Ordered Steps
An unlikely candidate for ministry, Vicky Guillen discovered deliverance from alcohol and restoration of her marriage through the transformative power of Jesus.
Paths to ministry often zigzag. Yet the ordered steps walked by candidates fulfilling God’s call continue to confound cynics as to how they found faith and new life in Jesus.
One such example is Vicky Guillen, lead pastor of City Church in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Her life, one of redemption, exemplifies the first verse of John Newton’s classic hymn – “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.”
Originally planted from a tent meeting revival in 1930, City Church serves greater Sheboygan bordering Lake Michigan. The city of 50,000 residents exposes a needy mission field that Guillen understands. Sheboygan is listed among America’s top 20 drunkest cities.
“I am in awe of God’s love and his relentless pursuit of me,” Guillen, 53, reflects. “I was the wretch that he saved.”
In 1992, at the age of 20, she lived with her boyfriend John Guillen in Chicago, expecting their third child. Both were frequent abusers of alcohol and various drugs, which fueled a lengthy dysfunctional relationship.
Frightened about the possibility of losing the baby she carried she bargained with God. “I promised God I would follow him if my new son was born totally normal with 10 fingers and 10 toes,” she recalls.
Thankful for a healthy baby, she attended her sister-in-law’s non-denominational church in Chicago where she gave her life to Christ and stopped doing drugs. Yet, her good intensions eventually crumbled.
After marrying John In 1996, she slowly returned to weekend partying and drinking bouts. “Both of us put the Lord on the backburner,” she says.
Verbal offenses, physical altercations, and mutual infidelities surfaced again, leading the couple to separate in January 2000. Vicky and the children moved to Wisconsin in 2003, and John remained in Chicago. Yet God’s mercy and grace lingered, and His Spirit refused to give up on the couple.
In early 2005, Vicky agreed to chaperon her cousin’s children while her relative attended a Bible study at Praise Fellowship (now City Church) in Sheboygan. A crucial moment.
Due to an ankle injury, John Guillen joined his family in Wisconsin. During his recovery the couple began allowing Jesus to mend their hearts. At a worship service in June 2005, the Holy Spirit opened the floodgates of heaven over Vicky. Broken and tearful, she came home to Christ.
After an encounter, with who they believe was an angel, John asked Vicky to give their relationship another try. Marriage counseling followed and the couple recommitted their marriage to God in 2006. Love returned and the Guillen’s found themselves walking once again along God’s ordained path.
“We have experienced unbelievable forgiveness and have focused on 1 Peter 4:8,” she stresses. “That love covers a multitude of sins covering hurts from our past.”
Vicky Guillen’s faith grew after joining City Church life groups and using her secular job skills for administrative tasks. As a group leader, she helped run women’s conferences attracting almost 200 participants. She also shared her testimony and counseled couples.
Preaching assignments increased as she took on more responsibilities and was promoted to pastor of small groups, which led to gaining local church credentials from the Wisconsin/Northern Michigan Ministries Network (WNMMN) in 2017. Creating sermons, a new skill, did not come easy, she admits.
When the former pastor resigned in 2021, she submitted her name for his position. The congregation elected her as lead pastor with a 98 percent approval rating in February 2023. Meanwhile, the church needed healing after COVID and Vicky struggled with some members opposing a female leader. Several close friends left the church, as well.
Praying and staying in God’s presence allowed Vicky to overcome her fears about being ill-equipped and feeling uncertain. The Holy Spirit empowered her not to give up. At times she would wake up nights and mornings singing and worshiping.
“Although Vicky has had a painful past she has served our network well following God’s call,” says Sharon York, 63, co-lead pastor of Christian Life (christianlifefamily.com), Plymouth, Wisconsin, and an executive presbyter.
“As a female clergy, I’m proud that our fellowship affirms that women can serve in any capacity within the church using their God-given gifts.”
Alongside her husband John, on staff responsible for the building and maintenance, Vicky and her team have stressed community-based gospel outreaches – street witnessing, giving luncheon snacks in local parks, free medical clinics, providing food for needy families, and helping the temporarily displaced.
During street evangelism, a small group bought lunch for a hungry homeless man who accepted their invitation to the church worship service. Experiencing love and acceptance, he trusted Jesus as savior and Lord and was baptized.
Wisconsin winters always open opportunities to serve those without permanent housing. City Church met a critical need through its Christmas Eve service annual Jesus Offering in December 2024. Church members donated blankets, sleeping bags and backpacks for the Sheboygan Area Pay it Forward charity.
Vicky Guillen has allowed the Lord to have complete control of her life and to ordain her steps which has resulted in the blessing of a healthy and thriving Spirit-led church.
“God calls both genders to his service,” says John Davis, WNMMN superintendent. “The hand of God has been on Vicky’s ministry, and she is very relational to other pastors in our network.”
You can find this article written by Peter K. Johnson in the link below.
https://news.ag.org/en/articles/news/2025/01/ordered-steps