Our God is not a god of confusion. He is the supreme authority of life, clarity and truth. Pastor Judy Brooks’ story serves as a reminder that none of us is too far gone. The Lord is fully capable of speaking truth and peace to an otherwise chaotic world, and even to the “most unreachable.” We pray that this testimony (Judy’s story in From the Pit to the Pulpit) would set captives free as we are reminded that the blood of Jesus has paid the cost for our lives and our freedom!

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And they overcame and conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony … (Revelation 12:11 AMP).

Judy Brooks was born into a patriotic military family. Her father served in Korea and Vietnam and kept moving his family of seven all over the world, until they eventually settled in Indianapolis when Judy was 10. Although the family was not conventionally religious, Judy’s parents taught her and her siblings to stand bravely in the midst of adversity, to be proud of who they are, and to confidently speak their mind.

Because hers was one of very few families of color in a predominately white neighborhood in the 1960s, it became hard for Judy to stay unblemished by the hatred around her. The perceived differences were further cemented into her young mind as she experienced racism at the hand of her dark-skinned great-grandmother — whose “slave mentality” and resultant judgment became embedded as an anchor in Judy’s life. Thus, the seed of racism flourished.

At the age of 13, a hardened atheism took center stage when Judy lost her best friend and she cast the blame on a God she never even knew. At 16, Judy became pregnant, and her mother forced her to have an abortion. Confusion plagued Judy from that moment on, and she began using alcohol to try and numb the pain. At 17, Judy married the father of the baby she had aborted and then gave birth to her first son. Addiction and pain plagued the home, however, and the marriage was quickly dissolved in divorce.

Jesus first entered Judy’s awareness when her younger sister came home one day at age 21, with a boldness to share a newfound faith. Judy couldn’t understand the freedom in which her sister now seemed to be walking, and her attitude of extreme independence and hostility kept the idea distanced from her mind.

Now divorced and with a child to raise, Judy took her first job, at 23, as a correctional officer in the Indiana Department of Correction. But confusion and pain continued to haunt her: alcoholism; memories of the abortion, the divorce, and the experiences with racism. Added to all this were experiences of rape and homosexuality. Amid the struggle, Judy determined to make her own way.

Various Christian ministries came to the prison where Judy was working, to minister to the inmates, but she battled feelings of hatred for those ministers. Deeply entrenched in the enemy’s camp, she didn’t like them — she didn’t even like herself. In fact, she led a double life: thriving in her career during the week, but “living on the streets” in her off time — perversion, lying, cheating, addiction and a murdering spirit enfolded her like a “familiar” garment. Longings to remain in hiding and secrecy haunted her as she grasped desperately for “that thing” which was missing in her life.

A LIFE TRANSFORMED

Despite her inner turmoil, Judy rose through the ranks of her correctional job, with five promotions in ten years, which was unheard of in that line of work. She became head of security at a maximum-security facility (the only female correctional major in the state), yet she remained entrenched in spiritual darkness. She stayed sober during the week, but spent her weekends drunk. She had the money, the status, the car — but always felt empty inside. She hated Christians, but, really, she hated everyone. And yet the kindness of the Lord and of believers continued to pursue her — including those in the prison ministries, pastors, and even co-workers. One young evangelist (one of the officers under her command, in fact) didn’t even need to say anything about Jesus — Judy found herself drawn to her anyway. The love of Christ just dripped off of this woman; she exuded peace. Judy made sure to end her rounds with this young officer, as it brought a sense of calm over her otherwise tumultuous world.

One day, after Judy had been in charge of the prison for six months while still hiding in “the underground” on weekends, this evangelistic officer phoned her, out of the blue, to tell her not to do the thing that was then on her mind. Judy was spiraling — and she was ready to take her life. A powerful word of knowledge had led this officer to phone her superior in a call that ended up changing Judy’s life forever. This was the impetus that set Judy’s life on a different trajectory. That day she began laying down her own plans, and her heart began to soften.

Two weeks later, now ready and primed, Judy somehow knew that this day was going to be different. The young officer came to Judy’s office that morning and led her to the Lord. On that first day, Judy’s life was changed forever in a single moment. On the second day, she received her first Bible. On the third day, she received the baptism of fire, with the evidence of speaking in tongues. At age 36, Judy’s life was radically transformed.

Judy changed so drastically that the change soon rippled out to the rest of the prison. Her countenance was altered, and revival broke out in the prison. The Lord peeled back the veil, showing Judy how many people had been laying her name upon the altar and praying for years for her salvation: the chaplain, the physical plant director, other officers, and teachers, to name a few. God began speaking pointedly with Judy. And she, in turn, asked Jesus to remove the taste for alcohol and other perversions from her life, and she immediately found deliverance from her addictions. God delivered her from homosexuality, with no spiritual or emotional residue.

Now sober-minded, Judy got right to work sharing the Lord everywhere she went. She was grown in the secret place, just she and the Lord. Peace, revelation, words of wisdom, and deliverance now marked her out. Her heart was settled on Jesus as her anchor.

The tendrils of racism, however, continued to linger — until the Lord sent her to a church with a white pastor. There, God healed her heart and delivered her from the spirit of racism, and a deep, supernatural love for all people welled up in her. “They just loved the demons out of me,” Judy says.

Three years later, God called Judy into ministry, even giving her the name Brothers and Sisters of the Cross for that ministry. He downloaded all the details, and she held this vision in her heart until He brought it to fruition many years later. In the interim, she took seriously the call to minister right where she was planted. While Judy was still working in the prison, God changed her heart toward the inmates; He revealed her own heart to her, showing her its similarities to those who lived behind locked doors. She had been living in the same bondage — the only difference was that she had never been caught. She grew through the models of prisoners and staff. They ministered, prayed and prophesied over her. She ministered and poured herself out for those to whom the Lord had called her.

A little over a year after her salvation, Judy was brought up on charges within the prison of “ghost employment” — stemming from her time before she began walking with the Lord. She didn’t hesitate to plead guilty, and in fact chose to represent herself. She was willing to lose everything but Jesus. In the end, she was able to walk away with only a reprimand.

God trusted her, created a job for her, and promoted her to the central office. She carried favor and influence. The Lord endowed her with the gift of prophecy, and He used it to show others who HE is — and He did all of this while Judy was still working for the prison system. Once, God even sent her to a former drug dealer to confirm the words He had spoken into his life the night prior. Judy confirmed that man’s call to ministry, and five years later he called her to share news of the fulfillment of those words.

TRANSITION TO FULL-TIME MINISTRY

God brought now–Pastor Judy’s dream of ministry to fruition in 2006, leading her to Greenville, S.C. She resigned from her 25-year career, leaving behind the dream house built only eight months before and an incredible job as a director at a privatized prison.

The first church God called her to plant was in an apartment clubhouse. Judy’s first members were racist skinheads, alcoholics and addicts. God Himself did the transforming work. Radical transformation, color differences set aside, and an invitation to learn more — all of this brought salvation to an entire family! The change led three generations to give their lives to the Lord. The church grew between 2006 and 2017, with Pastor Judy’s personal residence serving as a sort of Holy Ghost bootcamp. Twenty-one people received deliverance and order back into their lives — addicts, homosexuals, and homeless.

Pastor Judy attends many gay-pride parades, offering love and sharing hope from her own story. Carrying forth the love of Christ, her church members will fan out among crowds at the pride parades and simply ask to pray for people. Just making themselves available, they love each person where he or she is at. At one point, she led a ministry called Free of Egypt — offering deliverance to those caught in homosexuality.

In 2017 the Lord sent Pastor Judy back to Indiana, with the new task of preparing people for leadership and the global stage, including government. This ministry goes forth in four states, bringing men and women into leadership positions and showing them how to carry influence in the workplace and marketplace. When controversy arises with other pastors, Pastor Judy asks them to pull out their Bibles. Whether abortion, racism, homosexuality, or God’s hand on Israel — she boldly and unapologetically stands on the Word of God and calls out truth.

Pastor Judy is not ashamed of her own story or of the Gospel — it is the power of God for those who will believe, she echoes Paul the apostle in saying (Romans 1:16). She wants to show others that there is a way to be free, and that this way is Jesus (John 8:36).

“As long as the devil is in the earth and people need to be delivered and set free, I am going to tell my testimony, so they know there is a way to be free through Jesus Christ,” she says. “You don’t have to be a drunk, a homosexual, a racist. You don’t have to have a broken heart from abortion. He has come to heal the brokenhearted.”

She shares with others how to live a victorious life and teaches about divine healing and how to walk in the glorious power of the Lord.

Pastor Judy’s ministry was not thwarted when COVID hit. As He did for many others, the Lord gave her a plan, and she and her church members just went out to the park with that plan. “We are mobile altars,” she says. “That is the temple of God. I am going to release Him.”

Pastor Judy takes every opportunity to give out the message of salvation. She holds fast to the mission of making a difference today, while she is still living. The Word and the love of Jesus Christ change everything, and she unashamedly shares this truth, even in the darkest of corners. She carries her freedom as a badge and a walking testimony. God comes first in everything! People are dying, and believers have the answer to their hopelessness. A hallmark of her church includes testimony services, as this serves to give people hope.

“I don’t spread propaganda,” she says. “I spread truth, and I am a walking testimony of the goodness of the Lord.”

BOLDNESS TO SPEAK TRUTH

Even though Pastor Judy grew up without the Lord, her father taught her to use her voice and to think independently. A conservative mark was on her from an early age, although she aligned herself with the political party and agendas that were expected of her. As a believer in Christ, though, Pastor Judy has confronted the generational ties to party lines and done research for herself. “Who started the KKK?” she challenges. “Who helped set the people free from slavery?” She does not shy away from controversy, as it opens up conversation. She now votes in alignment with her conservative beliefs and she stands on the Word. The way she votes, she says, is rooted in truth — His truth.

“I don’t let my skin color define me,” Pastor Judy says. “I am defined by being a sold-out servant to Yeshua, Messiah. That’s who I am.”

In Greenville she was asked to speak at an abortion rally where few African Americans would. “I am not a token — I am a servant,” she says. “But if it takes me to get other people to come, I will show my face for the sake of the Gospel. I make my face [seen] and my congregation show their face at abortion clinics. First of all, you are a Christian. But also, you happen to be African American, and we’ve got to show them that we care too, because that [abortion] is a lie from the devil. We can make a difference. I will lend my skin color for the sake of the Gospel.” She is not afraid to be vocal and bold, sometimes being the only one around who is using her voice. When God called her to confront the Black Lives Matter leader in Indianapolis, she boldly stepped into that circle. She unapologetically reveals the truth, exposing darkness that is otherwise hidden behind smoke screens.

CONNECTION TO IFA

Because Pastor Judy sought clarity and desired to align herself with intercessors, God led her to IFA. She wanted to find an organization that lined up with the Word of God and that unashamedly prayed for all of those in leadership. IFA fit that bill. She shares this ministry with her congregation, and they pray in agreement with the prayers shared here.

Pastor Judy found consistency, the love of Christ, strategic prayers, and an organization led by the Lord. She consistently gives as the Lord leads — specifically to those ministries grounded in the Word and in the love of Christ. IFA is multicultural, does not exclude anyone and is quick to correct when needed, she notes. “You all have been consistent. You all stand your ground. You all stand your post. You don’t change. When you send it out, you are praying for everybody!”

Grace drips off of Pastor Judy’s story. Failure does not eliminate you from God’s using you to advance His Kingdom — and no story is beyond His ability to rescue. God operates outside of space and time, and a life surrendered to Him puts our sins as far from us “as the east is from the west.” He is a miracle-working God, and He wants to use you. Yes — that is all He desires. Are you willing?

Were you encouraged by this testimony? If so, share it with your friends and family to encourage them!

Suni Piper is a writer and a passionate intercessor for the nation and for the Church. She is determined and surrendered to be a voice of truth and an encouragement to the body of believers. Follow Suni at her website, ASurrenderedLife.com.