Deborah Gentry

Deborah lives in Marietta with her husband Jack soon to celebrate their twentieth anniversary. They share a blended family together and have three grown children, Hayley, married to Cody and their daughter, Juniper, Deborah’s son Matt, and Jack’s son, Matthew. Deb was raised in Syracuse N.Y. with loving parents, three siblings in a Catholic home environment. She pursued a lifelong career as a professional ballet dancer and teacher with companies in New York, Connecticut, Canada and London. Deborah came to fully surrender her life to Jesus at age 35, while going through a painful divorce from an abusive marriage, she was radically rescued from a dark place, realizing not following His lead long before proved to have severe consequences. Losing everything, relationships and career, this began a new journey of trust in her one and only security, Jesus. Venturing out as a single mom with her 2 small children, God’s plan moved her to Georgia to take care of her sister living with a stage 4 cancer diagnosis. What she assumed would be a temporary move, the Lord made permanent!

Beginning as a volunteer with Out of Darkness and the Atlanta Dream Center eleven years ago, she was actively involved with a team whose purpose was rescuing and restoring the lives of women off the street trapped in addiction and sex trafficking. She trained volunteers to help work with the women in several different safe houses, leading their lives to Christ, and equipping them for their long journey of recovery.  Deb was led to focus on their reentering society with their identity changed and damaged relationships restored. Seeing the desperate need for third phase recovery homes, she was given a home and started “Boaz ministries” to continue the effort of recovery after addiction. Mentoring became her passion, reconciliation through prayer, career direction, and for most, living in freedom with other believers for the first time.

Since then, Deborah spent three years training and studying under Dana Dodd, President of New Life Design Ministries, being trained in The Exchanged Life Discipleship counseling model and Transformational Prayer Ministry by Edward Smith. Deborah has also studied under the Bible teacher Chuck Missler, attending The Koinonia Institute for a comprehensive biblical online studies program for three years. She completed training with the Association for Christian Biblical Counseling under the direction of the Faith Community Church in Woodstock, Ga. As Deborah has spent years walking alongside and caring for many recovering from emotional and physical abuse, she is still committed to and actively involved in the training of mentors, and volunteers in several ministries.

Joining the New Life Design team has changed my life perspective – Gal.2:20. “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

“It’s been a humbling journey in faith replacing false beliefs with truth, where the intellectual belief is joined with a sincere heart belief. Where our surrendered behavior becomes natural, replacing behavior modification which is temporary. This mentoring process has begun a life lesson in learning to abide in love and forgiveness, while guiding those experiencing trials and adversity of all kinds. I have seen when we position ourselves before Christ in a posture of brokenness and surrender, we receive healing as the Holy Spirit renders the heart changed and aligns our identity recognition with Christ Jesus our Savior.”

Psalm 16:11 You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand is eternal pleasures.