Pastor Christina L. Mial is a woman of many talents. She is the founder and Pastor of By His Stripes Outreach Ministries, the life coach of For My Life Coaching LLC, a best-selling author, and the owner of Occasionally Yours. While she has a hand in several ventures, she serves with excellence. Currently working in management with Ciox Health, daily she gets to not only exhibit her strong leadership skills but also operate in her passion for guiding people into their best selves
As the owner and operator of For My Life Coaching, LLC, Christina also is a Certified Notary and Loan Signing Agent. She studied Biblical Studies at Oral Roberts University, where she earned some credits in her pursuit to continue her education. She is passionate about studying God’s Word, line upon line and precept upon precept. Pastor Christina is a seven-time ACHI Magazine Award Nominee, 2019 PTA Star Volunteer, 2014 Diamond Diva of the Year Nominee, and 2013 Woman of the Year Keynote Speaker. She is an avid volunteer at local food banks and homeless shelters in her area. She believes in giving back and moving forward. Having experienced homelessness with her children, she takes them back to serve and reminds them how life looks on the opposite side of the table. Pastor Christina loves to craft, decorate, and devise creative ideas to help in her spare time. Her first book, “By His Stripes” was published in 2013 and quickly reached Amazon’s top 100 sellers list. It is her story of redemption that is unapologetic and full of transparency. In 2019, Christina shared her story again when she became a co-author of The Shine Anthology by Dr. Tonya Joyner-Scott. There are anticipated releases set for 2023, where she will once again pen from the perspective of her truth and her purpose.
The world was introduced to me on January 22, 1978, five minutes before Midnight, in the middle of a snowstorm. I was born via cesarean section two full weeks before I was due. As if that wasn’t dramatic enough, I had a congenital heart defect and a sixth finger on my right pinky. Talk about dramatic entrances! My entire life, I have been known to be a “Drama Queen.” I was told that I was always a very feisty and opinionated child. I was the only child for five years and five days before my parents gave birth to my first sibling, and then it seemed like for the next few years, they just kept coming.
I have an extensive family, both paternally and maternally. However, I was raised on my mom’s side of the family. My mother has nine siblings, and between them, there are 24 grandchildren. I spent almost every single day of my childhood with at least a good three-four of my first cousins. We were taught that family is important. Now that we are all grown, we have about 35 children, and we are instilling the same family values into them. Last year, we even hosted our own Back To School Drive for them. I am the mother of four children. Although grown, they will always be my babies. My oldest is my one and only son. He is 29 years. We have had a rocky relationship over the years as being a young mother with a lot of unhealed trauma, I made many mistakes with him, but I bless God that he has become one of my best friends. My daughters are 26, 17, and 14 years of age. Each one of them has a piece of me in the biggest of ways. From their personalities down to the fearlessness with which they move, I get to see myself in them.
Please share your career journey with us
Being broken for the longest time, I attract broken people. This led me to be in many violent domestic relationships. Part of who I am now is due to my healing journey. I chose a career that allows me to mentor and minister to people in their broken places. Too often, I have learned that people will solely base their value on where they came from and allow it to discredit where they are going. I use every opportunity as a pastor and life coach to combat these thoughts. I am also in management for a medical records retrieval company. My position allows me to shape and encourage future leaders. It’s something about what one would consider the “underdog” that pulls at my heartstrings.
What has been the one experience that gave you the most significant lessons?
Wow. That’s a good question!
If I had to pick just one experience that gave me a great lesson, I would say it was when my now 14-year-old daughter was hospitalized with a severe staph infection seven years ago. Now while I can imagine you are probably asking what lesson did I learn from that, I must say that in that season of our lives, I gained the strongest faith. Doctors were telling me that the infection (which was in her knee) was traveling to her brain, and they could not stop it. She had two surgeries in less than 72 hours, and they were not hopeful. I learned, as did she that God can use all things. My baby could not walk for weeks, and during our two week hospital stay, I stayed by her side. The first night doctors said she could not go home; I remember calling my job and telling them that as long as she was in that hospital, so was I. I would pray with her, and when she was sleeping, I would walk the halls and pray for other kids in the unit as well. Let me tell you what was amazing. Children that had been there for months started to go home, day by day. Now, let me tell you what I learned. I learned that we can’t always focus on what storm we are in but must focus on the One that controls the storm. I learned that even in the darkest of hours, God can and desires to use those who are available, and I also learned that when you pray by faith, no matter where you are, God will come and see you.
What are your proudest moments in life?
My proudest moments can’t be contained to this time and space set aside for this interview, lol. But what I will say is this. I was in an abusive relationship for years. The level of toxicity in that union was poisonous. I never, and emphasize, never thought I would leave that man alone. This is the same man that beat me beyond recognition when I was carrying his child, and I still chose to stay with him at that time. I was proud of myself when I let go. I did not think I had it to let go, but I did. While it was life-saving for me, it was life-changing for others. This move set me up to be a voice for the voiceless. It placed me in a position to encourage others to do the same. I will always be proud of myself for that.
Why Daughters of Destiny?
Daughters of Destiny is a conference for “the little girl Daddy left behind.” To sum it up, I did it for my daughters. For years I saw the pain they carried and hid simultaneously due to their fathers not being in their lives. The conference was created to help them journey to wholeness, although they felt they were missing pieces due to their absences. I will never forget hearing, “There is an urgency for daughters to forgive their dads, walk in their healing, and live a whole life.” Although it started for young girls, as the conference grew, older ladies began reaching out to me, asking if they, too, could come. While in the beginning, the focus was girls whose fathers were absent, I quickly learned that those who didn’t have an active dad in their lives due to him passing or being imprisoned felt the same pain and emptiness. My conference isn’t meant to make the emotions go away, but it is a community that is a reminder that they are not alone.
What was most challenging about writing your book?
The most challenging thing about writing my first book was the fear of what others would think. I told stories in that book that I swore I would never say to another soul. I overcame the fear to write it because I promised God that everything He healed me of and delivered me from, He could use. In those pages, I recalled some deeply rooted seeds of abandonment and rejection from childhood that led me to the decisions made as an adult. I talked about being molested at a young age and the seeds of perversion planted. This act perverted my views of myself and how I viewed intimacy.
What do you mean by Ministry begins at home, and what does it look like for you?
1 Timothy 5:8 reads, But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. As a parent, I, Christina Laz’a Mial, have made a lot of errors. But that doesn’t take away from knowing I can not truly minister to others if I can not even minister to my own. Ministry beginning at home means that my children see me as a woman of prayer in the privacy of our house and not just in church on Sunday. Ministry starting at home for me means practicing what I preach. While Paul was not speaking to women at the time of this writing, I believe he was talking to all believers of Christ as a reminder
What is the one thing you look forward to every day when you wake up?
Each day I wake up, what I look forward to the most is an opportunity to be grateful. We tend to forget to be thankful for the little things. I noticed that for a while, I would start my day with a bit of dread, almost at the thought of what I had to do that day. It’s easy to forget that many of what we currently have are things we previously prayed for. I remember when I woke up in someone else’s house that I had to clean after, and now I have my own home to clean. That may sound a little crazy, I know, but for me, it means a lot. I also look forward to whose life I can impact that day. I think back to the day before and ask myself, “What memory can I create?.” I know you asked for one thing, but that question was hard to narrow down. I guess, overall, I look forward to the new day itself.
How would you like to be remembered?
I want to be remembered as a change agent. When people think of me, I want them to smile instantly. I want my legacy to say that I cared and that I loved. I want to be remembered not just as a survivor of domestic violence but as an overcomer of trials. I want my testimony to leave people wanting to know more about who I am and, most importantly, who is the God I serve!
What’s next for Christina?
My next chapter is called “Now”! I have three literary works about to be released with titles, “The Humble Place ”, My journal, to be used in conjunction with the book of the same title and Good Morning, I’m Praying For, is in the final stages of editing. Daughters of Destiny event is on August 19, 2023 in Raleigh, NC.
