Meet Pastor Ayanna
What You'll Find Here
If you had told me years ago that I would one day be pastoring again, I probably would have smiled and told you that you had the wrong person. It wasn't my plan. Honestly, it wasn't even something I wanted.
When I first gave my life to Christ more than twenty years ago, I was simply grateful to be saved. For years I had lived under what felt like dark clouds, but when Jesus came into my life, everything began to change. It was as though those clouds slowly rolled away and His light filled my heart. I wasn't focused on ministry titles or leadership positions. I was just thankful that God had rescued me, and all I wanted to do was serve Him.
From that day forward, I looked for opportunities to help wherever I could. If the church needed someone to clean, I cleaned. If the toilets needed scrubbing, I scrubbed them. If someone needed flyers designed, I learned how to make flyers. If a website needed to be built—even though I had no idea what I was doing—I prayed, asked God to help me, and did my best. I've always believed that if God gives you an assignment, He will also give you the grace to carry it out. Time after time, He anointed me to do things I had never been trained to do until He sent someone who knew more than I did. I simply wanted to be useful wherever there was a need.
Over the years, I had the privilege of serving in many different areas of ministry, including co-pastoring two churches. Then, in 2019, my life took an unexpected turn. I walked through one of the most difficult seasons I had ever faced. During that time, I joined Tabernacle of Praise in Buffalo under the leadership of Pastor Charles McCarley. My plan was simple: I wanted to heal, worship, and quietly serve. And that's exactly what I did.
Every now and then Pastor McCarley would make comments about me pastoring again, but I never wanted to hear it. Every time he mentioned it, I quietly dismissed it. I was content serving behind the scenes and had no desire to step back into that level of leadership.
Then, in 2025, something unexpected began to happen. People I respected started sharing the same message with me. One after another, they said they believed God was calling me to pastor. I didn't immediately receive those words. Instead, I did what I always try to do—I prayed.
One of those people was someone I affectionately call my "little big sister," Pastor Kristeka Rogers. She shared something that honestly sounded impossible. She said she believed God was going to give me a church. At the time, I couldn't imagine how that could ever happen. It wasn't something I had prayed for, pursued, or even desired.
A few months later, Pastor Kristeka told me she was moving out of state. She shared that the Lord had shown her giving me the keys to the church she had faithfully shepherded. I had ministered alongside her congregation before and had grown to love them like family. The thought of becoming their pastor was both humbling and overwhelming.
Once again, I did what I had learned to do years before—I prayed.
After seeking the Lord, I met with Pastor McCarley. I'll never forget our conversation. He looked at me and said, "I can see the writing on the wall." Then, with the heart of a true spiritual father, he lovingly released me, saying, "You can no longer stay here. You have to go."
That conversation confirmed what God had already been speaking to my heart.
As I continued praying, the Lord began showing me something that changed the way I looked at my entire journey. He hadn't suddenly called me. He had been preparing me all along. Every season, every disappointment, every act of service, every lesson, and every tear had a purpose. Nothing had been wasted.
Today, my heart is simple. I love ministering to people who feel like they don't fit in—the overlooked, the rejected, the misunderstood, the person who's just beginning their walk with Jesus, and the one who knows God has more for them but doesn't know where to start. There is something incredibly rewarding about watching people begin to see themselves the way God sees them.
I often describe my calling as being a Kingdom midwife. Just as a midwife helps bring new life into the world, I believe God has called me to walk alongside people as He brings forth the gifts, purpose, and calling He has already placed inside them. I don't believe my job is to give people purpose. God has already done that. My role is to encourage them, equip them, and cheer them on until they become everything He created them to be.
The Transformation Station was born from that passion. More than a church, I believe God is raising up a place where people can encounter Jesus, be transformed through His Word, discover their God-given identity, and be equipped to fulfill their Kingdom assignment. My desire is not simply to help people attend church, but to help them become mature disciples who know Christ, live out their purpose, and impact the world around them.
I know what it's like to experience brokenness, disappointment, and seasons where you wonder what God is doing with your life. I've wrestled with questions about my future and wondered if the pain I had experienced would always define me.
But God had another plan.
He took the broken pieces of my life and began creating something beautiful. What I once thought would disqualify me became part of my testimony.
Today, I can honestly say that God's grace has changed my life, and that's why I'm so passionate about helping others discover what He can do in theirs.
If my story teaches anything, I hope it's this: no matter where you've been, what you've been through, or how impossible your future may seem, God is still writing your story.