Today we’d like to introduce you to Ronda Martin.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
After losing my husband in a motorcycle accident in 2005, I quickly learned two harsh realities:
1. I no longer fit into certain friendship circles, where being part of a couple was an unwritten rule. Discovering my new identity as the only parent of a young son would require rebuilding my life and finding new community where I truly belonged.
2. While very well meaning, the church, in general, had no idea how to minister to widows.
I also found I was not alone. God connected me with three other widows who had all experienced similar situations as mine and had a desire to create real ministry to widows. All four of us had husbands who were either pastors or leaders in their respective churches. As women, we all had held leadership roles among other women in our churches, as well. We could tell God was bringing together a group of widows with different gifts and experiences but with one great desire to provide real ministry to other widows.
Through much prayer and planning, the four of us founded PHOEBE Connections, Inc., -a place where we could connect to build a support group among other widows in a Christian environment and serve Christ together in our community. Developing a support system is essential for any widow, and serving is a part of healing. Widows need to feel as if they still have something to offer and that there is a place for them after the death of a husband.
After enlisting the help of a few local pastors, we began reaching out to other widows within Wilson County. To our surprise, our little group began to double, then triple as we planned for a ministry launch in 2010. We enjoyed meeting other widows as the ministry grew, hearing their stories, and learning how we could meet certain needs within our community. Since our launch, PHOEBES have stocked food pantries, gathered school supplies for underprivileged children, cooked meals for the unhoused in our community, provided shoes for children in need, made purses for women coming out of prison, stocked hygiene items for local ministries and agencies, participated in mission trips to East Tennessee, gathered items for crisis pregnancy centers, purchased rice and beans for a ministry to Honduras, provided food and other needed items for local pet shelters, developed an annual cookie ministry to emergency responders in Wilson County, and coordinated MANY, MANY other service projects within the Wilson County community and beyond. We currently have 40-50 active members who participate in our monthly meetings and service projects and another 20-30 who are inactive or participate as they can.
In 2016, PHOEBE Connections began to try to address the needs of younger widows within the community. We soon learned that most of them were concerned about sending their children to college now that they were a single income family. As a ministry, we wanted to reach these younger widows and their children in a way that told them, “We love you. We care about your future, and there is hope in Jesus Christ.”
After much prayer, research, planning, and effort, we developed a fundraiser with a dinner, a local band to perform, a live cake auction, and silent cake auction. Surprisingly, we learned the need resonated with many businesses and individuals within Wilson County, and our fundraisers have always been a fun and well-attended event! To date, PHOEBE Connections, Inc. has awarded over $500,000 in scholarships to children of widows in Wilson County.
Looking back, I can now see how God used my pain and the pain of other widows to create something beautiful and meaningful in our community. Romans 16:1-2 describes a woman in the church of Cenchreae named Phoebe, who had dedicated her life to serving her Lord. Most Bible scholars believe she was a widow who was delivering a letter for Paul to the church at Rome. Paul, however, never recognized her as a widow. Instead, he commended her and described her as a “benefactor of many…” This is the very essence of who we are as a ministry, and it is why we do not refer to ourselves as widows. We are PHOEBES!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road from where we began to where we are now has been anything but smooth, but I can certainly testify to the truth of Isaiah 45:2: “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth.”
We have experienced many challenges as a ministry, but working together with a common goal in mind has been a unifying factor. As our members age, it takes everything we have physically to orchestrate our annual fundraiser. Meeting the scholarship students and their mothers at our annual scholarship banquet always brings such comforting assurance that our hard work is making a difference in the lives of young people who have lost a father.
Several years ago, one of our founding members, Elaine Pearson, moved to East Tennessee to be with her daughter. Elaine had always spearheaded our service projects, and her move left a huge gap in our ministry. Fortunately, Elaine had the foresight to have Sharon Failor working closely with her. Sharon stepped up to fill that void, and while we miss Elaine, what she started has continued because of her ability to mentor Sharon.
In 2025, our ministry took another large blow. In January one of our founders, Carol Pharris, went to be with Jesus. Carol was the backbone of the ministry with a highly advanced administrative gift. She served as our secretary/treasurer and had a true servant’s heart for this ministry. She was dearly loved by everyone who knew her, and we all still grieve her loss. In Carol’s honor, we have created a scholarship to recognize high school graduates who excel in servant leadership. This is our way of remembering Carol while instilling the values of servant leadership in the next generation. We awarded three students this year with the Carol Pharris Scholarship, and they are all truly outstanding students! Once again, God generated growth from our pain.
In February of 2025, I underwent open heart surgery to repair an aneurysm and later required a hip replacement in the fall. Sarah Sharp stepped in to assume our marketing and community outreach efforts, as well as the duties of secretary for our board of directors. Our fourth founder, Glynda Green, who heads up the greeting and registration area of our monthly meetings, has experienced health issues, as well as her assistant, Louise Green. Jinger Justice volunteered to help Glynda and Louise and has been doing a fabulous job! It truly takes all of us stepping up to the plate to do what we can wherever a need exists within the organization. Whenever we have had a need, God has provided a servant’s heart to fill the void.
We have had to grieve the loss of many dearly loved members over the years, and grief is always difficult. We have the comfort, however, of knowing we will connect with our fellow PHOEBES again because of the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. God continues to work through our pain, and we give Him all the glory for this ministry!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
While PHOEBE Connections, Inc. may be my passion and my ministry, I hold a full-time job outside of ministry that I dearly love. I work as an office manager for Roy T. Goodwin Contractors, Inc., a concrete construction company in Nashville, and I can honestly say that it is the best office environment I have ever encountered! The company is a family-owned business, and the staff and crews truly work together as a family, which has helped make it the success it is today.
Any big plans?
Currently, I’m trying to plan for our next fundraiser and am having trouble concentrating beyond that point! I will probably retire from the concrete construction company in the next several years, but I’m not sure one ever really retires from ministry. I expect to be meeting and connecting with widows, facilitating monthly meetings, helping with service projects, and planning for fundraisers until the Good Lord no longer needs me here.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://phoebeconnections.com
- Facebook: Phoebe Connections
Image Credits
Feature photo courtesy of Chesley Summar Photography.
