Back then, Rattei admits she was more concerned with "fixing the church" than reaching the lost. A better approach in her current position is a mixture of those two challenges. Her job, she says, is "a combination of making sure that, as someone who works in the church, we are being as effective as possible at reaching the lost. Sometimes that means we're fixing things we're doing inside our congregation, but we have to be focused on how we're using those things within our church and the community to reach the lost."

And, as the only staff member, Rattei quickly realized she had a great responsibility to her congregation. "For the church to work, we all had to be willing to talk, learn, and listen to each other," she says. "I had to learn to be the kind of leader that would raise up other leaders, no matter what their age."

Of course, leadership development is an ongoing process. Several years into her position, she says, "I still have so much to learn. I know how much leadership affects the church, and if I'm not the best leader I can be then…it's hard to say…but I'm failing the church."

That kind of commitment has paid off. Since Rattei came on-board, New Life has had a rebirth. Adults are being baptized. Youth are attending independently of their parents. The congregation is even in the process of calling a full-time paid pastor. "We're growing again and reaching our community," she says. "God obviously had his hand every step of the way getting to this point. It's been an uphill battle…but in a good way."

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