25 Anniversary – Ring The Bell

Part Two: When Breakthrough Rings in Bellville

September 16, 2025 | Angela Miller | 25 Anniversary - Ring The Bell, Serenity Blog | No Comments

By Cynthia Wenz Part One: Read Here Flash forward to today. I sit in the seat of CEO for the very ministry that once held space for my healing. It’s not lost on me how full-circle God’s fa…

Experience the Unthinkable

September 15, 2025 | Angela Miller | Serenity Blog, Transformation Prayer | No Comments

By Eric Miller My health had declined in ways that doctors couldn’t explain, then I lost my job, and most painfully, God felt silent. I was still praying and living for Him, but my d…

Part Two: When Breakthrough Rings in Bellville

Written by Angela Miller on September 16, 2025. Posted in 25 Anniversary - Ring The Bell, Serenity Blog. No Comments on Part Two: When Breakthrough Rings in Bellville

By Cynthia Wenz

Part One: Read Here

Flash forward to today.

I sit in the seat of CEO for the very ministry that once held space for my healing. It’s not lost on me how full-circle God’s faithfulness is.

I’m deeply blessed and inspired to serve alongside a united, prayerful board as Serenity Retreat prepares to celebrate its 25th year—a year of reflection and renewed mission.

Twenty-five years of quiet miracles. Of whispered prayers. Of stewarding sacred ground that has absorbed the tears and testimonies of hundreds who came to meet with and receive from God.

This summer, as heat slowed the rhythm of the city, our board made a strategic move: they asked me to step in as unpaid interim CEO to fill the gap and carry the weight of vision leading up to our 25th Anniversary Fundraiser on October 3rd.

It wasn’t a business decision; it was a spiritual one.

We sensed that this summer wasn’t a pause, it was a preparation.

And so, we, as an organization, have turned first to prayer.

Led by our dear Tiffany Pardue, the Serenity team launched 40 Days of Favor — committing 25 minutes of every morning to lift high the name of Jesus, not only for our ministry, but for hearts across the city, our partners, the Church, and the world.

These moments have become the heartbeat of this season. No production, no polish. Just believers united in one cry: Come, Lord Jesus. Move among us.

From those calls to the quiet trails of Bellville, breakthrough is beginning to take shape again. It’s the kind that’s born from humble hearts and holy ground.

We hear it in worship echoing from the cabins, Lodge and prayer chapel.

We feel it in tears that water the soil beneath our feet.

We see it when someone walks out of a Transformation Prayer Ministry session, ringing the bell — a literal, physical bell — because they’ve encountered freedom, truth, and the nearness of Jesus.

And how fitting that this year, our 25th Anniversary will be held at The Bell Tower on 34th Street — a place where bells echo through stone halls, as if heaven itself were affirming: Breakthrough has a sound.

It’s the sound of prayers whispered in faith.
The sound of truth replacing lies.
The sound of a bell ringing in Bellville, and in hearts ready to be free.

Will You Join the Sound of Breakthrough?

🙏 Pray with us: Join the last 6 Days of our 40 Days of Prayer: Sign-Up for our daily 40 Days of Favor prayer guide here
🎟️ Host or sponsor a table at the 25th Anniversary Fundraiser Celebrations. Whether you’ve attended before or not, your presence and invitation could make room for someone else’s healing: Register to Host or Sponsor a table here
💛 Partner with Serenity Retreat: Through prayer, presence, or financial support, you help us continue to offer sacred spaces of restoration to those who need it most.

Breakthrough is more than a moment.
It’s a movement.
And it’s already begun.

Come ring the bell with us.

RSVP at serenityretreat.com/ringthebell.

Breakthrough Has a Sound

By Interim CEO & Board Member, Cynthia Wenz

Part One: When Breakthrough Rings Like a Bell

I still remember the first time I encountered Serenity Retreat. It wasn’t at a gala or a board meeting. It was at a memorial service, a sacred gathering for mothers like me who had experienced the deep grief of abortion.

I had just completed my very first post-abortion healing class, and Serenity was still in its infancy, meeting in an Upper Room in Garden Oaks. I can still see Kathryn Eason, our gracious host, leading us as we gathered to grieve, to pray, and to lay down the burden that had weighed on our hearts for so long. That day I wept freely.

Tears seemed to ring through my heart like a bell. It was a holy sound, the sound of grief colliding with hope, the sound of a heart breaking open so healing could begin.

That healing became a turning point in my life. Soon after, my simple volunteer role at a local pregnancy center became a full calling. I found myself stepping into the CEO role at a pregnancy center just 10.4 miles away from the massive 78,000 square foot Planned Parenthood facility that was being built—the largest in the western hemisphere at the time.

As that building rose, my heart rose in response. World Magazine even featured my reflections in an article called Taking on Goliath. That season was my personal battle with Goliath. But like David, my weapon wasn’t a sword, it was prayer. My heart’s cry to the Lord became my sling and stone.

We served women and families with the hope of life in Christ. We educated. We prayed. We adjusted our business hours to match the rhythms of the abortion industry. And behind every act of service was a tear-stained prayer that Goliath would fall.

And now, 15 years later, that Goliath has fallen.

The massive facility that once cast its shadow over our city is finally closing its doors. Even still, I’ve learned through the years that while laws can change, doors can close, and buildings can be torn down, there yet remains the battle for hearts.

Now in my service as Interim CEO of Serenity Retreat, I can see clearly why the Lord has brought me back to this sacred space. Because breakthrough has a sound—and that sound is incepted in the prayers of God’s people.