Saved as a teenager and transformed by Christ’s work in her life through other believers, Erica Fitzgerald’s testimony is a reminder that our efforts in evangelism, youth ministry, and mentoring are never in vain. Erica, a mom of three (soon to be four), joined BER in 2017 to help get the School of the Shepherds up and running, and she manages the weekly BER blog.
How did you come to Christ?
Growing up, I believed I would go to heaven as long as I wasn’t too bad, and I never worried much about it because I was a compliant and eager-to-please kid. But I hit a rebellious stage as a teenager and started to see the holes in my self-salvation plan.
When I was 16, my best friend’s mom became a believer after her coworker (my future husband’s grandma, unbeknownst to me at the time) witnessed to her relentlessly. My friend soon followed her mom in faith, started sharing the good news with me, and invited me to youth group. Her newfound peace and joy—and the genuine kindness of the youth group kids and leaders—captivated me. Since my sinfulness was impossible to deny by then, I soaked up their teaching like a sponge. At 17, I understood that God loved me in spite of my sin, laid that sin on his own Son, and was offering me eternal life as a gift if I would simply believe in Christ for it.
Reflecting on my testimony makes me realize how significant our feeble efforts in everyday evangelism really are. Sharing Christ with the people in our lives can be awkward, and we don’t always get the response we hope for, but the eternal impact is beyond anything we can imagine.
Tell about your family.
My husband, Tim, and I are about to celebrate 14 years of marriage. We have two sons, a daughter, and a baby on the way. I love being his wife, and I love our teamwork in raising our kids. Our family enjoys hiking and adventuring together, and we just started our sixth year of homeschooling.
Who has had the biggest impact on your life?
I have a wonderful mom. She taught and modeled kindness and consideration for others, and the happy home she made for my younger sister and me—even as a single mom for several years—was a great source of joy and security in my childhood.
When I was a brand new Christian, Debbie, the mom of a family in my youth group, took me under her wing despite being busy with her four kids. She loaded me up with good Christian books, discipled me at her kitchen sink while we washed the dinner dishes, and lived out Titus 2:3–5 right before my eyes. I watched her rise before dawn to read her Bible and pray, I saw how sacrificially she loved and served her family, and I attended countless Bible studies around her table. She cast a vision of biblical womanhood that would shape the rest of my life.
My mom-in-law, Cindy, is now my biggest spiritual mentor and role model. Aside from raising the best man I know, she is the Energizer Bunny—a tireless servant of her family and our church, a passionate evangelist, a fervent student and teacher of the Bible, a fountain of wisdom, and the type of person who makes everyone she meets feel like the most important person in the world. Her example, advice, and loving encouragement have been foundational in my life. She also spends a lot of time with my kids so I can work for BER, which is a huge blessing!
What surprises you most about how your life has turned out?
I am so surprised by how God turned me into a people person. I was a painfully shy kid, but soon after becoming a Christian, it was like a switch flipped—I began to love being around people and getting to know them. A highlight of my week is our fellowship break between Sunday services for my chance to catch up with people and meet visitors. Twenty years ago, I would have been hiding in a corner.
Besides the Bible, what books have most shaped you?
- The Epic of Eden by Sandra Richter blew open my understanding of the Old Testament in its cultural and historical context and the overall narrative of the Bible.
- Hints on Child Training by H. Clay Trumbull, The Duties of Parents by J.C. Ryle, and Don’t Make Me Count to Three by Ginger Hubbard have been indispensable parenting resources.
- The World Treasury of Children’s Literature edited by Clifton Fadiman belongs on this list because I have such happy childhood memories of my dad reading from it. The joy of being read to made me a reader, which was formative. I’ve always cherished reading to my kids, and books are a huge part of our family culture. I think (and hope) that will shape their future as learners and lovers of truth.
Why did you decide to homeschool your kids?
My husband was homeschooled on the mission field in Ecuador, and I saw what a solid biblical and academic foundation it gave him. We always felt homeschooling would help us give our kids a firm biblical worldview before sending them out into a world that will deeply challenge their faith.
But I have since fallen in love with the freedom of homeschooling: a flexible schedule, abundant time together for connection and discipleship, endless curriculum options, socialization with people of all ages while we’re out and about, and seeing my kids be fully themselves without the pressures of peer culture. I’m also amazed by how much I’m learning myself—I’m truly getting a second education, and it’s so much fun!
On the flip side, it was a friend from public school who led me to Christ, so it’s easy to see that God leads families differently, for different reasons.
What was your vocation before you had kids, and how did you end up at BER?
I worked as a writer and editor in corporate communications at Scottrade Financial Services. When our first baby was born, they kept me on the team one day a week. Then Chuck Gianotti—whose blog posts and Day by Day devotional books I had been editing—hired me to work one day a week for BER.
I’m so happy to have the opportunity to contribute to such an important ministry while keeping my primary focus on raising my kids. To my knowledge, no other ministry out there focuses so intently on promoting biblical eldership and equipping churches to carry it out.
My local church in St. Louis is led by an amazing team of godly, qualified elders who work remarkably well together. As a result of their wise and loving leadership, our church is thriving, with members who love the Lord and one another and are growing in spiritual maturity. We don’t have many “pew-warmers” in our church; nearly everyone is contributing to the body in some way. It’s easy to see how God has used the biblical model of leadership to bring that about, and it’s exciting to know that BER is helping to replicate that model worldwide so other churches can experience the same degree of spiritual health.