Welcome, women of Reliance Church! We are so excited to have you join our Women’s Ministry, where our mission is to lead women to know, love, and serve Jesus. Through various opportunities for fellowship, growth, and service, we strive to encourage and equip you on your unique journey of faith. Our vision is to walk alongside you, supporting one another as we grow deeper in relationship with Christ and each other. We look forward to all that God will do in and through us as we grow together in His love and purpose.
Discover how we fulfill this vision and get in touch with a leader by clicking below.
Hope to see you soon!
Women’s Ministry Board:
Brenda Leavenworth (Director), Janie Alfred, Leah Calas, Sandy Estrada, Kristine Flores, Carrie Johnson, Shirley Ruiz, and Gloria Scholten
We KNOW Jesus Through…
Bible Study
Our gatherings include worship, Bible teaching, and small group discussions. We explore biblical concepts while we explore practical ways to live as Christian women in our home and communities.
Biblical Mentorship
The Women’s Biblical Mentorship ministry desires to walk personally alongside women of all ages and seasons of life to help them grow in their knowledge of the Lord.
When She Serves
When She Serves (formerly “When She Leads”) is a vibrant community of women serving in ministry, dedicated to empowering those called to lead in their local church and beyond. We recognize the essential role women play in ministry and are committed to equipping, encouraging, and connecting them to thrive on their journey. Through our podcast, conferences, cohorts, and resources, we provide the support and tools needed to help women lead and serve with confidence and impact.
Visit the When She Serves website and follow on social media for more info, podcast episodes, resources, upcoming conferences, and more!
For more information or just to say “hi,” contact Lauren Mosher, Executive Assistant to Brenda Leavenworth:
Check out When She Serves on social media:
We LOVE Jesus Through…
Mission of Motherhood (M.O.M.)
Are you a mom of elementary-aged children? This is for you! Meeting twice a month with devotions, guest speakers, crafts, and a ton of fun for you and your children. Connect with other moms and make new friends while receiving encouragement, advice, and support from seasoned Mentor Moms.
Single Moms Fellowship
Single Moms Fellowship offers fellowship to help single moms in their journey through this challenging season of life. We come alongside moms and their children as they grow in the love and grace of God more each day. No matter if you are single, divorced, or widowed mom– full nest or emptiness– this group is for you.
Widows Fellowship
This group is a special group of women who come alongside other women who have lost a spouse.
Sustained Through Infertility
If you are struggling with the weight of infertility, you don’t have to carry that alone! Let’s link arms with one another, look to Christ, be sustained, lifted up and encouraged in community.
Homeschool Fellowship
Let’s connect as homeschool moms within the Reliance Church family. We desire to encourage one another along this journey and provide times of fellowship through coffee dates, park days, field trips and many more.
LEO Wives Fellowship
Your husband’s calling as a law enforcement officer means you have been called to be a LEO wife and this role comes with unique challenges. Learning to apply the Word of God can guide you through these challenges and help you thrive in your role as a LEO wife.
Prayer Groups
Have a heart for prayer? Join us in two ways:
First, our weekly zoom prayer group where we pray for our pastors, leaders, and the congregation’s prayer requests. Click here to join the weekly prayer group.
Second, join the Moms in Prayer group which meets weekly and focuses on interceding for the children, teachers, and leaders in our schools. Click here to join the Moms In Prayer group.
Events
Reliance Women host seasonal events designed to foster intentional fellowship and create opportunities for friendship with a heart for sharing the Gospel. Our gatherings also serve as a welcoming outreach for our community, inviting families, and neighbors to join us.
Women's Care Team
The Women’s Care Team is dedicated to meeting the practical needs of families at Reliance by providing meals and care baskets during times of need, aiming to lighten their load in every season.
Request a Care Basket for yourself or someone you know who could use a little extra love! Click the button below:
To see the currently available sign-ups for these gatherings and events (subject to availability throughout the year), please visit our registration page:
We SERVE Jesus Through…
Did you know that there are opportunities to serve in almost all of the areas listed above? Get involved today, click on the button below to get started!
Teachings & Resources
Check out all our past Bible Study series, teachings, and workbooks below:
Downloadable Workbooks & Studies
Written by Brenda Leavenworth, Far Above Rubies is a 13-week study through Proverbs 31, verse by verse, coupled with countless other Scriptures. Dig into this practical guide for Biblical Womanhood today!
Launched in 2025, the 8-week Far Above Rubies for Teens takes the same scripture-forward approach in distilling the principles of Proverbs 31 for teen audiences.
Podcast
When She Serves
When She Serves: Real Talk, Practical Tools for Ministry is a podcast for women in ministry hosted by Brenda Leavenworth. With over 30 years of ministry experience and a degree in biblical studies, Brenda is uniquely qualified to train and guide the next generation of women leaders in the church. Co-hosts include Rosemary Cady, Kelly Bell, and Krista Fox, each bringing their collective experiences, research, victories, and failures to consider and discuss a range of topics from a biblical and practical perspective.
Visit our website at https://whensheserves.com
Leadership Lessons from Psalm 34
What can Psalm 34 teach us about leading and serving others?
In this episode of the When She Serves Podcast, Brenda Leavenworth is joined by Kelly Bell and Janie Alfred for a thoughtful conversation about leadership lessons found in Psalm 34.
Psalm 34 was written in the context of David’s deliverance, yet its message reaches far beyond one moment in David’s life. It points us toward a life marked by praise, trust, humility, seeking the Lord, and encouraging others to experience God’s goodness.
Brenda, Kelly, and Janie explore how these truths shape the way women lead and serve. Rather than defining leadership primarily by position or influence, this conversation looks at leadership through the lens of a life that is surrendered to God and willing to point others toward Him.
As ministry leaders and servants, we will inevitably encounter fear, difficulty, disappointment, and uncertainty. Psalm 34 reminds us where our confidence belongs—and how our response to those circumstances can influence the people we lead.
In This Episode
- Leadership lessons found throughout Psalm 34
- What David’s experience teaches us about trusting God
- The connection between praise and leadership
- Learning to seek the Lord in difficult circumstances
- How fear can affect the way we lead and serve
- The importance of humility in spiritual leadership
- Why leaders need to continually remind themselves of God’s faithfulness
- Encouraging others to “taste and see that the Lord is good”
- How our personal walk with God influences those we serve
- Leading others toward God rather than toward ourselves
A Word for Ministry Leaders
Leadership can sometimes become focused on what needs to be accomplished—the next event, the next meeting, the next ministry challenge, or the people who need to be cared for.
Psalm 34 brings us back to something more fundamental: Who are we trusting?
A healthy leader doesn’t have to pretend that everything is easy. David openly speaks about fear, trouble, brokenness, and affliction. Yet his response is to turn toward God.
For women serving in ministry, that is an important reminder. Our effectiveness isn’t ultimately dependent upon having everything under control. We lead best when our own lives continually point back to the One who is our refuge.
Scripture Focus
Psalm 34
This episode centers on Psalm 34, with particular attention to its themes of:
- Praising God continually
- Seeking the Lord
- Finding freedom from fear
- Tasting and seeing God’s goodness
- Taking refuge in Him
- Trusting God’s presence in trouble
- God’s care for the brokenhearted
- Learning to pursue peace and righteousness
About the Guests
Kelly Bell
Kelly Bell is the Director of Women’s Ministry at Calvary Murrieta and has served in that role for decades. She has a passion for seeing women grow in their faith and become doers of the Word, not hearers only.
Kelly is a Bible teacher, devotional writer, and author of the Reasons to Rejoice Bible study series. She also oversees a Justice Ministry and has a passion for advocating for those who are vulnerable and oppressed.
Janie Alfred
Janie Alfred loves teaching God’s Word and encouraging women in their walk with the Lord. She was raised in a missionary family in Brazil and has been married to Justin for more than five decades. Together they have five daughters and nine grandchildren.
Janie’s passion for teaching Scripture and encouraging sisters in Christ makes her a natural voice for a conversation about how God’s Word shapes the way we serve and lead.
Resources & Links
When She Serves
Visit the When She Serves website
Home
Psalm 34
Read Psalm 34 on Bible Gateway
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2034
September 1, 2026
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Leadership:
Brenda Leavenworth is an author and speaker based in Temecula, CA. Her passion is to help women grow in their knowledge and understanding of Scripture as they pursue Christian maturity. She has written several in-depth Bible studies, including her 2016 release of Proverbs 31 study, Far Above Rubies.
Brenda enjoys traveling the globe to share God’s Word and holds a master’s degree in Biblical Studies with an emphasis in Christian Leadership from Calvary Chapel University, where she has recently become adjunct faculty.
As the host of the When She Serves podcast, Brenda actively and passionately discusses the complexities and realities of leading ministry as a woman. Married to Ted Leavenworth who serves as the Senior Pastor of Reliance Church, Brenda currently serves and loves her community as the Director of Women’s Ministry. Together they have three adult children and ten wonderful grandchildren.
Get to know Brenda!
What is your role at Reliance Church?
Women’s Ministry Director
Describe your job in five words?
Keeping all the plates spinning
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A Hairdresser
Coffee, Tea, or Soda?
Nothing like a good cup of British Black Tea with cream and sweetener.
Go-to worship song?
In this season – “Tend” by Emmy Rose
Who has had the most influence in your spiritual life?
Wow, so many. Pastor Chuck Smith-His teachings that shaped my christian and leadership walk. His wife, Kay, who taught me how to be a pastor’s wife. June Hesterly, she tirelessly mentored me for years. Janie Alfred, who teaches me everyday how to be more like Jesus. And so many who I don’t know personally, but their books and resources have shaped my leadership life.
Food you can’t live without?
Chocolate
Which Bible character would you most likely to be best friends with?
No doubt, Priscilla. We could have tea together and talk theology. Sounds like a perfect day!
Favorite Quote of all time?
“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” — Brennan Manning (The Ragamuffin Gospel)
What is your hope for Reliance Church?
My true desire for our church is that it would outlive us all. That the Lord would raise up generation after generation of Bible-believing Christ followers to bring the good news long after we all leave this earth. That our church building would be used for hundreds of years to bring the Word of God to the people of God in Temecula and the surrounding areas.
Gloria Scholten
Women’s Ministry Coordinator
Katelyn came to know the Lord in kindergarten at a Kids Harvest Crusade event. She loves reading, traveling, tea, extreme storm chasers, and looking at things (mostly animals) through her binoculars. She has been attending Reliance since 2007, and loves the community of friendship and discipleship cultivated here.
Get to know Katelyn!
What is your role at Reliance Church?
Women’s Ministry Administrative Assistant
Describe your job in five words?
Coordinating and Managing Womanly Things
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Singer
Coffee, Tea, or Soda?
Tea (specifically black tea like a good English Breakfast). I go to bed every night excited that I get to wake up and have a cup of tea. What makes it so much better than coffee you ask? Let me tell you. Tea has an amino acid called L-theanine that acts as a counterbalance to caffeine. It helps you relax and lowers anxiety. So basically, tea gives you a beautiful, relaxed alertness, whereas coffee makes you jittery and on edge. I find that coffee also makes me meaner… so there’s that.
Go-to worship song?
“Eden (Isn’t it Just Like You)” by Benjamin William Hastings
Who has had the most influence in your spiritual life?|
Without a doubt, my parents. They raised me to truly know the Lord and to enjoy serving with His people.
Food you can’t live without?
Sushi, medium-rare steak, a cheeseburger, french fries really from anywhere, but Five Guy fries are my kryptonite. I do love the ranch from Red Robin though… I wonder if I could combine Five Guys fries with Red Robin ranch. *Makes note for next birthday*. I also love a really good dark chocolate, or the California Brittle from See’s. And I love the tuxedo cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. Also, perfectly cooked brussels sprouts… what was the question again?
Which Bible character would you most likely be best friends with?
I mean, how can I not answer Balaam’s talking donkey? I can be like Shrek in real life.
Favorite Quote of all time?
“To try to be brave is to be brave. The coward who tries to be brave is before the man who is brave because he is made so and never had to try.” – George MacDonald, At the Back of the North Wind
What is your hope for Reliance Church?
My hope for Reliance is that it would endure through the decades. That it would continue to be a blessing to Temecula and would be healthy and thriving for many years yet to come.
Prayer Requests
Interested in Serving?
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