Portia Lewis

After moving to Southern California from Detroit at the age of two, life continued much the same for Portia Lewis until the age of 12, when she was invited to ride a bus to church. Being the oldest child in the family, Portia assisted her brother and two sisters in getting ready for church each Sunday. Portia soon realized that although she was not yet a member of the church, she was far more than "just a number" to the people of West Coast Baptist Church in Vista, California; she was a real person who needed a Savior, and afterwards, needed people to sacrifice their time to help her grow in her relationship with God. Under the leadership of Pastor Phil Clark, many of his members did just that. Portia recalls as a "bus kid" being invited often to the houses of church members on Sundays. She was visited regularly, not only by her bus captain, but also by other church members. Portia was saved and baptized, and soon began to take some steps in her Christian life.

Her church bus driver, Mr. White, took an interest in the life of young Portia. He was not a pastor, nor even an assistant pastor; he was an unpaid layman who gave of his time on Sundays and through the week to try to reach "his Jerusalem" with the gospel. That extra time produced fruit in Portia's life. He encouraged Portia to find God's will for her life and to consider attending Fairhaven Baptist College.

There was no "silver spoon" in Portia's life. Being raised by a single mom necessitated that she work her way through college largely on her own. Portia recollects some tough times in college trying to balance work, ministry, and class schedules. Despite the difficult times, she never felt alone. Todd and SongSu Wright, long-time staff members of Fairhaven Baptist Church, had a profound influence on Portia's life. She remembers their patience in encouraging her along through the ups and downs that come with being a student over 2,000 miles from home. "Their interest in me means a lot," she relates. Yearly visits to Fairhaven by Pastor Clark further renewed her determination to finish the task that she had started.

God's work demands a lot of effort, and Fairhaven Baptist College seeks to instill this principle into its students. This trait was evident in a very practical way for Portia. "When I went home to California during Christmas break or the summer, and Saturday morning rolled around, I was ready and wanting to take the gospel out into our community. This was taught to me before I went to college, and it was sealed in as a habit during my time at Fairhaven. Reality is that there is no vacation, whether Christmas or summer, from serving God."

Matthew 6:33 is a verse that Portia looks back on as reality in her life. She sought to give herself to God, and God in turn led her to the man of His choice while at college. In 2004, Portia married Courtney Lewis, a Fairhaven Baptist College graduate called to start a church in Chicago in the near future. Summarizing her journey to her present situation, Portia said, "Maybe all of this stretching of my faith was the Lord's plan to prepare me for the monumental undertaking of being a faithful pastor's wife in the city of Chicago." Please pray for Portia and Courtney as they prepare to step out into the wonderful task of planting a New Testament church in the very needy inner city of Chicago.