Vicki Cater — Saying Yes to God Again

Faith Passed Down Through Generations
From family devotions and church youth gatherings to a lifelong walk with Christ, Vicki Cater’s story is one of deep roots, faithful mentors, and the daily choice to keep saying yes to God.

Proverbs 22:6 — “Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he grows older he will not depart from it.” (NASB)

 

Vicki Cater stepped into her story on September 20, 1956.

Her parents, Alan and Marilyn Brown, were from the Hueytown and Rock Creek area of Jefferson County, Alabama. Vicki was the oldest of three girls. Her father was raised Baptist, and her mother was raised Methodist. From the very beginning, Vicki was surrounded by a strong family of faith. Her name was placed on the cradle roll at Hueytown First United Methodist Church, and her family was deeply involved in the life of the church.

Some would say that every time the church doors were open, her family was there.

Deep Roots of Faith

Both sides of Vicki’s family helped shape the earliest parts of her faith story. She remembers the sound of her Granddaddy Brown at the piano in his living room singing “The King Is Coming.” She remembers sitting at the feet of “Mama McKinney” during Bible study and Women’s Missionary meetings. She remembers hearing stories of faith and family from her daddy’s grandmother, Mama Mabel.

Through those moments, Vicki was introduced and reintroduced to God.

Her roots in faith run deep. Her family taught her about God and showed her how to love and respect all God’s children. That early foundation gave her an awareness and appreciation for people beyond her own family.

Family Devotions and Youth Group

At bedtime, Vicki, her mama, and her sisters would pile up on her parents’ bed for family devotions. They would talk about their day, read a devotional story, read Scripture, and then each person would pray.

During her teenage years, Vicki was part of a small youth group at church. They were close and looked out for one another. They met every Sunday night to explore their faith and talk about how to live it out during their busy teen years.

On Wednesday nights, they began meeting in the church’s small prayer chapel. Those became special times when they shared the personal things going on in their lives and prayed for one another. Together, they discovered how and where God was with them all the time.

A Study That Opened Her Heart

Vicki’s youth leaders were often parents of someone in the youth group. They cared deeply about the spiritual journeys of the young people and wanted to pour into them.

During Vicki’s senior year of high school, Herman and Faye Parsons led the youth group in a study of the Book of Revelation. That study had a lasting impact on her journey. It gave her a thirst to know more about God’s Word and deepened her relationship with Jesus Christ.

That study opened her heart and eyes to her own personal commitment to Jesus.

A Lifelong Journey With God

Vicki does not describe her faith as one single conversion moment with an exact date, time, and place. For her, faith has been a lifelong process of learning, being tested, being reassured, and being shaped day by day.

At 69 years old, that is still her story.

Vicki sees God everywhere and in everything. He is her rock and her run-to. She has not been through a single thing where God was not with her. She has never doubted His love for her.

There are things about God she may never fully understand, but she is at peace with that. Life happens. Sometimes it is unfair. There is good, bad, and ugly. Still, Vicki describes herself as one grateful daughter of the King.

And every day, she sees another opportunity to say yes to God all over again.

Hearing God’s Call

One significant chapter in Vicki’s faith journey came years later while serving on a Kairos prison ministry weekend at Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women.

As she walked down the aisle of the prison chapel, she sensed God calling her into pastoral ministry. In that moment, the words of the hymn “Here I Am, Lord” became deeply personal:

“Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard You calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if You lead me. I will hold Your people in my heart.”

What had begun as a childhood faith nurtured by family, church, Scripture, and Christian community had grown into a willingness to answer God’s call wherever He might lead. Through prayer, discernment, and faithful obedience, Vicki said yes to that call and eventually entered pastoral ministry.
 
“This hymn became especially meaningful to Vicki as she discerned God’s call to ministry while serving on a Kairos weekend at Julia Tutwiler Prison.”

Closing Reflection

Vicki’s story reminds us that faith is often formed through family, worship, prayer, Scripture, church community, and daily trust. Some people can point to one defining moment of commitment. Others can look back and see God patiently shaping them over a lifetime.

Vicki’s testimony is a witness to deep roots, steady grace, and the daily choice to keep saying yes to God.

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