A s I reflect on this journey of life—and I do this often because there are more years behind me than in front of me—I realize that God is not done with us yet. Most everything in my life was not my plan, but it was God’s plan. As Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
So, in reflecting on my spiritual journey, I have to say that never did I ever imagine that coming out of an abusive marriage and caring for my special needs child would bring me to a church that embraced me and my child with the arms of Christ, showing me that God’s love and God’s grace is a gift from God that is freely given to all people.
A phone call, a church, and a series of “yes”
Never did I ever think that I would receive a telephone call from a former elder of the Colonial Church of Bayside in Queens, New York, to ask my daughter to join in their vacation Bible school (VBS) program because of what a friend had told him about Grace and me. That one phone call and my saying “yes” to bringing her to VBS proved to be the beginning of my love story with and for Christ. Not too long after that phone call and VBS, the pastor and I prayed the prayer of salvation in his office as I said “yes” and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. (Sneak peek: Today that is the same office that I now occupy as pastor.)
Never did I ever think that I would be in a women’s group, led by Deacon Gisela Borowsky, at the Colonial Church of Bayside where the hand of Jesus was reaching for me when I was in the pit. I said “yes” to the hand of God and through the power of the Holy Spirit, God brought me to the knowledge that Jesus Christ is the only one for me because Jesus will never hurt you, abandon you, lie to you, or steal from you because Jesus is God and God is Love.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.”
–Lamentations 3:22-23
Never did I ever think that I would remain at the Colonial Church for nearly 20 years with my church family, who continues to embrace and love both me and my daughter. Over the years they offered me opportunities to lead ministries, serving Christ as an ordained deacon and as an ordained elder, then lifting me up to be a preaching elder, and now as a commissioned pastor of The Colonial Church of Bayside. It was the former pastor, Jack Donahue, who gave me this verse to encourage and inspire me: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18 NIV). And this all started with saying “yes” to becoming a member of the Reformed Church in America (RCA).
Janet (left) with her daughter, Grace (right)
From the pew to the pulpit
Never did I ever think that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Holy Spirit would lead me to an online RCA women’s Bible study group under the leadership of Rev. Liz Testa, director of equity-based hospitality and women’s transformation and leadership. This sisterhood, through the power of the Holy Spirit, would fan the flickering that was in my heart.
Never did I ever think that I would go to seminary, but Rev. Liz saw something in me and continued to encourage, equip, and empower me and so many other women. It was the She Is Called Cohort and “the Sisterhood of the Traveling Fire” who fanned that flicker in my heart into a flame that yearns to serve Christ and all of God’s people. Saying “yes” brought me into a closer and deeper relationship with the One who saves as I enrolled in the New Brunswick Theological Seminary Certificate Program.
Never did I ever think that I would be at seminary finishing the certificate program and be prompted to do more. But Pastor Sally Ann Castle said to me, “You need to enroll in the master of divinity program.” Again I said, “Yes,” and I am now a student minister under care of the Classis of Queens on the path to ordination as minister of Word and sacrament.
Never did I ever think that when the last pastor at Colonial Church, Pastor Linden DeBie, offered me opportunities to preach in his absence—to which I said “yes”—that the first sermon I preached from the pulpit—on Lydia, a faithful, prayerful woman with an open heart filled with courageous hospitality, in the Book of Acts—would have such lasting impact. It was that sermon that was the basis for one of the chapters in the She Is Called Women of the Bible Study Series, Volume 3. And never did I ever think that Lydia would be the sermon that I preached for a classis exam.
Never did I ever think that the sermon and chapter on Lydia would take me around the world: re-worked into an opening devotion in Amsterdam when I traveled with New Brunswick Theological Seminary, then to Peru on a She Is Called global mission trip.
Never did I ever think that I would be part of such a loving and encouraging denomination. This body of Christ and family of faith, the Reformed Church in America, starting with the Colonial Church of Bayside, lifted me from the pit to the pew, then from the pew to the pulpit. Not only that, but the search committee and the consistory of the Colonial Church of Bayside, under the direction of the Elder Bill Huisman, vice president of consistory, brought a commissioned pastor invitation to the Queens Classis Human Support Committee. It was this committee that recommended my commissioning to the Classis of Queens for approval. On March 15, 2025, I became the first commissioned pastor in the Reformed Church in America’s Classis of Queens (New York).
And while others, and perhaps even myself, may have thought this is never going to happen, it is through the movement of the Holy Spirit and a steadfast faith in Jesus Christ that it did happen. As Matthew 19:26 says, with God all things are possible.
An encouragement to say YES
If your heart is open and you feel something stirring inside of you—that flicker, that flame—say YES to going to church, say YES to beginning a relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, say YES to ministry. When you have faith and say YES to God, God in all his majesty and glory and infinite wisdom, takes a person’s ordinary life, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, turns it into an extraordinary life in Christ. And it may not be your plan, but God’s plan for our lives is the best plan. So, we pray, listen, believe, trust, obey, and say YES to a life in Christ!
“May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” –Romans 15:5-6
Pastor Janet Paduano Cardillo
Pastor Janet Paduano Cardillo is a commissioned pastor at The Colonial Church of Bayside (Reformed Church in America), located in Queens, New York. Janet holds a BA in Psychology. She is also a New York State Certified Teaching Assistant and a Behavior Technician. Janet is currently in the dual Master of Divinity and Theology Program at New Brunswick Theological Seminary in the hope of becoming ordained as an RCA minister of Word and sacrament.
Janet and her daughter, Grace, who presents special needs, live in Mineola, New York, a suburb of New York City. They are sustained by the goodness of the Lord, and Janet faithfully serves God whenever she is called.
