Pastor Donnette Reid - Contributed

Donnette Ann-Marie Reid does not believe her job as a pastor is more challenging because she is a woman.

Reid is the leader of the flock at the Cedar Grove branch of the Emanuel's Hope Restored Church of God in Manchester. She takes pleasure serving God under the leadership of her husband, Bishop Clive Reid, who is also the bishop for her denomination.

"In this time in which we are living, if God raise you up to be a pastor, as a woman, do it. It is a work for anybody that God sees it fit for," said Reid.

She is excited about the work she does, not only as a pastor but as one who has been saved by God.

Way of the Lord

Reid, a born-again Christian since 1987, has been a pastor for the last three years. She also serves as the national president for the women's ministry in her denomination. Reid believes that women should fill the gap until men realise they need to arise and assume their positions as leaders.

Pastor Reid, who is the mother of David and Ruth, said parents need to ensure that their children are brought up in the way of the Lord. She wants parents to keep an eye on their children and know and understand them well.

"I think women, or mothers, on a whole, need to learn the different age groups and the operations of their children. They also need to know their fears out there stick with their children and just have a motherly love towards all their children. I believe that nurturing them will help mothers to assist children to grow in the Lord," she said.

She is imploring children, who are deliberately staying from church, to know that she got saved at 15 and could not have allowed anything in the world to prevent her from serving God. She confessed that she has had her rise and falls along the Christian journey, but was quick to point out that she did not allow her falls to keep her down.

David Reid, who is the pastor's son, had good words about his mother. He said she is a remarkable woman who is unlike any other mother. Reid said his mother is the most outstanding parent one could ever have and that she sets good Christian examples for him and his sister, as well as other children to emulate.

"I got baptised at the age of eight and I will never regret the day I did, because of the good Christian examples which my mother set for me and here am I today, serving God as a young boy," said David, who is an exceptional musician at his church.