Samara Jenkins - Unsilenced Sister

Pastor Samara Jenkins lives in Spanaway WA. with her husband Antwone and their youngest child of 12 (a combination of hers and his and theirs), Elijah, a freshman in high school. She arrived 2.5 years ago to serve as pastor of Spanaway United Methodist Church and now serves at Orting UMC as well. Before her 10 years in ministry, she earned a degree in Emergency Management Planning and Administration. Though her journey to helping others took a different turn, she’s grateful to offer compassion, love, dignity, and hope to everyone she meets. Her ministry has taken her across the country, from Ohio to Las Vegas and Wyoming before settling her in the PNW, where she continues to tell her story of surviving abuse and trauma to help others work through the same issues. Everywhere she’s been, she has created effective ways to serve the hungry, the cold, the lonely, and the marginalized of all ages. Here her ministry has expanded to include being elected to the board of the Recovery Cafe in Orting Valley, and as Vice President and one of the founding members of Family Promise of Pierce County, which launched Jan. 1, 2024. FPPC envisions all families in our community living in a safe and sustainable home, a goal that Pastor Jenkins and the congregation of Spanaway UMC have been working toward through their work as a Safe Parking Network site since 2021.