Meet Stella Crowl

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stella Crowl. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stella below.

Hi Stella, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

My parents divorced when I was 8 years old. My dad had custody of my brother and I, so I didn’t grow up with my mother in my younger years. I faced insecurity and low self-esteem issues. My dad did the best he could to raise us, but he couldn’t replace the mother, nurturing part. I grew up very shy, quiet, nervous in front of others. I loved singing and creating art, but I never did anything in public with it. I kept to myself. As I got older, I started becoming more courageous and singing karaoke, taking pictures, talking more with friends.

I broke out of my shell when I met my future husband at 19. He helped me to step out of my comfort zones. I started working as a bartender in college and definitely became louder. We had a lot of fun in our college days. Lots of parties, road trips to Mexico. I kept taking pictures but never thought anything of it. I never thought it could be a business.

Although, I broke out of my shell, I was still insecure, still had low self-esteem. I still seemed to look for people’s approval. I was afraid to share my feelings, afraid to talk about the things that hurt me in the past or even present. Just kept everything to myself. This affected my relationship because I didn’t know how to trust and how to communicate my feelings. We never fought in our relationship but it did hinder us in some areas.

After we were married, I started seeking a relationship with Jesus. It wasn’t until I started spending time with God that I was able to find out who I was and why I was here. In one moment of surrendering to Christ, He swept away all my fears and sadness, exposed all broken parts of me and He healed me in one breath. In that moment, I was renewed. I was strengthened and I stood tall with confidence. My journey continued with Christ all through my adulthood. My husband grew even more in his walk with Christ. We were baptized together, our children were baptized.

God put me in positions of work that I was able to start using my creativity. I worked for magazines, I started taking photos here and there. Finally, I ended up getting a camera to start taking photos of my kids. My friends and family started asking me for photos of their families. I started as a hobby and then pretty quickly my business began. I started meeting people that God was bringing to my life. Doors were opening. I started photographing runways and fashion shows and celebrity events. I started my own fashion magazine and started traveling with my photography.

As years went by, my desire to get closer to God grew. I started focusing on our ministry. My husband and I built a ministry out of our home through our church. As we continued witnessing to people and seeing God do miracles in families, we started getting word from our Pastors that it was time to be ordained.

Fast forward, we ended up planting a church in San Antonio. It was been the most rewarding, challenging, blessed experience we’ve ever had. It’s been an incredible journey. I found my confidence in Christ, because there would be no way I could handle the spiritual warfare in my flesh. I need God through every step in my life. My confidence comes from Christ alone. I know I can do anything as long as He is with me. He leads the way and it’s been an amazing journey.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

At this time, my husband and I Pastor a church. He’s the lead Pastor. We are raising up our kids in their faith and we’ve been watching them flourish. Our oldest wants to be a Christian Counselor, our middle child wants to be in ministry and a realtor. Our youngest wants to be a Pastor. I also have the opportunity to teach high school at my kid’s Christian Academy. My husband does also work outside of shepherding the church, but our main focus as a family is the church. We want to steward God’ church in excellence. I still photograph, but I’m very selective on what I photograph, so I don’t as much, but I do get to photograph the school’s event.
We are definitely in a different season, but such an honoring one. and it has meant to so much to us to make these memories with our family.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I would highly encourage everyone to get out and make connections. I was able to build the business. and help build our church with making connections. I prayed for connections. and God always brought people. that we needed to meet.

I’d say get really good at social media marketing. A majority of my clients came from social media advertising.
Break out of comfort zones as well! That helped me to become more bold and make more friends and colleagues in business.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

Well, the Bible of course. It’s my guide and manual for life and you learn how to communicate and work with others as well.
Other books I read are leadership books. Those are so great at getting you to your next level. Breaking past excuses and getting the work done. John Maxwell, Craig Goerchel and Jon Bevere has really helped me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thekcchurch.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/styleimagestudios
• Facebook: Stella M Crowl

Image Credits

Photos: Style Image Studios