Women were made to lead. Even in church. Jesus affirmed women as leaders-many contend Mary Magdalene was the first female minister. Yet women in ministry face challenges and obstacles, both from churches and from their own self-doubts. Both men and women miss out when women don't lead. Made to Lead empowers you to live out your calling boldly and confidently. Draw closer to God with relevant biblical examples and heartfelt prayers. Break down stereotypes of women in leadership. And create your own successful reality in which you are a key part of God's holy community. Dr. Nicole Martin reminds us that the gifts God gives are not gender specific. The Scripture clearly states that the Spirit gives gifts to whomever He wills. (I Cor. 12:11) Made to Lead is a book not only for women in ministry but for men who work with, minister with or mentor women. Dr. Martin is not a theorist. She has been through the fire and comes out refined and without the smell of smoke. She knows the struggles and the stresses of women in ministry and gives every woman a path on how to not just survive but thrive. Reading this book will not only help women in ministry to be unleashed but will unleash men to be partners in ministry and not competitors. I have known Nicole as a student and as her mentor. I am proud to call her now a colleague. Read this book if you are serious about fulfilling your call as a woman and setting women free as a man. --Rodney L. Cooper, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary This is the book I wish I'd had back when I was first called to ministry! Nicole Martin's clear and concise gem of a book leads anyone in the discernment process through the most important questions about a future in ministry. Tailored to assist women from varied Christian traditions, Martin leaves no stone unturned as she encourages women (so often discouraged from ministry) to honor that still small voice. This book will be helpful for women and men alike. --Rev. Jolin Wilks McElroy, Senior Pastor, First Christian Church, Charlotte, NC Nicole Martin is ... a young sage, a positive force for the transforming of the church for creative ministry in the 21st century. This is a must read for women and men who care to see the church relevant again. --Frank A. Thomas, Christian Theological Seminary Nicole Martin received her Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary where she received the Jones Prize in Music and the Swink Prize in Preaching. During her time in seminary, she served as Director of Evangelism at St. James AME Church in Newark, New Jersey, and spent a summer in ministry at Mandalay Baptist Church in Cape Town, South Africa. She earned a Doctor of Ministry at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary with an emphasis in African American Redemptive Leadership. Dr. Martin currently serves as the Executive Minister at The Park Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was inducted into the prestigious Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Board of Preachers at Morehouse College. She is a published writer for The African American Lectionary and a monthly columnist for the Faith and Values section of The Charlotte Observer, which named her one of the "Top Seven to Watch in 2011." In 2014 Dr. Martin was appointed to serve as the faith-based representative on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Coalition for Housing. She is also the founder and Executive Director of Soulfire International Ministries (www.sfiministries.org), which focuses on empowering others to reach their fullest potential in Christ. Dr. Martin is married to her best friend, Minister Mark Martin, and they have two beautiful daughters. Above all, Dr. Martin has a passion for God, a contagious excitement for the Gospel, and an insatiable desire that God be glorified in her life and in the world.