Who We Are
Doctrinal Statement
Meet the Staff

Who We Are

Exchanged Life Ministries is an independent, cross-denominational, nonprofit ministry committed to helping the local church effectively meet the needs of its own members and those within its sphere of influence. We offer a variety of training opportunities, including one-on-one discipleship done in a counseling setting, conferences, seminars and video teachings to accomplish these goals.

Staff members are trained through the Association of Exchanged Life Ministries. They are not psychologists or professional licensed therapists. The Exchanged Life approach is to share Christ-centered answers with hurting people. Although life experiences and circumstances may differ from person to person, God's Truth remains the same for everyone.

Doctrinal Statement

We believe that the Bible was uniquely, verbally, and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit and that it was written without error in the original manuscripts. We accept the Bible in its entirety, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, as the sufficient and final authority for guiding man to faith in God through Jesus Christ and then to life in freedom and victory.
We believe that there is one true God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe God is holy, infinite, unchangeable, all-knowing, all-powerful, omnipresent, righteous, just, true, and the creator of heaven and earth.
We believe that Jesus Christ is God, the living Word, who became fully man without ceasing to be fully God, through His miraculous conception and virgin birth. We believe in His miracles and that He lived a sinless life and voluntarily atoned for the sins of men by dying on the cross as their substitute, that He bodily rose from the dead after three days, that He ascended to the right hand of God the Father as the Advocate of those who trust Him for salvation, and that He will return again to the earth personally, visibly, and bodily, in power and glory, to consummate history and the eternal plan of God.
We believe in the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit, who is the third person of the Holy Trinity, who has come into the world to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to mankind. We believe that for salvation of lost and sinful man regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential. We believe the Holy Spirit convicts men of their sins and draws them to Christ, and that from the moment of spiritual birth (regeneration) He imparts to them new life in Him, baptizes (places) believers into the body of Christ, continually indwells them, fills them, and seals them until the day of final redemption. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, through whom the Christian is enabled to understand the Word of God and live a godly life.
We believe in the existence and activity of a host of spiritual beings both good (angels) and evil (demons), the evil ones being led by Satan. We believe that Satan before he fell from heaven was the highest of the created angels (then called Lucifer), but when he aspired to displace God was removed from heaven, along with one-third of the angels who followed him. We believe that Satan's objective is to thwart the plan of God, but that through the cross of Christ he is a defeated enemy who will eventually be punished in the everlasting Lake of Fire.
We believe that man was originally created in the image of God and that man consists of both material and immaterial parts, being made of spirit, soul, and body...therefore man functions in three main dimensions: physiological, psychological, and spiritual.
We believe in the Fall of Man in that after being tempted by Satan, man (through Adam) sinned by disobeying God and was thus alienated from God. We believe that at that point in history sin was introduced into the entire human race, that mankind lost life (was separated from God spiritually), that man¹s nature became corrupted and that all men are born in a lost condition outside of Christ. Therefore, we believe that man is in need of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit, and that man cannot see nor enter the Kingdom of God until he is born again.
We believe that salvation (being born again) is entirely a work of God's grace, and is not the work, in whole or in part, of human effort, works, or religious activity. We believe that God imputes His righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for salvation and justifies them. We believe that through personal faith in the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ, all believers are saved and kept saved forever, and that nothing can be added to the finished work of Christ.
We believe that the Christian life on a daily basis consists of the believer claiming his union with Christ whereby Christ lives His life in and through the believer through the indwelling Holy Spirit. We believe that practical sanctification (being able to live the Christian life and exhibit the fruit of the Spirit) is realized in the believer by recognizing and appropriating his identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, and by presenting every faculty of his life to the Lordship of Christ since his life now rightfully belongs to Christ.
We believe that a Christian can and does sometime sin. We believe that a believer has a choice to either cultivate a life centered around the flesh (a self-centered focus) or around the Spirit (a Christ-centered focus). We believe that a person's life centered around the flesh leads to sin, but that when he sins (commits an act contrary to the will of God), the believer is choosing against who he is in Christ (his true identity). If the believer sins he should agree with God (confess) about the sin, and turn from it because of the victory he has in Christ.
We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in Christ and that the Church (the Body of Christ) is composed of all Christians. We believe that local organized groups (local churches) are God-ordained instruments for worship, discipline, spiritual edification, and encouragement and that assembling together for these purposes should not be forsaken by Christians.
We believe in the physical resurrection of all men, and that the believer upon physical death, enters immediately into the presence of the Lord and awaits the resurrection of his body to everlasting glory and blessing; while the unbeliever upon physical death, enters immediately into everlasting separation from God and awaits the judgment, condemnation, and everlasting torment.

Meet the Staff

Joyce C. Stanley
Counselor and Instructor

Joyce is a wife and a mother of one son. Before becoming associated with Exchanged Life Ministries, she was a high-school English teacher. Upon completion of her advanced training with Grace Fellowship International in Denver, Colorado in 1984, she worked as a counselor in several local area churches. In 1995 she and her husband John were led by the Lord to incorporate Exchanged Life Ministries, Southeast Texas. The ministry has operated under their leadership with Joyce working as a counselor to women since 1995. She ministers to women primarily in the areas of marital conflict, relationship problems, and sexual abuse. Joyce has chosen to minister to women with her husband John ministering to men. They then work as a couple with couples. Joyce is available to speak at retreats and to participate in the presentation of conferences and workshops.

John H. Stanley
Counselor and Instructor

John has also been associated with Exchanged Life Ministries since 1984. He completed his training with the Denver office in 1984. Since that time he has worked with men with marital and relationship problems both in a one-on-one setting and in small accountability groups. He is a Certified Christian Counselor. As president of Exchanged Life Ministries Southeast Texas he serves on their Board of Directors. It is John's vision to see Exchanged Life Ministries make a major impact upon the local church and to see the Body of Christ set free from everything that hinders Christ's victory in their lives.

Karen Branham
Counselor

Karen has been associated with Exchanged Life Ministries, Southeast Texas for the past five years and completed her advanced training with this office. Her specialty is working with women; she experiences great joy in watching their lives be transformed by God as they move from issues such as depression, anxiety and fears to freedom.

Karen has been married for twenty years to her husband Mark and has two teenage children, Brittany and Benjamin. She enjoys quilting, scrapbooking, and collecting teapots.

(Photo coming soon!)