Melanie Saint James
Melanie Saint James, D.Min., is an ordained pastor and missionary with Church Resource Ministries (now: Novo) and its spiritual formation ministry, Imago Christi. Melanie provides spiritual direction, teaches classes, and leads retreats for churches, Christian leaders, and missionaries yearning to develop a deeper, more intimate relationship with Jesus. Melanie is also a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator specializing in the areas of courage, shame, vulnerability, and worthiness based on the work and research of Dr. Brené Brown.
An examination of Melanie’s own spiritual journey would highlight seasons of vast loss, heartache, and ministry failure. However, it was in the midst of these agonizingly painful experiences that she discovered the incredible depth of God’s grace and unconditional love for His people, as well as His remarkable ability to create beauty out of the ashes of our lives. Melanie’s life is a testimony to the resurrection power of the cross, and the hope which declares that there is absolutely nothing that God can’t or won’t redeem.
“Our flaws and failures have a way of reminding us that not only are we part of the broken human race, but that God is able to use even our imperfections for His glory. We may fail, but failure doesn’t define us. We may fail, but we are loved anyway. We may fail, but we are accepted by God, who has taken our failures upon himself. Failure is never the end of the story, but merely the beginning of God’s new creation.”
Melanie and her husband Roy Janysek live in Richland, Washington, where they seek to scatter seeds of grace in the lives of those who need it most.