Women’s History Month: Pastor at local church breaks down barriers, voices challenges

ORLANDO, Fla. — This Women’s History Month, Channel 9 highlights stories of women in Central Florida who are making their voices heard.

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A pastor at a local church spoke about the challenges of holding a position traditionally held by men.

Pastor Ti’eshia Moore welcomes visitors to hear the word of God.

Ti’eshia Moore and her husband, Damon Moore, share the role of lead pastors at City Place Church.

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“It’s very important to him and to me that we didn’t just have Damon just as the pastor of the church,” she said.

But that decision didn’t come without criticism.

“If you look on social media, you’ll see the role of people being like, ‘great message, wrong person delivering it,’” Ti’eshia Moore.

For many, the idea of a female pastor is still taboo.

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“Sometimes, people ask me, ‘What do you think people would say that is taboo or wrong’ and the truth of the matter is that I don’t. I don’t make it my practice to concern myself with what some people are thinking.”

Both pastors started City Place nearly a decade ago, growing their church with a specific goal.

“It’s always important to Damon that we would lead city place church together,” she said. “Our plan was that we would approach this as a joint partnership. God told us we were going to have a diverse church.”

The inclusivity is reflected in their parishioners and the pulpit. Pastor Ti’eisha is also a leader as a consultant.

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“This is why I do a lot of work in the corporate settings, where there are women that are coming into their own in leadership positions,” she said.

she still works full-time, giving pastor Damon the opportunity to devote himself to the City Place and impact Orlando seven days a week.

“I work to resource City Place Church, and Damon works to resource city place church just the same,” Ti’esha Moore said. “Any church that launches if we could have a full-time pastor, its chances of succeeding long term are very high.”

With almost a decade of success, Pastor Ti isn’t letting history determine her role in the church.

“Times of injustice where women have been suppressed,” she said. “I would love to rewrite those pieces of history, but I am not here to rewrite history. I am here to populate eternity, and that is my calling.”

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