Cami grew up attending church in her Northern Indiana hometown. Saved in fourth grade—at the same time as her mother's salvation—Cami's upbringing included much time in the Church.
"When I was a teen, I volunteered in any way I could," Cami said with enthusiasm. Through involvement at her church, Sonlight Wesleyan, and empowerment from her youth pastor, James Matchette, Cami grew in ministry and in leadership. During this time of leadership formation, God began speaking to Cami more clearly. This clearer direction emerged poignantly during the 2003 Wesleyan Youth Convention in Charlotte, NC. During one of the services, Cami remembers hearing God say, "Cami, I called you to something." That something was ministry. At this convention, Cami took another step of surrender – accepting a call to ministry.
Convinced of God's desire for her to pursue pastoral ministry, Cami made plans to study ministry at Indiana Wesleyan University, where her calling was further solidified. After graduating in 2008, Cami made her way to 12Stone® Church, a growing multi-campus Wesleyan Church near Atlanta, GA, where she joined the early stages of a program now known as the 12Stone Residency. Here, key mentors like Miles Welch and Chris Huff poured into her life and ministry. Cami's connections through the program also include her husband, Cory---who was then in college ministry at 12Stone. The couple married in 2010, around the same time Cami finished her 12Stone residency. She was ordained in 2011.
While her calling was clear, her post-internship plans were not. During this uncertainty, Cami was convinced of her dependence on God. Her mandate in this trying time was to follow Exodus 14:14, "The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still." Lebovitz prayed for opportunities, and in turn, was asked to trust.
Cami "remained still" by working in an administrative role for one year. At the end of this year her patience bore fruit. "A year in his timing is nothing; in our timing, it feels like an eternity," she said with a laugh of relief.
"A year in his timing is nothing; in our timing, it feels like an eternity." – Cami Lebovitz
Speaking of being a woman in pastoral ministry, Lebovitz says, "[My ministry position] says more for The Wesleyan Church, 12Stone, and the Church and I just get to be a pastor; it is not about making it an agenda that I am a woman. I just get stuff done." "People want to be helped, heard, and prayed for – they don't care about your gender," she continued.
Cami now serves as Spiritual Formation Pastor at 12Stone Church | Flowery Branch. There, she oversees the Next Steps 12Stoners take on their spiritual journey – from salvations to baptisms to small groups and serving. She also oversees all of the guest services processes at her campus. Jason Berry—once the 12Stone Church | Flowery Branch Pastor and now Assistant Executive Pastor of 12Stone, guided her through her transition into this role. "We had a lot of coaching conversations," Lebovitz recalled.
More recently, Cami captained the strategic planning and execution of open baptisms at every campus – at the same time, same day in every service. Such a huge undertaking stretched Lebovitz. But her huge thrill was "Getting to plan, then getting to watch lives change," she said, five hundred baptisms later. "We are all containers for what God can do," she says humbly.
"We are all containers for what God can do." – Cami Lebovitz
Cami is a patient container, a woman full of prayer, and a prime example of fruitful faith. "Honor God. Honor others. Get incredibly good at your craft," Lebovitz advises. "If you do that, God will fight for you."
"Honor God. Honor others. Get incredibly good at your craft. If you do that, God will fight for you." – Cami Lebovitz
Rev. Emily Hines is an ordained pastor at Brookhaven Wesleyan Church. She loves to read, garden, laugh, craft, and cook. Read more about Emily and our other Staff Writers here.