Pastor Juanita Rasmus is a Spiritual Director and Contemplative. For 15 years she has led the St. John’s United Methodist Church with her husband Rudy. In this brief span of time the couple has transformed the spiritual landscape and the face of poverty in Downtown Houston. Beginning with 9 existing members in 1992, St. John’s has grown to over 9,000 members (3,000 of the total either are or were formerly homeless) in fifteen years into one of the most culturally diverse congregations in the country where every week people of every social and economic background share the same pew.

Pastor Juanita co-founded the Bread of Life, Inc. which provides 7,000 hot meals to the homeless each month, distributes 9 tons of fresh food to the hungry each week, and provides child care to 125 children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS every day.

Pastor Juanita experienced a life altering major depressive episode in 1999 and is now authoring a new book entitled “Learning How to Be in Do-Do World” (to be released Fall 2007) which profiles her unique perspective on living life in the spirit to its fullest. She is a Certified Spiritual Director and a devoted contemplative who spends a great deal of time in prayer.

Juanita is a member of the Board of Directors of Renovare Inc. founded by author/lecturer Richard Foster and travels extensively speaking on spirituality, spiritual formation and the spiritual disciplines. She is also a graduate of the Spiritual Directors Institute and the Senior Fellows Class XXIII of the American Leadership Forum. She is the recipient of the United Methodist Publishing House’s coveted Circuit Rider Award, The Foundation for Evangelism’s Denman Award for Distinguished Evangelist, and many others through the years.

Juanita and Rudy have been married for 22 years and are the proud parents of two daughters, Morgan and Ryan who are both in college.