ABOUT ELISABETH
Founder/CEO &
Mom of Three
I'm Elisabeth Jordan, and I started walking the streets of Dallas’ poorest neighborhood in 2013. I went at the invitation of a man named Larry James, who led a Dallas nonprofit for over two decades. He told me he was spending time getting to know his “neighbors” before his nonprofit opened a new resource center.
I said yes to showing up, and stepped way out of my comfort zone to encounter people I had stereotyped and judged—people experiencing homelessness. I went to help, save, and fix the homeless, but quickly learned that since I wasn't raised in poverty and had never experienced homelessness, my perception of why people were homeless and how to help them, were projections.
So I set my stereotypes down to listen and learn. The men and women on the streets became friends and teachers. I perceived I had as much — or more — to grow in as they did, and as true friendships formed, that we had gifts to offer each other.
The Human Impact, the nonprofit I founded and lead, was born from this journey, and two years into this work, I had my first child. All of my kids have been born while doing this work, and I long for other moms to join me — both in Dallas and other places — so I've created a curriculum as a first way of inviting other moms and families in. It's called Moms Change the World.
I'd love to have you on this journey with me. Perhaps for you it feels a bit like showing up on the streets did for me — a step outside your comfort zone. I believe on the other side of such risk and courage is more life and joy, both for you and your family.
Something bad happens when we lose sight of our highest calling as moms.
Great joy is found in motherhood, yet we also all experience the feeling that the walls are closing in. We look at our kids and wonder how we’ll help them find their own faith, stop feeling entitled, learn to be grateful and do something with the life and resources they’ve been given. We start comparing what we have (or don’t) and get too easily wrapped up in our kid’s problems, friend’s problems, and neighborhood problems.
God does call us to be great moms, wives, and friends. We’re responsible for what happens inside the four walls of our home. But our home, our families are just part of our higher calling of bringing his kingdom to earth, to make it on earth as it is in heaven.
And when we say “yes” to that higher calling, amazing things happen not just for our world, but within our homes. We find perspective and purpose that brings joy and meaning to what can sometimes be mundane. We expose and invite our kids into something more in a way that brings them joy and gratitude. And we get to live life as an active part of healing and restoring the world around us instead of judging others or insulating ourselves from its problems.