A Letter To My Dear Dayton Women
Natalie Herr praying over the women of Dayton, Spring 2016.
My dear Dayton women,
Today, I sit down at my keyboard to say my goodbyes. As many of you know, the Lord is sending my family out on our next Air Force mission this summer. This means I must leave Dayton, as well as my post as Team Lead of DWITW. As a military wife, I’ve known since the beginning that I’d have to step down one day, so I’ve spent a lot of time imagining how it might go. Sheltering in place because of a global pandemic was certainly not on my list of possibilities. I had planned to say my goodbyes more publicly at Yet Even Now in March, then phase out quietly later the next month. In light of the changes COVID-19 has brought, Brittany and I have decided that now is the time. I confidently leave the mission in her capable hands.
I couldn’t shake the voice of the Holy Spirit asking me to move.
I wish that I could deliver this goodbye to you in person. I long to look into your faces, hug you hard, and thank you for all the ways you’ve shown me Jesus. Six years ago, around this time, I was praying and planning to ask some of you to study the book of Joshua with me. I’d never taught the Bible before, and I didn’t know how it would all come together, but I couldn’t shake the voice of the Holy Spirit asking me to move.
Here we are, six years later, and a small Bible study has transformed into a city-wide network of women who are in love with Jesus, the very Word of God (John 1). Every time I think about the story of DWITW I am overwhelmed with awe. I feel completely unworthy of the blessings He’s poured out on us. He gave us the unmatched gift of Himself and His Word. He gave us community with like-minded women who wanted to study their Bibles. He gave us wisdom, discernment, joy, peace, and countless other benefits that flowed from the time we devoted to Him. And we did absolutely nothing to deserve it. He brought us near to Himself because it pleased Him (1 Sam 12:22). It just pleased Him to be near to the women of Dayton, Ohio.
Oh, sisters, how often I have labored in prayer for you. How I have longed to see this city full of women who read God’s Word, believe what they read, and share it with others. How I dreamed that the women of Dayton would be a mighty force for the Kingdom of God! And by the Father’s grace, I’ve seen it happen. I’ve watched God transform your hearts. I’ve seen your passion for Him grow. I’ve watched you feast on His Word together as if it was your last meal.
When I said yes to this call from God, I did it believing that I probably wouldn’t get to see the fruit. How wrong I was! I have seen God raise you up, one by one, and send you out to serve Him in your churches, homes, and communities. I’ve watched you start Bible studies in your neighborhoods and teach the Bible to others even though it scared the pants off of you. I’ve watched you lead us in worship, proclaim Jesus online, raise up the next generation, and lovingly, practically love our Dayton neighbors— all with God’s Word firmly planted in your hearts.
I know with certainty that God has more good to come for the women of Dayton in the years ahead.
This ministry has changed me forever. I am convinced that I have learned more from all of you than you could ever learn from me. There have been many missteps and failures along the way, as I’ve been growing and changing right along with you. The moments I will treasure most are the “lightbulb” moments— the ones when I’ve watched you put something new together about who God is that you learned in His Word. There is a beautiful, awe-filled look that comes over your faces when this happens, and it gives me such hope and joy. I know with certainty that God has more good to come for the women of Dayton in the years ahead.
I have loved walking through the Scriptures with you these six years. I have loved hearing what God is teaching you, how He is refining you, and how He’s changing the way you see the world. The cherry on top is watching you take what you’ve learned and do so many wonderful things with it for the Kingdom!
And now I end where I began, awestruck yet again with the words of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:
“Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” (Deut. 32:46-47)
My dear sisters, never forget this precious truth! The words of our God are not empty. They are our very life. Let them dwell in you richly (Col. 3:16). They are good and true and fully able to sustain us through these troubling times. All we need, we find in Him (Col 3:11).
May God continue to stoke the fire that is burning in your hearts. May He draw you daily into the feast of His Word. May He deploy you across the city and to the ends of the earth, in service to His Kingdom. May He sustain all of us, as we long for our heavenly home. May His name be praised and His Word be proclaimed rightly in this city until He returns.
I will miss your fellowship profoundly and will remember you often in my prayers. What a joy it will be to worship one day together in glory! Lord Jesus, hasten the day.
With deepest love and gratitude,
Natalie Herr
Natalie Herr is the founder of Dayton Women in the Word. She is a servant of God, a wife, a mom of four and a God-sized dreamer. She loves teaching and equipping women with God's Word.