We recently connected with Grace Gonzalez and have shared our conversation below.
Grace, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
It is said that the “WHY” behind your mission is what will drive you to keep pressing forward through every season of anything you put your hands and heart to accomplish. I died in a horrible car accident at the young age of 22. It wasn’t sudden, but instead it felt like a “bound to happen” result of my destructive lifestyle. A traumatic childhood, a teenage era riddled with abuse, mental health struggles and addictions followed by reckless young adult years led me here. I was pulled out of a burning car with bones protruding from my leg and a heart blackened by anger at the “bad hand in life” I’d been dealt. I died and with honest relief, thought that was it. Then, it happened. I found myself smack dab in the middle of a supernatural, spiritual encounter with “God” that was out of my control. It’s as if I was watching all of this happen. I was literally snatched out of a dark, fearful place by the hand of God (I felt a literal, giant hand) and woke up after having medically died. I can still feel the scissors of paramedics cutting my clothes off. I can still see the urgency in the glistening eyes of trauma doctors. I woke up 10 hours later in a hospital room in the worst physical pain I’ve ever experienced and had another supernatural encounter with Jesus Christ this time. I told Him He could have my life and since then, I’ve never been the same. After spending 2 years in a wheelchair being told I would never walk again, after another encounter with God, I was miraculously, completely healed. Aside from a miracle, there was no explanation and now over ten years later, the “WHY” behind my mission, every project and every interaction with people, is to reflect the goodness and grace found in faith in Jesus Christ. In the Scriptures, Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your light shine before mankind that they may see your good works and in turn they will glorify your Father (God) who is in heaven.” My “WHY” is shining that light into every dark corner of our world.
Grace, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Art and the advancement of organizational and personal growth have blended together in my bucket of passions in the most unexpected but beautiful ways. Since I was a kid, I loved art and excelled in it at different levels including winning art contests and publishing poetry. After I was miraculously healed out of a wheelchair, I attended bible college and learned daily disciplines and a lifestyle of excellence crucial for success. Later I became a Community Outreach Coordinator assisting groups of people stricken by poverty, addictions, generational incarcerations, sickness and more. In addition, I began to speak and train at church conferences, company and community events. Later, I worked as a dean of the same college I graduated from and mentored groups of young adults. I became passionate and knowledgeable as a leader in ministry, mentorship and marketplace issues. I founded The Global Grace Act in 2014, a ministry that supports churches, communities, and companies. Simultaneously, I developed my skills as a graphic designer and founded Social Focal Ads in 2020, a graphics company that has donated countless professional services to non-profit organizations and small businesses. I believe God has given each of us gifts for the blessing and benefit of others. Leadership and creative design are some of mine and it’s my joy to share my gifts with the world.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I didn’t grow up with a driving force to succeed. The environment and culture I grew up was one where you just “got by”, not aimed high. Like many, I settled for what came or didn’t come. I struggled, survived and despised it. I started with nothing and struggled to keep anything. Every time I had a dream it rapidly dwindled because I lacked discipline. Then, I became physically disabled for a time and grew extremely discouraged. My mindset was keeping me imprisoned. I determined to change, and I fell in love with the growth process. I got rid of every excuse and was inspired by the Bible where I read about so many unqualified people who did great things because of the principles learned from the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The Bible became my guide and inspiration for good success, kindness and purposed living. I learned spiritual as well as practical lessons for life, business, relationships and ministry. I broke out of my previously negative mindset and learned that I could have “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). I also searched out mentors and learned from them over many lunches. I invested a lot of time into learning and began to make courageous moves forward in developing my skills and knowledge. I began to believe that I could do anything and everything that I was created to do. It’s proven to be true and I’m still watching that unfold. Now when obstacles arise, I ask God for help, and He enables me to succeed.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
For those that lead a team of any kind and size, it is imperative to learn how to be a good, healthy leader. In order to manage a team healthily and effectively, you must learn to manage yourself first and then lead by example. For the sake of teams everywhere, please develop good communication skills, practice accountability, and lead with the whole team in mind. You need your team as much as they need you so invest in them, understand them, care for them and help them. Establish clear goals and guidelines. Train them to swim instead of waiting for them to sink. Give credit where and when it is due. Celebrate wins and encourage authentically. Don’t be passive towards bad behavior but address it and fix it quickly because it affects everyone. Don’t micromanage but don’t be absent either. Be present to add value. Learn the unique gifts within each of your team members and create opportunities for them to grow and shine in their lane. Don’t stifle people’s gifts or passions. They won’t excel if you just tell them what to do instead of teaching them how to use their skills to advance the mission. Paint the bigger picture for your team members every time you’re together. Stay true to your word and don’t just reach out to them when you need them to do something. Build real relationship with people and rejoice at their high moments and be empathetic in their low moments. Be humble and kind above all. Be quick to apologize when you’re in error and make changes to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Create systems and processes to aid everyone’s work processes, not just the ones at the top. Never stop growing, learning or praying. Cultivate an atmosphere and culture of respect and reciprocity. As a leader, be a thermostat and not a thermometer. Don’t just read the atmosphere, but influence and change it to be one where everyone can thrive.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: grace.g.global
- Facebook: Grace Gonzalez
- Linkedin: Grace Gonzalez
- Other: LinkTree: @graceglobal
Social Focal Ads email: [email protected]
The Global Grace Act ministry email: [email protected]
Image Credits
Jocelyn Puente
Dianna Smith
Nikki Medina