Sarah Yardley is a follower of Jesus who loves finding and telling true stories.
She grew up at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, served at Reality Carpinteria and currently lives in the United Kingdom, as the Mission Lead for Creation Fest UK. She regularly contributes to Lectio 365, wrote More > Change, and often travels to share the good news of the God who loves us.
She is daily discovering what it means to follow Jesus, and inviting others to know and follow him.
“Knowing Jesus has changed my life. He’s shifted me from awkward homeschool kid who was embarrassed to say her name out loud, to one who lives in another country to share God’s love. The shift has taken me through some unexpected chapters; travelling to 90 countries, walking through places of great joy and great grief; developing genuine friendships scattered throughout the world.
My constant clarity is this: I’d rather have my heart stretched in knowing Jesus than feel safe and suburban anywhere else. That’s a story I love to tell, to many or to one.”
Speaker, Writer, Friend and mentor, Sarah is the oldest of seven children, and an ambivert.
Get to know me:
What movie can you watch over and over again?
Pride and Prejudice.
What is the best/most surprising thing you’ve learnt about Jesus?
Jesus surprises me daily. Sometimes, it’s the way He uses the ones I would have disqualified. Sometimes it’s His grace. Sometimes it’s His anger. Lately, I’ve been captivated by the cross and the bloody cost of salvation. The most surprising thing I’ve learnt about Jesus is how very, very, very much He loves me.
What’s been the most challenging project you have ever worked on?
My daily life includes coordinating a festival. It costs 1/2 million pounds to put it on, we have almost no paid staff, we work with a team who have mixed faith backgrounds, and literally everything about it is outrageous and sacrificial
…
I’m not passionate about events, but I’ve seen God use this one to change lives, and the most challenging project I work on is creating this radically generous (free to attend), widely-known gathering for people to invite friends to hear the good news of a God who loves us in a country where 4% of the population engage with church on a regular basis.
What do you want to see change in the church? (How do you think it can happen?)
Quite simply, I would love it if we would be known primarily for and by our love. It’s the change we all hope for and expect, and see it happening in individuals, in leaders who walk in honesty, in lives that pursue Jesus as King and choose the downward path outside of glory and fame. I see it in ones and twos, in large gatherings, and in conferences set aside to engage honestly with the hard questions…
because love walks with us towards wholeness, from wherever we stand, but loves us far too much to leave us that way.
Books that have shaped me.
General
Encounters with Jesus by Tim Keller
When Faith Fails by Dominic Done
The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis
Everybody Always by Bob Goff
Loveology by John Mark Comer
Garden City by John Mark Comer
The Great Divorce by C.S Lewis
Disappearing Church by Mark Sayers
The Screwtape Letters by C.S Lewis
The Burden is Light by Jon Tyson
You are What You Love by James K.A. Smith
Leadership & Theology
In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen
Not in God’s Name by Rabbi Sacks
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
The Crucifixion by Fleming Rutledge
Storytelling & Real Lives
Placemaker by Christie Purifoy
Here, Now by Kate Merrick
A War of Loves by David Bennett
Gay Girl, Good God by Jackie Hill Perry
Everything Happens for a Reason (and Other Lies I’ve Loved) by Kate Bowler