Westside Stories Advent Podcast: LaTonya Gates Johnston

“Growing up in poverty, living in it, and now coming back to serve in it—I’m learning that poverty is more than simply not having. It’s the result of deeply broken systems. What God is showing me through my neighbors is what it truly means to wait, to lean on Him, and to depend on Him.

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When I see a senior whose husband has passed away, whose water is about to be shut off, whose lights are out, or who doesn’t have food, everything in me wants to fix these broken systems immediately. But what I’m learning is that it all happens in God’s timing. I’m learning to place everything—every burden, every hope, every longing—in His hands.

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And yet, even in the hardest places, hope is rising. If you stand on one of the worst corners on the Westside of Atlanta, you will see it. We took what used to be a trap house filled with prostitution and drugs—right there on that corner—and, across differences of race and background, we came together and built something beautiful and authentic.

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None of this is because of my goodness. These are my friends—Christie, Liz, Jim, Chuck. We believed. We leaned in. And what we talk about in Advent—hope, waiting, resting, trusting—we’re living it out together. And it’s beautiful.”

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— LaTonya Gates Johnston

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