Melissa Turner was born in Knoxville, Tennessee into a family that did not know or serve the Lord.  Her great-grandmother (who became her roommate) was the light of Christ in her life until she was nine.  After moving to Oklahoma, her parents became Christians in the next few years.  Melissa began to follow Christ at the age of 17, just three months before graduating high school.  

God immediately began to turn her life around and she went to Oklahoma Baptist University for her bachelor’s degree.  After marrying Bill Turner, they went to Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where Melissa obtained a degree in Christian Ministries. 

Together, they had four children: Josh (31), Alison (27), Lydia (24), and Chesed (21) and worked in youth ministry for over 21 years together.  After homeschooling for 16 years, Melissa began teaching at Rocky Bayou Christian School in 2014. She served as a first-grade teacher, an advanced math teacher for upper elementary, a sixth-grade teacher, and now principal of the Crestview campus.  Her utmost desire is to be continually amazed at our salvation and to point others to Christ through His Word.  

Born as the 10th of 11 children in the small town of Hughes, Arkansas, Sarah Ann James has been defying expectations dictated by her meager beginning. Just shy of her 16th birthday, she moved to Detroit, Michigan, where her path led her to proudly serve in the United States Air Force. Since 1989, Sarah has called the Florida Panhandle home—a place where she grew in her faith, raised her family and met life-long friends.

Sarah and her husband, affectionately known as “TJ,” are both U.S. Air Force veterans and love to travel. They are proud parents to six children, and doting grandparents to ten. When she's not guiding others through healing and hope, you’ll likely find her nose in a book (especially her favorite one, the Bible), her hands in the garden, or tending to the latest additions to her backyard—five chickens gifted to her as an anniversary surprise!

Sarah holds a Master of Science in Counseling and Psychology from Troy University and is a licensed mental health counselor. Since 2013, she has helped individuals navigate the storms of mental illness, trauma, and addiction in settings ranging from psychiatric hospitals and correctional facilities to drug and alcohol recovery centers.

In 2020, Sarah took a bold step of faith and launched Chayil Christian Counseling Services, LLC—a private practice where she integrates clinical excellence with Biblical truth and prayer.  Using 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 as a model, she helps clients embrace recovery in three-dimensions: spirit, soul, and body. In 2021, she expanded her services to include faith-based coaching for individuals outside Florida, extending her reach and her mission. Since joining New Life International Worship Center in 2014, Sarah continues to serve joyfully alongside her family as a teacher, encourager, and minister of the Gospel under the leadership of her Pastor and mentor, Sherrell Compton. Whether in the counseling room, the sanctuary, or her own backyard, Sarah lives to uplift, to restore, and to reflect the redemptive power of Christ in every space she enters.