About Us
Our mission:
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Catalyze healing, justice, and restoration by creating pathways to transformative connection.
Our vision:
Wholeness for a fractured world. The Flourishing of All People.
"For the creation waits with eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed"
Romans 8:19
I want to see good news proclaimed to the poor, chains of injustice removed, and prisoners set free. I desire to witness relationships restored, reconciliation between ethnicities, and for all who mourn to experience Holy Spirit's comfort and provision of hope. However, this doesn't happen apart from the children of God being revealed. And that revelation doesn't happen apart from connection with God.
Your purpose is not an act to fulfill but an identity to discover and live into. You revealed is God's response to injustice, trauma, and brokenness. I'm eager to walk alongside anyone who desires to learn how to remain in wholehearted connection with Christ. I know that union will unlock fruitfulness they didn't know was possible. The radiance of God shining through your life is what brings salvation and restoration to a world looking for hope.
With Joy,
Gabrielle Michelle Leonard
Imagine God, creator of the universe, standing front and center with His heart exposed and available. Then bursting from it comes this radiant light. A collective of colors never seen before. As people gather around Him, they're struck by His radiance. This same light is now filling their hearts and shining out of them, stretching further and further in different directions.
I shared this vision for the first time with a South African woman who asked me, "What's your passion?". This imagery instantly came to mind, which was perfect since, at the time, I had no clue how to articulate with words the deepest desires of my heart. Since then, I've recognized this picture's connection to the Word. In Romans 8:19, Paul says, "For the creation waits with eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed" (NIV). I have this inner longing, this unexplainable hope to see God revealed to His children and His children revealed to the world.
Who We Are
Returning to Joy launched as a ministry in February 2021, a part of the Wildfire Network family. However, it began nurtured in the heart of its founder and director, Gabrielle Michelle Leonard, who in 2010
encountered Christ as the one who has the power to do the miraculous work of restoring our hearts.
Our Core Values
Responsive Listening
Wonder
Proximity
A Movement of Connection
What We Do
Create Space
To be with God.
Hear His voice.
Remain & Respond
Build Capacity
To be present to
your own pain &
the pain of others
Discover Identity
Transform the way you think about yourself
& your relationship
to others
Birth
Movements
Creatively express the heart of God: building and repairing what's been broken
Enjoy Community
Recover the value of 'We': Unlock the relational benefits of staying connected
How We Do It
Workshops
Cultivate Joy Groups
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Resources
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Coaching Sessions
Community Experiences
Preaching & Teaching
Meet The Team
Gabrielle Michelle Leonard
Founder & Director
Gabrielle is a New Orleans native with an old soul, childlike wonder, and a prolific voice. She loves experimenting in the kitchen, adventuring to new places, and sharing in the joy of a good laugh. She spends much of her time with teams creating dynamic resources for dialoguing with God, processing pain, and showing up together.
Chandler Merritt
Administrative Shepherd
Chandler loves math, minimalism, and thrift shopping and will jump at any opportunity to make a spreadsheet! The Lord has put a calling on her heart to help shepherd those in ministry to learn how to be good stewards of the resources God has given them, and to demystify the world of finances.
