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HOLY INTERRUPTION 6 SPRING 2019 georgeclerk/iStock WHEN GOD MOVES TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD By Ashley Emmert JUANETTA HAS RECEIVED TRAINING IN TEACHING, PREACHING, EVANGELISM, AND THE PROPHETIC REALMS OF GOD'S KINGDOM. SHE BELIEVES GOD IS CALLING HER TO PASTOR AND BELIEVES THE SPIRIT OF GOD WILL EQUIP AND LEAD HER IN THIS ENDEAVOR. SHE HAS DEVELOPED A LOCAL OUTREACH PROGRAM BASED ON THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY AND HAS TAUGHT A BIBLE STUDY FOR SENIORS IN A LOCAL NURSING FACILITY. I cmart7327 /Getty Images It took Juanetta Swann a long time to commit herself to God. "I was in and out of the church as a teenager, but I knew God was protecting me from the violence around me on the streets of Washington DC. Eventually I said, 'I can't keep doing this to God. When I go to church Sunday, I'm going to rededicate myself and be there for whatever He has for me.'" For decades Juanetta was an active member of her church. She was a computer programmer at the time, but she had a sense, which was confirmed by many people, that God's true call on her life was to be a preacher. "However," she said, "I was hoping I could marry a preacher instead of being one myself." It took an entire neighborhood to get Juanetta's attention. "Finally, God blocked me in," she said. "Two doors down on my left was a pastor. Two doors to my right was a minister. Across the street was a deacon. Two doors from him was a minister, and her husband was a deacon. A sense of community was growing in my neighborhood, and it seemed like they were all directed to speak to me about my path in life." According to Juanetta, "They told me over and over, 'You are a preacher, but right now, you are not preaching.' Finally, I decided it was time to follow God's plan. I took the step of obedience to get a master of divinity. As I reviewed possible options online, up on my screen popped the information for Denver Seminary." Juanetta said her experience has been better than she had hoped for. "I didn't expect the level of education I'm currently getting," she said. "Denver Seminary is unique. To be where professors pray for you, care for you, and ask about your soul—it's more than being at a school. It's, 'I'm a partaker in your soul, in your spirit, in you as a person.' It's not about degrees. It's, 'I need you to get what God has for you. We have to test you, yes, but overall it is about you getting what you need in order to fulfill the vocation God has called you to.' So many people at Denver Seminary care about me. The people I meet every semester genuinely care about my soul and spirit and where I'm headed with God." Upon graduation Juanetta is open to whatever God has for her. "The best I can say is that I will continue to follow God's call to preach. I'm about to be licensed to minister. Will I open my own church someday? God hasn't revealed that to me."