"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11
We were recently introduced to the encouraging ministry of the couple who is sharing their Inner Views with us today, and we were so inspired by the way God has rearranged and orchestrated their lives.
I know you will be abundantly blessed by their story and their faith as you read about how He has led them from what is comfortable to a place of deeper trust in Him.
The
of
Full-Time RVers in Full-Time Music Evangelism Ministry,
Full-Time RVers in Full-Time Music Evangelism Ministry,
Eddie and Sherry Richards
Cheryl: Please tell us about yourselves.
Sherry: Well, where do I start? I grew up in a musical family from Moneta, VA (Smith Mountain Lake). My dad was the music director and my mom the children's choir director. I have an older sister who plays piano and a younger sister who plays anything she wants but is a professional drummer, and I play the piano. My family began traveling and singing when I was 8 years old, and I have been in southern gospel music since then. I met Eddie at a Hinson's concert in Pulaski, VA, in January 1984, where his group was hosting and my mom and I attended with some friends. We married 8 months later. After we married, I went from traveling with my family to traveling with him and the group he was with. We have traveled and sung with a few other groups since then, but primarily on the weekend because we all worked full-time jobs.
Eddie grew up in Radford, VA. His mother was a saint if there ever was one and his dad, a hard-working man who worked 3 jobs to care for his family of 6 children, so their mom wouldn't have to work outside the home. He began singing early in life also but in the secular field until he was about 28 years old.
We have a son who spent 11 years in the Marine Corps and now works for the Naval Shipyard in Newport News, VA. We have 3 grandchildren.
Cheryl: Can you share your testimony of how you came to be full-time RVers?
Sherry: In January of 2016, we were living a very comfortable life when we received less than 24 hours notice that our sole household income was being eliminated. Now, this wasn't just a little income that we could easily replace. Eddie was a VP with a finance company for almost 15 years and was making a generous six-figure salary, had a company car, company insurance and gas card, a company phone and a company computer and we lived in a beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath condo in a lovely neighborhood where we had wonderful neighbors and friends and a great church family. We were, as I said before, very comfortable — however, we were also very complacent. So God decided to put us to the test, so to speak, to see how much we trusted Him.
When we received this news of the loss of Eddie's job on a Tuesday, it was interesting really, that we never panicked. See, we had enough experience by then to know that God had provided that job, and He would provide the next one. I won't go into the details of finding out about the next "jobs." I will just say that by Friday, we were both offered positions to sing Christian music full time as cast members at the Biblical Times Theater in Pigeon Forge, TN.
We were very excited but very sad at the same time, as in what seemed like a moment's notice, we had to leave our place of comfort, including our church family, our friends, and our family to be ready to start work at the theater 3 days later. This was a 6 day a week commitment from February 1 til December 31. Though we were in a new town alone and terribly homesick, we knew this had all been God-arranged. We share the details of the many things God arranged in our live testimony including how He sold our home in 2 weeks within $2,000 of our asking price when 5 other homes in our circle had been on the market for at least 2 years and had not even had an offer, and how He provided a long-term campsite in a much-desired campground in Pigeon Forge that now has a 5 page waiting list for a long-term spot.
At the end of the year, when it came time to resign or re-sign our contract at the theater, we began praying about what God would have us do, as we had many signs that led us to believe that God may have been using the theater as a stepping stone into a full-time ministry on the road, once again putting us in the position to step out on faith. After much prayer and discussion, we knew what we were supposed to do. Understand that God had put a desire in our hearts not to entertain, but to minister to the lost and to encourage the saved to keep pressing on, as time is short.
During the year we were at the theater, God arranged our meeting of a Christian couple who were full-time RVers. They came to the theater one night to see the show and during our conversations, they mentioned to us that we needed to be out there ministering on the road. They also shared information about their lives as full-time RVers. See, we had bought a camper less than a month prior to Eddie losing his job, not knowing any of this was going to happen and we were staying in it until we could find a more permanent place (we thought). Through our conversations and our seeking God about staying or leaving the theater, we knew that the education we received about living on the road in an RV was not by chance.
In January 2017, we stepped out on faith and put our ministry back on the road. While we have been working to build our ministry schedule back, we have worked at various places part-time to supplement the ministry's income.
Cheryl: What are some of the most challenging things about RV living?
Sherry: Smaller closets are the most challenging thing for me because I love clothes, shoes, and jewelry, and less room, of course.
Cheryl: What are some of the most rewarding parts?
Sherry: Less to clean! LOL! Most rewarding is probably that we always have everything with us wherever we go. We don't have to pack and unpack to go on a trip and worry about forgetting something. Also, meeting other RVers. RVers are the best. They are so willing to help each other. If one doesn't know how to fix something, another one does. Eddie has gotten really good at fixing things on the RV because of fellow RVers and a facebook page called RV Tips.
Cheryl: Please tell us about your minimizing journey. How difficult has it been to downsize your lives to live in an RV? Has it been your choice to keep and store your possessions or let them go?
Sherry: Okay, this was a real journey. Moving in 4 days from a 3 BR, 2.5 BA condo to an RV was beyond stressful. It primarily fell on me because Eddie would have just taken what he wanted out of the house and left the rest there for the next person! LOL!. Having to figure out what to sell, give away, throw away, or keep was not fun. I struggled with a lot of guilt when I went through closets and saw all the things we bought just because we could and the money we wasted on all that stuff only for it to end up in a closet or attic. It was a real eye-opener. Thankfully, I have family and friends who saw that I was stressing over trying to get it done and jumped in and helped me sell and give away the majority. Family heirlooms were given to family or stored at my mom's. Several friends sold things online and in yard sales, and we have a 5x10 storage unit that we keep our extra clothes and shoes in, as well as a small amount of Christmas decorations and a few other things we like to have close by but can't fit in the RV full time. I must say, downsizing was the hardest part of it all.
Cheryl: When did each one of you, individually, become Christians? What life events led you to the cross?
Sherry: I was saved in a revival at my home church when I was 12 years old. Eddie was also saved as a young man in a service at his home church as well and doesn't remember what age, but later in life strayed from the church. He will tell you that he didn't get serious about his walk with the Lord until he was much older. He has always gone to church, not really realizing that his relationship with the Lord was pretty casual until he went through some life-changing experiences that were a real wake-up call.
Cheryl: What are the most significant ways Jesus has changed your lives?
Sherry: I would say, and I think Eddie will agree, that it would have to be learning to trust God and know that He's got it all, that he has always provided and always will —maybe not in the way we expect or with as much money as we would like, but He will always be there. Now we can't just live any old way we want and expect God to reward us. God's word is clear what he expects, and He knows our hearts. As long as we are doing the best we know how to represent Him to the world, He will take care of us.
Cheryl: Can you share something interesting about your relationship?
Sherry: As I said in the first answer, I met Eddie at a concert. I knew the other members of his group, but he was new, so I asked the lady in the group who he was, and she introduced us. He shook my hand and said, "Hi, are you married?" I said, "No." He said, "Would you like to be?" and I said, "Well, I'm only 17." He said, "That's okay." He called the following week and 8 months later, we were married. We've been married for 34 years now.
Cheryl: What is the main burden and goal of your heart as you stand before an audience and sing?
Sherry: To show them Jesus, to bring them to salvation if they haven't done that, to encourage those who have, and to help people see that we need to get beyond the walls of the church to reach people because most won't come in.
Cheryl: Looking back over your time in ministry, what do you identify as being one of the most difficult seasons you have faced?
Sherry: Probably the most difficult was back a few years ago when we had a group that was seeing a lot of success in gospel music as far as seeing doors open and people saved. We had songs on the top 80 chart, and we were about to step out into a full-time commitment, we had been booked that year on 3 of the largest events in gospel music, etc., and the devil gradually crept in, and in a short time, managed to destroy it all.
I have to say that it was the hardest time we have EVER had, trying to understand why God allowed that to happen. To say we cried for months is an understatement. We have never cried or prayed as much over anything as we did then. It was a devastating time that I hope to never experience again. It is also why we have pretty much stayed a duet
Cheryl: To the reader who is walking through a time of darkness, what would you like to say?
Sherry: Get serious about your walk with the Lord. Trust the Word. Don't just read it —study it and learn to use it against all that satan tries to bring against you. Get to know it so that you not only have a defense against satan but so that you know without a shadow of a doubt that you can trust God to take care of it. Find a new light and work toward it, and don't let satan have control over you or your time. If you can do nothing else, just say the name of Jesus over and over because, at the name of Jesus, satan has to flee. I used this for years. Believe me, it works.
Cheryl: How would you describe what it means to fully trust God?
Sherry: Knowing His Word well enough that trusting Him for everything in every situation is just how you roll.
Cheryl: What is the hardest thing He has ever asked you to do, and how did you come to a place of surrender and resignation to His will?
Sherry: That would probably be to stop rescuing our son every time he was in a bind. I guess we came to a place of surrender and resigned to His will when we no longer had the means to rescue him. It was hard then but now that we see how our son has grown into a Christian singer in his own right who can rely on the Lord to stand on his own, it's been very rewarding.
Cheryl: What are your plans for the future of your ministry? How is He leading you? What is an as-of-yet unfulfilled ministerial dream?
Sherry: Plans for the future are to keep ministering wherever God opens that door, and choosing songs that speak plainly what people need to hear and not just what tickles the ears. He is leading us by opening new doors, just like this one with you, for us to walk through. I don't believe it was by chance that you were at SITS when we sang. We have seen doors open that we never knew existed. There are many "as-of-yet ministerial dreams," I think. In no particular order, I would say to have our territory increase, to see droves of people saved in our concerts and services as opposed to just 1 or 2 now and then, though each one is another one the devil no longer has, and we are grateful for each one. To see a hunger for the Word and see the results of teaching people to study it and find that it is good. The human side of me would also love to be back on some of the events in gospel music we were once on or have never been on. (Have to be honest. I am human. LOL!)
Cheryl: What are some of your favorite things to do as a couple during your times off?
Sherry: Play a game called Greedy. (Eddie is very competitive)
Cook out with friends and play corn hole (Eddie is very competitive)
Ride bikes and go to ballgames
Travel
Cheryl: If you were counseling a couple who is considering marriage, what would your best advice to them be? What are some of the most beneficial lessons you have learned concerning a long, successful marriage?
Sherry: Put God first, each other second, children third, and careers fourth.
Pray together. Go to church together.
Save yourselves for marriage. If you are afraid they will leave, they aren't the one for you. Let them leave.
Discuss your goals short-term and long-term.
Discuss each of your finances and how you plan to handle them after marriage.
Discuss whether or not you want children and if so, how you will discipline them.
Have secrets between the two of you and God that no one else is privy to.
Beneficial lessons:
-You won't always get your way. Marriage is not 50/50. It's 100% give and 0% take on both sides.
-Marriage is ALWAYS a work in progress, and it takes more than LOVE to make a marriage work.
-TALK TO EACH OTHER, not everyone else, about everything but especially your relationship.
-You start first in doing for your spouse what you want to see them do for you. Then you will see it.
Cheryl: How can we pray for you?
Sherry: Any way you can think of, we'll take it. LOL!
Pray for safety and protection on the road for us and our RV. Almost everything we own is in it.
Pray for continued good health.
Pray for favor with everyone we meet and for doors to open to share our ministry.
A BIG thank you to Eddie and Sherry for sharing their hearts with us here!
Please keep them both in your prayers as they continue to walk this faith walk.
If you would like them to come and minister at your church or event, please let them know!
You can connect with them at their website, on Facebook, or you may email them at therichardsministries@gmail.com.
In closing, I hope you can take the time to listen to this beautiful song.
In closing, I hope you can take the time to listen to this beautiful song.
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