Jaime Johnson

Guiding conversations with community leaders.

In this podcast, we'll explore the human journey of leaders, their stories of humility, triumph, roadblocks and lessons learned. Come join us as we journey together and uncover the questions you've always wanted to know. This podcast is brought to you by the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce, perhaps providing resources, connections and belonging for business professionals.

And Rocket Space, an event and meeting venue in the heart of the East Valley with a full service four person podcast studio. And we've got another episode of Guiding Growth today. What do you think, Sarah?

Today is a great day. We're celebrating the presence of a native Arizonan and graduate of Gilbert High school, class of 99. She's an ordained minister and now an associate pastor at Life Community Church, the same church in which she grew up. She is the wife of dan and in 2018, adopted Declan, a precious and loving little boy. She's a Gilbert Leadership graduate and has a heart for serving people and serving God. She is Jamie Johnson.

How was that for an introduction?

That's a great introduction. Yeah.

Also, I'm also class of 1999.

I just don't know that you could essay the class. You could have been like, let people go old.

I am graduating. Okay.

Just kidding.

We might have to edit that one out there.

Class of.

She's a graduate, 2004. Oh, I don't want to be that young. It's fine.

She graduated high school. Leave it at that.

What Gilbert leadership class are you?

24.

Oh, that was almost one. That was one of the almost good years, wasn't it?

The year before the Rebels, There was really only one rough year, not 24.

I am glad you're in Gilbert leadership. You do an amazing job working in that program, by the way.

Thank you.

Yep. Always impressed with you in that. Hey, but we got something we got to start with, and we call that rapid fire round. Sometimes we call it make fun of Sarah round, but today we're gonna call it rapid fire round. Are you ready?

I'm ready.

Okay. Where's the most beautiful place you've been?

Ooh, I'm gonna say Israel.

Spender or saver?

Saver. Really bad? Saver.

Describe yourself in three words.

Consistent. Optimistic. Is hustler Bad?

Depends how you mean it.

Always working.

And where you say it at best?

Room in your house?

Living room.

Date night or night in date night.

How long does it take for you.

To get ready in the morning for washing our hair? 45 minutes.

Oh, man.

What about not washing our hair?

Well, the eyelashes are off right now, so it's zero Time. We're good.

The things you learn on this show.

I know.

Beach or mountains?

Beach.

Name one thing you can't live without.

I'm gonna say my son. I might have not said that yesterday, but I'm gonna say my son.

Day by day.

Day by day.

Toddlers always has your heart. Okay. Favorite sports team?

Okay. By marriage, packers and Boston Red Sox. But I'm secretly a Cubs fan. I just follow them. I don't know why I like them.

Is it the logo?

But I don't know. But I love their song. Like, hey, Chicago. But my husband's a huge packers and Red Sox fan, so I'm going to.

Go with that glass. Half full or half empty?

Always full.

Nice.

I see that in you.

Yep. I do too.

Thank you.

Thank you to Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport for their support.

With Nonstop service to 60 plus cities, Gateway Airport makes traveling just plain easy.

Visit GatewayAirport.com for more information. Okay, so let's start off talking a little bit about the past, if we shall. So talk to us about this 1999 graduation time period of your life when you're getting ready to do different things. What was life like then back there? And who was mentoring you back in those days?

Yeah, so we moved around a lot growing up. Went to Gilbert High School. That was the only school I attended, like for four years in a row. I mean, every year moved schools. So going through high school, there was never really a plan to go to college. There was nobody pushing me towards that direction. I knew I wanted to do makeup or hair or be a teacher, know how to get there. And so when I was a senior in high school, my pastor of my church, Domergiese, who is my pastor boss today, he's like, hey, why don't you, while you figure things out, come and intern for me for a year. You know, clean toilets, fold papers.

Sounds awesome.

Just work. We'll give you a little money and, you know, it'll give you something to do while you figure out what you wanna do. I'm like, that sounds great. So I did that for year one. The second year they brought in more interns. They had me manage the interns. And then year three, I got my minister's license. And then year 22 doing the same thing, cleaning toilets and folding bulletins. It's real fun.

You still think it's great? That's amazing.

Love it. Got ordained in 2007, so I've been in the same position. Obviously those things move around as people come and go. My position changes, but pretty much the same position since 1999.

So would you say he was the one that kind of got you into this space?

Yes, absolutely.

And the church has grown a lot since then.

The church has grown a lot since then. And I think he saw a young girl with potential and not a lot of direction and jumped in and made something out of nothing.

That's pretty amazing. He's still an amazing leader.

He is an incredible leader. Yeah. We have an intern this year who kind of. Same story. Bring her in. We're trying to get her through college. Tiana Gilbert Community College. So we're paying for her school and she works for us as an intern. And I'm like, Same story. Just 22 years ago. So we're still doing that same program. And it's awesome to see her and how good she's doing since she started with us.

In your industry, I imagine there are a lot of inspirational people that you run into.

Yeah.

As you think back into the early years, beyond this gentleman that helped you in the beginning, who else was in your world then?

There is a friend of mine named Laura Newcomb. She owns Autism Academy and a couple other programs that she does. But she was just always so positive. I met her first. She was just a teacher at a charter school that, that we're connected with. And I just thought she was always so pretty. First of all, just, you know, very, very pretty optimistic. But I'm like, you're probably pretty. Cause you're so optimistic. You know, she was just that person that could light up a room. And anytime I had ideas or questions, I could just really go to her for good, sound, godly advice. And I mean, I'll see her tonight. She's still a good friend of mine today, but definitely she was a big part of all those big moments over the last several years.

Where were mom and dad in this picture?

So my dad actually passed away when I was 8 years old in a plane crash. It was a small plane down south. And so it was a very tragic, you know, just horrible, horrible loss. He and a buddy were scouting for deer. A plane crashed. So I was in third grade when that happened. My brother was in first grade. My brother and I are very close. We're close as kids. We're still close as adults. I always say, like, it's like my more of a friend, but he is just my brother. We're just really, really good buds. And my mom was great. She. I would say she's a great grandma. She's doing well now, but had a bumpy road for a long Time, obviously, after that kind of loss. And so, yeah, she was always around. But really the person, when I was junior high, high school, kind of the closest with was my grandma. She was just home, you know, it was comfortable and she was always there. She was always hilarious. And so we had some of those good, stable family members that stepped in and kept everything moving forward while we were growing up. But my mom is doing awesome and babysits my son every week. And she wants to know if he can't have five dinosaurs, why not? I'm like, he only needs one. So she's a wonderful grandma and she's a big part of our lives now.

That's amazing.

How did you come to discover the church and how did you get involved at a young age?

When I was 11 years old, my aunt and uncle would say, hey, come stay the night at our house on Saturday. We'll take you to church on Sunday. And I remember going the first time and I'm a little competitive. So as an 11 year old, they said, memorize the scripture, will give you a six foot long Butterfinger. And I'm like, I'm gonna win that. And so I came back the next week to win this Butterfinger. And all they did, it wasn't six feet. They took several Butterfingers and just like tacked them to a piece of wood. So I was like, well, this is kind of a ripoff. But still got a lot of Butterfingers.

Was it still six feet long, though?

It was six feet long. Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure. And so came back the next week and I mean, honestly, it was just a lot of fun. I always had fun there. I was accepted to cute boys. When you're 11 and 12, that's a big deal. And so I just stayed around and when I was about 14 or 15, went to summer camp, somebody paid my way to go to camp. So I'm always pushing send kids to camp. It's important. And it really just created a relationship with the Lord, you know, understood that there's just something so much bigger than me. And I know that if I stayed close to God, I knew that my life would be better than that. And so that was about 15 years old. Really found my own relationship with Christ.

Amen. I love that. That's amazing. I heard that you like to travel a bit too.

I do.

So talk a little bit about your travels.

I love to travel. I think it's the best use of your money because you get to get educated while you travel, plus see fun places. And so we cruise every Year. We're going again in a couple weeks. We've been to Israel, we've been to Italy, we've been to Hawaii. Just all over the place. And so when you first get married, I just don't think anybody has a ton of money, which we didn't. And so that was kind of something we worked and saved for. And so it's awesome to see all the things that we're able to do and worked for it. I think that's even more rewarding.

Yeah, it is.

I want to go back to your ministry for a minute and just, I have to say that you actually put some humanity behind a church leader, which was in my first time in my adult life that I had really seen somebody who was just very real with being a church leader, but also accepting of the fact that you're not perfect and you make mistakes and you're overcoming challenges just like everybody else. And I really appreciate that in you. How do you allow yourself to do that and be very real while also being a leader in the church?

That is a great question, because I think it is real for people. You know, everybody is so quick to discount themselves based on, like, well, if you only knew what I did six years ago, you know, you wouldn't think I was as nice. And the reality is every single person has that. That story. Everybody does. And so to take what we know about God and help people understand, you and God are fine. Nobody's judging you here. You're judging yourself. You're discrediting yourself. You're not giving yourself all the grace that God's given you. And so trying to help people understand, like, you and God are fine. Let me help you see that. Let's work through all these things. But nobody is perfect. And I think people see, you know, the Instagram pictures and the stories and everybody's life is perfect except for mine. And that's just simply not true. Has junk. And so it's making that very real common. Let's talk about it, and let's help you work through it. You know, I'm not one to judge. I'm not perfect. But how can I help you walk through this?

Well, and Ben shared earlier that you've probably crossed paths with so many people who have inspired you, but there's also difficult people in your world. And so to me, it's just, it's eye opening to see somebody who really acknowledges that and has this skills and the patience to work through that in a positive way.

So your work in the ministry, I think parlays right into the work you do in the community as well. And you do a lot. Talk a little bit about some of the things you're involved in the community. I know a few, but there's probably a lot that I don't know that you do.

Yeah. So we. In 2016 or so. I'm sorry, 2014, that was long ago. I went to Leadercast, and they were talking about Gilbert leadership, and I knew I was doing well in my position, and I knew. I have all my. I call them church buddies, you know, like sister churches. We do a lot of stuff with them. And not that I've learned all I could, but I'm like, I feel like there's so much more that I could be doing that I could be learning. And so I was really interested in Gilbert leadership and took a year to get my schedule where that would be possible. So I applied. They accepted me, got into Gilbert leadership with the purpose of, I don't want to just do this for one year and then be done. How can we take this and serve our community? Get involved. I mean, I think churches do a great job, but if you don't know what's in your community, it's hard to serve them. And so that was the goal of Gilbert leadership.

Don't you have one regret, though, that wish you would have waited just one.

Year, and you're gonna say that and.

No, that is not a regret of hers.

I have a few regrets. I'm gonna say that's not on the list. So after Gilbert leadership was great, when we were done, I know that there were a few people in our class that were like, oh, this has been such a great experience, but I'm kind of excited to get my time back, and I didn't feel that way at all. I'm like, I'm gonna miss all these people. I love the opportunities that. And so I applied to the board, and they accepted me, which I think there's still a little surprising that I did not surprise. I'm like, it's okay. It's probably not going to happen. I'm like, oh, it happened. I don't think I want to be on this board because they do not have good judgment. I'll tell you that right now. So on the board. So this is my sixth year, and I just love it. I think there's great ways to network with people, you know, what a great business. How can I help you? What a great idea. How can we make this happen? And so I think it's. You have to know what's in Your community. To serve your community.

Absolutely. Was the Gilbert leadership program the first interaction you had with the Chamber and their programs?

Yeah, it was. I actually was not a Chamber member. Sorry, Sarah, but we've gone back and forth about Chamber membership, and Jan Simon's always, like, small business advocacy. Like, that doesn't apply to us. And so we just were never really involved in the Chamber, but we were involved in Gilbert because I'm from Gilbert. So we always had a float in the parade, and we would do, like, the Global Festival, and we would do lots of activities, and I would always hear about the great things the Chamber is doing, but just never became a member. So I'm really excited to be with Gilbert leadership.

Totally. Yeah.

And Jamie is what we call a gsner, so she gets stuff done. Oh, that's not right, actually. Let's start that again. Edit.

No, no, leave that.

She said get g S D Er. Get stuff. Get done.

It's okay.

The wisdom of Sarah is being exploited right now. This is amazing.

Yes. Just skip that. All right, let's do this. I had the privilege of watching a beautiful, pivotal moment or series of moments in your life when Declan came into your life. And I would love for you to share that story.

I'm happy to share that story, but it is, like, many years story, so I will do the best I can to shrink it up. So we get married in 2008. Dan and I met at summer camp. Actually, like, found Jesus at camp, found my husband at camp. I'm like, what? My keys.

Go.

Go to camp. Maybe they're there. So met at summer camp. I was directing the camps for a lot of churches in our area, and he came and brought his nephews to attend camp just as a counselor. Just got out of the military. He tried to talk to me the whole time. I was so rude to him. Like, I'll admit it. And about a year later, he messaged me on MySpace and was like, hey, remember we emailed last year at camp? And I thought, okay, this guy's really interested. So we go on our first date in October, get engaged in November, get married in April. So that was 2008, and best decision of my life.

Wait, tell the moon story.

The moon story.

Okay. So our first date, he was coming in. He lived in New Mexico. He was coming to Phoenix to attend his friend's wedding. An old buddy from the military. And so he asked me to be his date. That was our date. So the day before the wedding, we went out to dinner and went up to South Mountain. You know, we're just like, hanging out, walking. It's October, beautiful weather, and he's trying to impress me with his star knowledge. And he's like, gosh, I can't find the Big Dipper. I saw it just last week. And I'm like, you saw the Big Dipper all the way into Mexico? I'm like, you must have an incredibly expensive telescope. And then I was like, oh, no, wait, it's all the same sky. Just kidding. Like, please still like me after this Covid.

That's when he knew it was love.

He was like, okay, I'd probably keep.

That story to yourself. Just saying.

I love that story.

Hey, now it's out here. Let's go.

Yeah.

So get married in 2008. You know, obviously, you never think, get married, battle infertility. You always think, get married, have kids. That's the plan. So get married, have a horrible time of infertility. Just years and years, lots of money out the window. And so we were on medication, we did surgeries, we did all the procedures, everything except for IVF. And so in 2015, we decided just to pay the money, go for it.

We.

We proceeded with ivf. And when you do ivf, it's very expensive. It's a long process. And by the time you actually can or cannot get pregnant, you only have a 50% chance. So you have all these things stacked against you just starting. So for people that go through IVF and it's considered a success, it's a miracle. I mean, every pregnancy is a miracle. So we go through ivf, we get pregnant, which is incredible because we were on just a very long process. So get pregnant. It's amazing. Several weeks later, we lose that pregnancy. So we have to go through, you know, spending all of our money, coming up empty handed. It's just absolutely devastating. And infertility and pregnancy loss, and it's very common. I mean, one in eight couples battle infertility, one in four suffered a pregnancy loss. You just don't hear about it. Nobody talks about it. It's very much so. Still a taboo topic. So that's something that I'm trying to just be an advocate for and make it a more open conversation, because I think people around you are really struggling, and if they don't know that it's okay to talk about this, you know, you're not the only one. Let's support each other. I think that's. Those are important conversations to have. So went through ivf, lost that pregnancy, spend a year just so angry. You're so devastated to Go through this. And it's one thing to be helping people through their situations. Lean on God, it'll be okay. God's timing. And then when it's your yo's, you're like, this is ridiculous. Like, I can't believe somebody would say that. And so there's just nothing to hold onto but, God, I know you're good. I know there's a plan. I'm so angry. I'm so frustrated. And I think that's what changes your relationship with Christ, is almost in those moments, like, okay, God is very real because God's all I have going for me. So I better figure out, you know, what I'm gonna do. And I'm like, I'm just gonna take one step at a time. I'm going to move forward, and I'm going to know that God's with us. God's helping us. Even when I don't see it, when I don't feel it, you know, God is so good. And so when it's often those times.

Of tragedy and when you hit the bottom, that you really, really find that right?

Absolutely. And it shapes your faith, I think, for the rest of your life, you know, those moments are what you go back to. Not that it was a fun time, but I'm like, I almost missed that time because my dependence on Christ might have been a little different. And so spent a year just so angry. I'm going to. We were getting ready to buy a house. I'm going to buy a house. I'm going to go on a cruise. I'm just going not do any doctor's appointments. I'm gonna enjoy my life. And then figure out what we wanna do. And so about a year and a half later, and there was no. I think people feel a lot of times like, I was always meant to adopt or I'll have two kids and then we're gonna adopt later. I never felt like that. I never thought, we're gonna adopt. I'm like, no, I'm not. A boy and a girl, we're gonna be done. That's how it works.

Just like the book says.

Just like the book says. And so we started looking at, do we do IVF again? Do we do adoption? And I'm such a saver. I'm like, if we do ivf, we could wind up with nothing. We pay the same amount of money and do adoption, but it could take a lot of time, a lot of waiting. But there will be a baby at the end, so let's do adoption and not. We're so excited to do this. It's kind of like, I can't believe I'm in this position. Everybody gets pregnant, and I'm here paying, you know, thousands of dollars and still have nothing. And those are very real feelings. And so, you know, you want to be very open about that. I think people feel that way, and I know I felt that way. So move towards adoption. And even though I'm feeling that way, that doesn't mean God's not working, which is pretty incredible. And so move towards adoption. And then we were trying to decide an adoption agency, and there was a couple of them we looked at, but Christian Family Care Agency in Phoenix, they do the tax credit so you can fund your adoption with state tax credit. I'm like, well, that makes most sense because we can fundraise and save money because I'm the saver. So we went through Christian Family Care, wonderful experience with them. Spent several months getting licensed and get the home study. And finally we're licensed. Okay, congratulations. Now just wait here for an unknown amount of time until there's a baby. You know, so wait forever. And the way it works is usually you would find a birth mother who's pregnant, and you guys match. You decide, yes, this is what we want to do. And then after the baby's born, you sign paperwork, you take your baby home. Pretty simple. So our situation is different because we got a phone call on a Saturday afternoon, and it was a worker from the agency. And she said, hey, you know, I was going over your paperwork, and you never listed if you were interested in a Native American baby. You have to say what races you're open to, and we would be open to any race. And I said, oh, yeah. I'm like, oh, the paperwork's confusing. You know, I don't know why we didn't mark it. Of course we're open to Native American. Have a great night, you know, talk to you Monday. And she's like, okay. So I'm at the hospital right now. There was a baby that was born last night. The mother came in, did not know she was pregnant. Emergency C section. The baby's been in the nursery for 20 hours, being cared for by nurses. And I met with them this morning. They chose you. So if you're interested, can you get down here within the next two hours? Cause visiting hours are almost over. And I'm like, I don't know what is going on right now. And I'm like, thinking back, that poor worker is like, I'm not comfortable giving a baby to this lady. Cause she's not all failing. She's not skin with the program. So I call Dan. He gets off work. We run to the hospital. They sit down with us and explain. Basically, the couple. They're a dating couple. Very sweet couple. Very young. Very, very sweet, but just very young. And they've chosen adoption. They've chosen you. So sign on these three dotted lines, and we'll introduce you to your son. So we sign paperwork, and we walk into a room in the nursery. They have all these private rooms. And there was a nurse holding the baby. And it was Ellen Pettit, who I went to high school with. Her dad is George Pettit. And I'm like, ellen Pettit. You know, you're the. That's not even her name anymore, but you're the nurse. And she's like, you're the adopted mom. And so Ellen had been caring for our child, you know, while he's been in the nursery. And they were like, okay, here, here, here. He's ready to eat. And they're just handing you everything. And I remember thinking, this baby is so small. Like, he was only £5 when he was born. So tiny. And it felt like an instant. The room cleared, and it was just Dan and I and this baby. And Dan's like, is that our baby? I'm like, I don't know what is going on. I'm like, I did not read all the paperwork I just signed. I did not read the fine print. And I'm like, I think this is our son. And Dan's like, did we just get a baby? I'm like, I don't know. And so we just. It was very, very wild. I mean, it's just high adrenaline. You're like, I think I get to steal this baby tomorrow. I don't know. So they come back in, they explain because he was so premature, and he had no prenatal care at all. You know, there's health concerns, so they want to keep him overnight. They want to make sure he's just getting monitored properly because his size. And so they said, go home, get some rest tomorrow, you know, come back and we'll finish this up. And so I'm like, I think we get to go tomorrow and take a baby home. I don't know what is going on. So should we go buy stuff? Like, do we need a stroller? We had nothing bought at all. You're waiting for a baby, but the hardest part is to have, like, a room stocked. And you just every day see it. So we didn't buy Anything. So we went to Walmart, made a huge investment into the Walmart corporation, bought stroller swing, I mean, bought everything you need for the baby. Went home, stayed up till 3am putting together bouncers and all kinds of stuff. The next morning, went to the hospital. And while we were there, the agency had said, the birth parents do not want to meet you. They never met the baby. They don't want to meet you. They just kind of want to be done and go home and heal and move on. And so I said, okay, but we're open, you know, we're open. And why would you ever say that? Why would you say, please, can we be friends? And I said, if they ever change their mind, we're open to that. And so in the afternoon they were, they would like, okay, we'll go ahead and meet them. Just so we at least know who they are, you know, we can say they're nice people. And so we met in a little private waiting room. And right when they came in, there was all these connections. It turns out that Berth dad and my husband are from the same area. They actually know some of the same people. Just a wonderful, wonderful, peaceful friendship that had started. And we're doing an open adoption. And open adoption, I feel like it's such a scary topic because people are like, well, what if after a year, you know, she wants her baby back? I'm like, it's not her baby, it's our baby. She's the birth mom. You know, she gets to enjoy him and see him and gets pictures and we visit every couple months. And then they get to go back and act like normal young adults. You know, they are doing school and they do games and they do all kinds of stuff. They don't have all this responsibility. They're just enjoying their life. And they get to know that he is cared for. That's the biggest thing with adoption is if I'm putting my baby up for adoption, you know, like, if I'm choosing adoption, is my child gonna be okay? Cause no matter your situation, you still have that care. I want to make sure my child's okay, so she gets to enjoy all of this. And we have a wonderful friendship. We see them regularly. And it's just, it's something that was completely unexpected on my end. I never thought I would enjoy an open adoption like I do. And so that's been a beautiful surprise. So we left the hospital at like 4 o' clock in the afternoon in a carrier. And I remember thinking like, hurry, before they stop us, let's run for it get the car ready, we gotta go. And we get in the car and we're driving home. And I just remember thinking like, I can't believe we're taking a baby home. Like, I can't believe we're taking a baby home. And so we chose the name. We got to name him. His birth certificate said first name, no last name name. He had no name that was on his birth certificate until his adoption was finalized several months later. So we named him Declan Vance. Declan means full of goodness and Vance is after my father in law. So super sweet story.

And I imagine you probably were wishing you hadn't stayed up until three in the morning the night before because now you have a baby you're taking care of.

There's so much adrenaline going on. I mean, we're trying to relatives and let them know, hey, you guys just had a grandchild.

What?

Dan's mom's like, I'm buying a plane ticket right now. Like, we don't know what's going on yet. Crazy story.

The most precious boy. I mean, he really is. My kids through Facebook, they love to just see videos of him because he is the funniest, most precious boy.

That's awesome. That's quite the story.

Yeah, it's an incredible story.

Thank you for sharing that with us. That's really amazing.

Thank you.

So, Jamie, what's next? As we look to the future for you, where do you think things are going? I know obviously you've got the sun now that's in your world and that's changed things completely. But where do you think things are going next? Do you have any ideas?

Yeah, you know, and I don't. There's nothing big going on. I mean, you say nothing big, but I'm like, I feel like everything is big and we're just enjoying raising a toddler, you know, living in Gilbert, doing our services, being a part of the church, and we're just enjoying it. And so I don't have anything big on the horizon, I would say, but just doing what we always do and just serve people, trying to be good friends, you know, trying to be good kids, just enjoying life.

Well, you've got plenty of challenges with a baby boy going on, I'm sure, so that's enough.

Well, you do incredible things for our community. I'm very grateful for all you do for Gilbert leadership, but just in the community in general, you're always doing something through the church to serve others and it's pretty incredible.

Indeed, indeed.

Thank you.

Thanks for being with us today. This has been a great conversation.

Thank you.

You like what you heard today and you want to hear more? Well, subscribe to our tribe and see what you can find out more. We'll send you updates and let you know when there's new episodes coming. We appreciate you listening and thanks for being here. Guiding growth conversations with community leaders.

Ben, let me ask you a question. How do you see other community members being involved in this podcast?

This is going to be a great opportunity for so many people in the community to have a chance to be heard if they want to tell their story or if they just want to be part of this journey with us and help sponsor in a way that helps bring more people to the table with us. So I think there's many opportunities at hand whether you want to again be on the show. Reach out to us. Let us know what your story is and how you think you could be part of it. We'd love to hear from you. Reach out, let us know and we'll see if we can make that connection. Sam.