Assistant Pastor

Laura Dickerson

I’m Laura Dickerson. My family and I have been with Allpoints Church since 2009 when we returned from Kenya. My husband, Don, our sons Zack and Drew, and I were missionaries there for four years — an amazing opportunity to watch God work, to be used by Him, and learn and share about living this life all for Christ. At the end of our four-year term, we came back to Georgia. However, I was tired, and had no idea how tired until arriving at Allpoints..

Throughout our ministry in Kenya, I had seen God move in ways I had rarely seen before — the blind could see, the lame could walk, the sick were healed, miraculous provision and protection were provided — I had no doubt about God’s presence and love for His people in Kenya and East Africa. But there were other happenings — constant spiritual attacks, the suffering of severe poverty all around us, the sick and dying, rapes, beatings — sometimes it seemed all our prayers were just bouncing off the heavens. Then there was the “election crisis” in January of 2008. The incumbent President declared victory and assumed office. His opponent declared fraud and soon battles among tribes with long histories of strife ensued. Estimates of 1500-2000 people were slaughtered in a matter of days, and thousands of others were forced out of their homes and off their land back to their traditional homelands. Many times, this meant people moved across the country into an environment they had never experienced before, perhaps from lush green jungle lands to scrub desert lands. “IDP” camps sprang up everywhere (Internally Displaced Persons).

We began to do what seemed unthinkable a few short months before. We had to teach our sons where to hide in case our home was raided, and to not come out no matter what they heard. We grieved for the Kenyans and this nation that we had grown to love. Nothing in our lives thus far could prepare us to handle such tragedy and violence. We had 22 people, from three different tribes plus our family, seeking refuge in our home. Yet in the midst of all that chaos, God protected all of us and provided plenty of food, milk, and clean water. (It “just so happened” that we had a bumper crop of maize, a plentiful garden full of veggies, and a cow that just had given birth!)

Arriving at Allpoints meant that for the first time in many years, I could let my “brave” front go and allow God to start healing me and filling me back up — pointing out my mistakes (like relying too much on my past training and experience) and reminding me of His incredible provision. I returned to seminary to finish my Master of Divinity, and hesitantly asked Banks if he’d be willing to mentor me in ministry. After another year of meeting with Banks and his wife, Kendra, we decided that I was ready to transition to Assistant Pastor.

Prior to being a missionary, I was a volunteer director of missions at a large church and an intensive care nurse in downtown Atlanta and Charleston, SC. My husband, Don, and I have been married since 1987. Don is an environmental engineering consultant (www.DickersonConsulting.com) and we have two amazing teenage sons, Zack and Drew.