Who is TIa McNElly?
I am a passionate Follower of Jesus who loves coffee, good food, real people, symbols and metaphors, mountains and trees, and laughing my head off.
I was raised in the Church, but wandered far to soothe the pain of tumoltuous childhood. The day I found myself pregnant in my senior year of college, I heard God speak to me and immediately said yes to His will for my life and submitted myself to His love at 20 years old.
I belong to a network of writers who serve their readers with words that matter.
In my writing, speaking, and coaching, I like to pull from my experiences with childhood trauma, a troubled adolescence, an unplanned pregnancy during college, single motherhood, being married to a high-ranking police commander, five years of maternity nursing, a decade of non-profit work in Kenya, chronic illness, parenting two teenage girls, and twenty years of a flourishing life in Christ. With an ever-growing passion for the Bible, I find that pairing scripture with observations about life can bring revelation and insight that both challenge and inspire myself and others to grow in our knowledge of and intimacy with the Living God.
As we all learn to walk in our true identities as sons and daughters of the King, we discover that we were created with a divine purpose within the Kingdom. My heart is to help you discover your identity and purpose so you can cultivate the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. I live to empower others to say, “YES!” to God before thwy really even know how their obedience will play out in their own life and in the Kingdom.
Keep scrolling to learn about the ways I’ve said yes to God and where my commitment to shaping Kingdom culture has taken me!
CHRIST-CENTERED SOUL CARE + INTENTIONAL LIVING
When we practice Christ-centered soul care we are not engaging in the work of self-improvement. There is no improvement that can be made on what God has created. Soul care is the work of surrender to the vision that God has for our lives— the vision He had for us when He reverently created us with heartfelt intent. It is the "working out of our salvation” described by Paul in Philippians 2:12-13; the work of sanctification.
As the vehicles of His love, we require realignment— recalibration to Heaven’s frequency in our heart, mind, body, and spirit. It is from that place of alignment that we most honestly represent the Gospel to a world in need of His love. Christ-centered soul care is essentially resetting our entire being until it more closely resembles the prototype for humanity, Christ Himself.
If you need help with figuring out what intetional living looks like in your own life and would like to develop a soul care practice, I offer a soul care coaching program that will help you dismantle the barriers that have stood in the way of slefless stewardship of the unique creation that is YOU! Check it out here.
COLLECTED MINISTRIES
Collected Ministries is a Christian non-profit ministry I founded with the help of my friends and family in 2017. We serve disciples of Jesus with resources, online content, live events, and a weekly podcast to support personal growth and spiritual formation for the sake of the Kingdom and to Glory of God. Worship, prophetic encouragement, and creative risk-taking are all central to any Collected experience. Our heart is always to help Believers reflect Jesus to the world by inspiring them to discover and live from their truest selves.
Interviews with incredible leaders, influencers, and everyday people always seem to excavate fresh revelation and insight about walking out this life with our eyes Heavenward, determined to see His Kingdom come! Check out our conversations with people like Demi-Leigh Tebow, Banning Liebscher, Renee Swope, Gary Thomas, Meshali Mitchell, CJ Casciotta, Lucretia Berry, Jim Martin, and many, many more! If you love our show, please consider becoming a Patron! patreon.com/thecollectedpodcast
Running a non-profit ministry takes a great deal of time, energy, and finances. We’re always looking to connect folks like you for prayer support, financial partnership, and podcast sponsors, so if you’re interested in getting involved with what we’re doing, please head over to collectedministries.org to learn more and if you feel led, please pray for us and contribute to our ministry today! Thank you!
FLOURISH KENYA
I am proud to partner with Flourish Kenya, a non-profit that supports and prevents unplanned adolescent pregnancy in rural Kenya. My best friend, Krista Blalock, along with her husband, founded Flourish in 2016. I am a founding board member and her biggest cheerleader.
It’s my honor and privilege to walk beside my sister as she experiences what God will do with our YES! I try to travel at least once per year, usually every six months and enjoy being able to foster the relationships that I’ve formed in Kilgoris over the last ten years. It’s a great honor to be invited to preach and teach in churches and at conferences.
I marvel at the way God knits His people together for His glory! The crossover in the heart of my own ministry at Collected and the mission at Flourish Kenya is staggering. Empowering ourselves and others to know and walk with Jesus as we take hold of our true identity and divine purpose is the only way to demolish the lies, corruption, and cultural norms that have led to the staggering teen pregnancy statistics in Kenya— and really, every form of lostness in this world.
If you want to learn more about Flourish Kenya, visit flourishkenya.org.
