ when she was just
five years old. Kristin and her family moved from state to state quite a bit due to her father’s
career as a college professor. In her adolescence, Kristin always remained steadfast in her faith.
She never faced rebellion and doubt as many other teenagers experience. Kristin attended Asbury
College in Wilmore, Kentucky, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Art Education.
She then went on to Asbury Theological Seminary, where she met her husband. Together, they
had one daughter. Kristin, her husband, and her daughter have lived in Kentucky, Virginia,
Missouri, and Germany. Kristin now lives in Springfield, Missouri, where she is a dedicated
mother, an exceptional artist, and teaches English as a second language in her spare time.
Growing up, Kristin was most spiritually influenced by her family, who she watched live
out their faith and who exposed her to the Bible at a young age. Kristin’s father taught her a great
deal about humility through his actions, and Kristin respected him greatly. She was also
influenced by her professors in Seminary, however, Kristin was especially influenced by the
author C.S Lewis. C.S. Lewis has become a kind of framework for Kristin’s life. His written
work has helped shape her perspective of time, eternity, and God’s plan.
Kristin was gracious enough to share a few very personal experiences that have
profoundly shaped her as a person and have been significant to her spiritual journey. While in
college, Kristin was told about a missions program to Kenya. Although terrified and reluctant,
Kristin believed that God was gently urging her to become involved. Time passed, and the winter
break from college arrived. Kristin, along with other students, rang bells for the Salvation Army.
Kristin’s station happened to be in a mall right behind a large caged display of wild animals from
Africa. That winter, each day, Kristin would ring bells, and the Lord would work on her heart,
until Kristin began to think “well, maybe Africa wouldn’t be so bad”. Although still afraid,
Kristen agreed to go on the trip and felt a peaceful assurance that this was what God had called
her to do.
Another huge event for Kristin was the divorce from her husband of twenty-eight years.
The crisis of the divorce, for Kristin, moved her relationship with Christ from believing, to
experiencing. Throughout that tough time, Kristin continuously repeated “You are faithful, You
are faithful, You are faithful”. This event marked a significant shift for Kristin. She went from
believing based on her knowledge of Christianity to believing based on, in her words, “a
concrete experience of His rescue”. She notes that when she slips back into the belief system of
when she was younger, she can refer back to those months when she was going through the
divorce. “It was a huge lesson for me”, Kristin adds.
Kristin also explained her views on church, God, the Bible, and what is means to be a
Christian woman, for her. When asked about church, Kristin remarked that it was a little bit like
taking a vitamin. Kristin’s daughter often would like to not go to church because she has a hard
time sitting in the service due to autism, but Kristin believes that Sundays are special and should
be set apart. Kristin has often taken a leadership role in churches that she has been a part of by
directing worship and teaching Sunday school classes. Kristin believes in a God that is bigger
than all of the contradictions that people can see in the Bible. She believes that we are much too
small to fully understand the grand design, and she believes that God is unendingly faithful and
full of unfailing love. Kristin also believes that the Bible was divinely inspired. She enjoys
reading the Bible most mornings and gathers inspiration from its passages. Kristin finds that the
Bible can often encourage her and shift her perspective. She believes that a Christian is not
someone who works hard to be perfect or moral, but that a Christian is simply someone who
chooses to put their faith in Christ on a daily basis.
Kristin is steadfast in her faith, but she often struggles with guilt from her own psyche as
well as from the slant of Christianity taught to her as a child. She hopes to one day overcome the
guilt that she often feels. When asked what she would tell those seeking religious advice, after
some consideration, she remarks that the most important thing would be to not get caught up in
simply looking for a list of doctrines to believe, but to experience religion as a living breathing
thing. Kristin explains that the Christian community has been responsible for some really great
things, but also for some really terrible things, and she believes that a personal relationship with
Christ looks very different from what many religious institutions and governments may look like.
Kristin’s faith, kindness, and continuous optimism is inspiring and encouraging to all those who
meet her.