Meet Pastor JoAnne Ramsay

JoAnne Ramsay is the Founder and President of Speak the Word Ministries (STWM).

Pastor Jo accepted Jesus as Lord of her life in June 1993 in Hampton, VA. She knew immediately that her life would never be the same again, having accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior.

God called her into the ministry in 1994. She knew in her spirit that she had been called, though at the time she did not know in what area He would use her — she sensed it would be a nursing home, a hospital, or a prison ministry.

In 1995, after two years of intense study and time with the Lord, she began to step out, evangelizing in local churches. The Lord began to place in her spirit that her calling was a prison and jail ministry — that He wanted her to teach His Word and to speak for those who were not able to speak for themselves.

She had battled with the fact that she was a woman and wasn’t sure it was alright for her to minister. The Lord continued to confirm His calling through His Word; the last scripture He gave her was Galatians 3:28, helping her see that we are all the same and one in Him.

In 1996 she began her work at the Duplin County jail in Kenansville, NC. The Lord impressed on her that the work would require her to be ordained, and in 1997, after fulfilling the requirements, she was ordained. She ministered to the women every Wednesday and the men every Friday, and soon to both every Wednesday and Friday.

A year later the Lord led her to extend her ministry to the State prison; she met with the Chaplain and Superintendent and began there in 1998–99. In 1999 she became president of the Community Resource Council (CRC) at Duplin Correctional Center, a position she held for eight years.

In late 1999 the Lord told her He wanted the men to have a place of worship. When donations were slow, He told her to start a praise and worship team that would minister in local churches — and that the church would be built through the love offerings. Though she doubted the state would let inmates leave the prison, the Lord showed great favor and the men were allowed out. He provided a choir leader to train them, and they ministered at their first church in August 2000, soon receiving invitations three and four times a month.

It took Pastor Jo and the council six years to raise the money and another year to complete the church.

In 2002 her husband passed away. Devastated, she buried herself even more in the Word and her work, teaching Wednesday night Bible studies at Joyous Praise Church in Warsaw, NC for six months alongside her prison ministry.

In 2006 the Lord placed in her spirit that He wanted her to become the Chaplain of Duplin Correctional Center. With no former training she saw it as impossible, but she overcame her fears and became the Chaplain that very year, ministering to inmates and staff alike.

She served as Chaplain until the Lord brought her together with her soul mate, David, in June 2009. Pastor Jo and David believe the Lord brought them together to finish their race as a couple and to combine their ministries for the work He has called them to do.

In March 2010 the Lord revealed what He wanted her to do going forward. She truly believes her calling is to teach the Word of God to the multitudes — to train up soldiers for these end days.

“Speak the Word Ministries is a ministry anointed and given by the Holy Spirit with the purpose to teach and train God’s children to become soldiers.” The Lord gave her the name of her ministry from Matthew 8:8 — “Speak the Word only.”

It is a ministry that strives, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to equip God’s Soldiers to become Warriors of the Most High God — to teach them to be proficient in wielding the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and to exercise their authority and recognize who they are in Christ Jesus.

“I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! … So run with purpose in every step. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should.” — 1 Corinthians 9:23–27 (NLT)

Pastor Jo’s platform for accomplishing this is the airwaves and the internet worldwide — to cover the earth with the spoken Word of God.