Joy W. Yancy

Joy W. Yancy lives her name. As an author, pastor and spouse, she spreads joy via the written and spoken word. She encourages others to “always be JOYful” (1 Thess. 5:16 NLT).  She knows first hand this is sometimes easier said than done. After suffering with depression, she was challenged to be transparent and share the testimony of her journey from depression to deliverance which is the basis of her first book, Deliverance is Available to You: Motivation to Move Forward, which is published under her maiden name Joy L. Wilkerson. She now uses her thought-provoking devotions and social media broadcast to encourage others to choose joy as they move forward to do what God is calling them to do.

Journey Series

Joy is working on a series of devotional journals (Joy, Love, Hope & Peace) which promote living life by the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). 50 Day Journey of Joy was released in November 2018 and Journey of Love: Devotions from the Heart was released in Fall 2019. Joy married the love of her life, David Yancy, II in May 2020, and as Joy W. Yancy, she released the third book in the series, Anchored to Hope: 15-Minute Devotions to Activate Your Faith in January 2022. The devotional on peace is due to release in Spring 2023.

Morning Joy & Joyful Moments

You can also subscribe to her “Morning Joy Inspiration” e-mail, a weekly message of inspiration received directly to your inbox on Monday morning to jumpstart your week. Joy also provides a dose of inspiration at the end of each month with “Joyful Moments” Facebook LIVE at 6:33 a.m. CST. She reflects on the current month and provides focus for the upcoming month. The time of 6:33 is based on Matthew 6:33…seek first the kingdom of God and everything else will be added. As Joy motivates you with her FB bio tagline, “Wake-up joyful! Be intentional not to stray!”, she encourages you to put God first and trust that everything else will fall into place.

Background

Rev. Joy, a Roxboro, N.C. native, is an Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and serves as Pastor of St. John AME Church in Memphis, TN. She previously served as pastor of Mt. Herman AMEC in Millington, TN (October 22, 2017 – October 8, 2022) which was her first charge. Prior to pastoring, she served St. Andrew AME Church in Memphis, TN which she left shortly after earning her M.Div. cum laude (2017) from Memphis Theological Seminary (MTS). She also earned a MAR summa cum laude (2009) from MTS. She has a B.S. in Accounting, summa cum laude, from N.C. A&T State University (1991) and an MBA from The University of Michigan (1996). She is published in The A.M.E. Church Review, Christian Recorder, and The Anvil Annual Resource Guide 2019-2020. Rev. Joy is employed as a Data Consultant/Auditor with a major third-party administrator in the Memphis area. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.