Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Scott.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was raised in a Pastor’s family full of love and traveled through Asia as a child doing missions work with my parents and two brothers. We moved a lot (which I didn’t love) but gained a global perspective at an early age for other cultures as well as a heart to reach the disadvantaged.
I fell in love and married a young pastor at 23 and began our first outreach in the inner city helping at-risk families and specifically running outreach programs for children. This eventually led to becoming a pastor’s wife and mom of five of our own children over the course of the next 13 years. Our marriage was rocky and early on, I recognized that my own home and family did not have the healthy dynamic that I grew up in for reasons that came to light toward the end. Sadly, the marriage didn’t make it but it gave me incredible empathy for brokenness in families (especially those in some level of leadership) and a desire to find purpose in what I learned through the process.
I became a single mom at 38 and eventually met and married my husband Tim in 2006. He too had been raised similarly and also experienced a painful divorce as a pastor so we began to pursue healing together and live a life leading with authenticity about the real struggles that have touched our lives and so many others we’ve helped.
Together, our blended family (with seven children) have faced incredible obstacles and challenges including
suicide, addiction recovery, abuse, and life-threatening health challenges (Tim is a cancer survivor and I had a brain tumor removed six months ago). These real issues have become our platform to bring hope and encouragement to others through our Hope Rescue Podcast and my commitment to serve Leading And Loving It (an online faith-based support system for women who lead).
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest challenge for anyone in leadership is living a life of transparency. Somehow we all believe that if people knew the “real deal” of our lives that we would lose impact. This is especially true and unfortunate in ministry life. It can create an unhealthy environment of in-authenticity and the pressure to be somehow “perfect” forces you to stay in your own self-imposed prison of isolation and shame.
My best advice I can give other women is to recognize that it is your STORY that speaks more powerfully to others than an illusion of perfection. People better relate to failure than success and they need to know that they are not disqualified by it, they are actually qualified to speak to a greater audience that needs to know that it’s ok NOT to be ok and you CAN grow and be shaped by it. It brings HOPE! Taking the “filter” off of your life brings freedom and greater impact than you could ever imagine!
What should we know about Hope Rescue (non-profit), and Leading and Loving It? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Hoperescue.org is a non-profit outreach that focuses on a single goal: to reach people through radical acceptance, love, and action, empowering and equipping others to do the same. We do this through local outreach, our Hope Rescue Podcast, and public speaking engagements. We tackle difficult subjects and real problems with truth, humor, and insight from our combined experiences.
I serve as a team member on Leading and Loving It (leadingandlovingit.com) which is also a non-profit that provides relevant resources for pastor’s wives, women in ministry and leadership. Our goal is to encourage women in their unique calling and give them the practical tools to thrive. We equip, get them connected online and help them bring impact to their communities.
Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
One of the BEST decisions I made was to join the Leading and Loving It team! A simple contact made through their website began an 8-year relationship with some of the best women, friends, and leaders I have ever met. These girls are world changers! These connections have grown globally through the years and our shared experiences have truly changed my life and those I lead because of it.
Contact Info:
- Website: hoperescue.org leadingandlovingit.com
- Email: kimberlyscotthaus@gmail.com
- Instagram: kimberlyscottsd , pastortimscott , hoperescuepodcast , leadinglovingit
- Facebook: Kimberly Adams Scott, Tim Scott, Hope Rescue, Leading and Loving it
Image Credit:
Sophia Kirk Photography
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