Mary Ann Burris
Mary Ann Burris
What to Expect:
What to Expect:
Mary Ann Burris is a passionate follower of Jesus Christ. She derives great satisfaction in being used by God to help others come to know, love and serve Jesus as Lord and Savior.
God has blessed Mary Ann with a relentless faith in His sovereignty, goodness and purposes, as revealed through the inerrant scriptures.
She has experienced trials and adversity and has overcome them through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ and His promises in Scripture.
She uses biblical truths, along with personal illustrations and humor, to motivate and inspire others to trust in the sovereignty and Lordship of Jesus.
Mary Ann shares personal stories with her audience so they can see how they all intersect and connect with
His story.
She believes that eventually all of us will come face-to-face with discouragement, unmet expectations, rejection and loneliness. Just as Satan tempted Eve in the garden, he will also assault us in our thoughts, with a myriad of questions, all designed to undermine our faith. "Is God good?" "Can He be trusted?" "Does my life have any purpose, meaning and significance?" The answer to these questions is a resounding "YES!"
Will it involve facing your fears? Yes. Will being a Christian protect you from difficult people, heartache, suffering and pain? No. Will you at some point in your life encounter an out-of-control situation which will leave you devastated and broken? Yes.
Will you be expected to give up your will in exchange for Christ's perfect will. Yes.
Will you need to humble yourself and see yourself as the sinner you really are? Yes.
Will He require you to forgive yourself and others? Yes.
Will trusting in and obeying Jesus as Savior and Lord, lead to rejection and ridicule from others? Yes.
Will doing so secure your eternal destiny in heaven? YES!
Can God fulfill the deepest desires and longings of your heart? Yes.
Will His will for you always make sense? No. Will it force you to face your fears? Yes. Will you often have to wait for God to intervene in answer to your prayers? Yes.
Will it be worth surrendering the life you've always wanted, in exchange for the life He has planned for you? Absolutely!
Come join Mary Ann in partnering with God in the adventure of a lifetime. Life and people can be difficult but God is sovereign over both.
If you expect to find love, joy, peace and purpose from the people and things in this world, you will be sadly disappointed.
If however, you learn to let God live in you and through you, to accomplish His eternal purposes, He will bless you with a life and legacy that is truly significant, meaningful and rewarding, in this life and in the life to come!
For what does it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul."
Mark 8:36
Mary Ann's Testimony
Mary Ann's Testimony
Mary Ann is relentlessly pursuing God and His purpose of making Him known to others. Growing up, she struggled with feelings of insecurity and loneliness in grade school and high school.
She attended Kansas State University, where she was selected as a cheerleader for the men's varsity football and basketball teams. She went from being a shy outcast to being instantly popular.
This was an extremely confusing time for her, as she struggled to know who she really was. She ping-ponged back and forth, as she battled between wanting to please God and others.
Mary Ann learned a lot of wrong attitudes and behaviors through the years. She trusted in Jesus as her Savior but she knew little of what it meant to make Him her Lord.
It was during this time that God began drawing her to read and study the bible and blessed her with a spiritual mentor.
Mary Ann graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and double majors in Radio/TV and Speech. She attended a year of graduate school and was hired at a television station in Wichita, Kansas. Once again, she faced loneliness and confusion, as she entered a cut-throat industry, dominated by negativity, sensationalism and politically correct viewpoints.
Feeling disillusioned, she took some time off to become a flight attendant. It was during this time that she met Brian and moved to Topeka to work at a radio station. They married while Brian was still in law school and later moved to Wichita, after he graduated.
Mary Ann worked in sales and marketing for awhile but longed for a respite from the secular marketplace and the difficult people therein. She hoped that obtaining employment at a large church in full-time ministry, would protect her from drama and difficult personalities. She quickly discovered that sin was just as prevalent within the church, as it had been outside the church. There was no escaping difficult people and their issues, because sin was a condition of the human heart, including her own!
She eventually came to realize that unlike salvation, sanctification (being set a part for God's purposes) was a life-long process of learning to be like Jesus. This realization led her on her own personal journey to embrace her brokenness and confidently live out His purposes.
Mary Ann's spiritual gifts include faith, counsel, encouragement and prayer.
Her life has not been easy, but God has drawn her to Him and others, through the very trials and disappointments she once tried so desperately to avoid.
Mary Ann has unique "God stories" which she shares while teaching. She is passionate in her delivery, authentic in her struggles and inspiring in her relentless passion for God. She is purposeful in her instruction, offering hope, wisdom and encouragement to both believers and non-believers.
Mary Ann goes deep in her teaching but has found that sharing her story often inspires others to trust the Savior, Who has written theirs.
It is her prayer that she will be used to inspire others to look to Jesus, the Author and the Perfecter of their faith.
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
<>< Jesus <><
"Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind,
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it:
'Love your neighbor as yourself."