Hi! Thanks for joining me! I always find these introductions a little strange so let me pour you a cuppa before I introduce myself. Stories are always better with tea…

So, my name is Joy and I’m originally from England, born in Bristol, raised in Liverpool and now living in the U.S with my wonderful husband Phillip and our two sons, Freedom and Justice.

The first seven years of our marriage was spent living in NYC where Phillip was consistently working as an actor on Broadway and I was figuring out exactly what to do with my new, big, American life. In 2019 I began working for a church there which later led to an invitation to work for a different church back in Phillip’s home town of Los Angeles. In 2022 we then relocated back to the West Coast where I have been fully invested as Missions & Justice Pastor at Expression58 Church.

One of my favourite passages from the Bible, and words that I have taken on as a mandate for my life, can be found in Isaiah 61:3.

“God has sent me to give them a beautiful crown in exchange for ashes, to anoint them with gladness instead of sorrow, to wrap them in victory, joy, and praise instead of depression and sadness.” - The Voice

For over a decade I have worked in the non-profit sector around the world helping women who have been sexually exploited through the sex industry, as well as those who have been incarcerated, find restoration, healing and a fresh start. I  have a huge heart for justice, restoration, rediscovering purity, and seeing men and women living in freedom!

In 2013 I published my first book, Broken By Beauty, which unpacks God’s heart of justice and restoration for those who have been sexually exploited. I love communicating from a place of vulnerability and empowering people to own their own stories, even the chapters that might feel the most painful and broken. Since writing Broken By Beauty, I have written regularly for Cross Rhythms Radio in the UK, Iridescent (an online community for women), as well as my own blog.

One of my heroes both in the faith and in justice is William Wilberforce. He is famously quoted as saying,

“You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.”

I believe that we should both seek to understand the injustices that still exist in our world and not just know about them, but choose to stand up and do something about them. So with every word that I write and action I make, I hope to enable and inspire change in the world around me so that the disparities between rich and poor, black and white, man and woman, would begin to exist less and less.

Thank you for sitting here and desiring to get to know me a little better. I look forward to more cups of tea and conversations around the dinner table soon!

Love,