About Jenna

I was raised in Round Rock, Texas, in a loving home with my parents and two older siblings. Growing up, I followed the Catholic faith and was an active member of the church. Always driven to please my parents, I was a slave to achievement in school, extracurriculars and church. I thought that my church attendance, my works and being baptized as an infant ensured my spot in heaven, and despite going to church constantly and reading the Bible, I never truly knew the Lord.

As I prepared to be confirmed at the end of my junior year of high school, I began to be frustrated with the church. In the midst of my doubts, my classmate passed away following an accident. I became angry and decided I no longer believed there was a God, and if there was, I hated Him.

The summer after I graduated, my friend Alex committed suicide. In desperation, I prayed to God for comfort and peace, even though I doubted His existence. During Alex's funeral, I remember feeling exactly that: peace. It was so odd to me that I was fully aware of God's provision and even more aware of how undeserving I was because of my hate for Him. In that moment, I asked God into my life and that He be in control. From then on, I wanted more of Him, but I wasn't sure how to get it.

My second week at The University of North Texas, I met a woman named Annie Carman who had just moved to Texas with a college ministry called Campus Outreach. She helped me learn more about my brokenness, the amazing mercy and graciousness of God and the salvation He provided me with His Son.

Annie discipled me, and the Lord used my time in college to build my vision for community, evangelism and multiplication for His glory. Now I get to continue that vision as I labor on the college campus with Campus Outreach at The University of Texas at Dallas.

My Hope for Citizens Church

My hope for Citizens Church is that we would be a church with eyes set on Christ, marked by a desire to evangelize, make disciples and multiply our lives with an outpouring of love, all for the glory of God.