Chelsea Smith
11 min read ⭑
“I began to notice that something is from God when it is simply too big for me. When I’m stretched beyond my own strength, that’s when I sense him most clearly.”
A leader, speaker and author, Chelsea Smith is known for her down-to-earth teaching style, full of humor and wisdom. She serves as lead theologian alongside her husband, Judah Smith, at Churchome, where they were lead pastors for 13 years before taking on their current roles. A gifted communicator, Chelsea shares God’s love and biblical truth through whatever method God provides — whether it’s on social media, on the church stage or through books. Her latest is a 52-week guide on Christian marriage titled “I Do” Today.
Below, you’ll find our conversation with Chelsea, where she opens up about her love of fiction reading, gathering around the dinner table as a family and relaxing every morning with a cup of fancy coffee and the Word of God. You’ll also discover how her 33-year marriage with Judah stays so strong and the top two resources that have defined her relationship with Jesus.
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
Food is always about more than food; it’s also about home and people and love. So how does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind your web bio?
I’m chuckling to myself because your question assumes I have a hometown!
For over a decade, our family has lived between Seattle and Los Angeles, so it has been a decade of a lot of logistics and redefining what feels like home. You’ve heard the cheesy saying, “Home is where the heart is,” but I’ve found that home is where my family is. And now that our kids — ages 21,18 and 16 — are trying to be adults (way too much on that to go into here!), the number of times we get to be together in one place seems to be fewer and fewer by the week.
All things considered, my favorite place to eat a meal is sitting around our dining room table, with all five members of our family present, talking over each other as we have lively conversations about life, the world, God and any other random thing that comes up. There’s only one problem with this scenario: I don’t cook. I mean, I can put some things together, but they never really taste that great, and the food I make doesn’t inspire meaningful conversations.
So I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank the inventors of Uber Eats. Food delivery has provided the perfect opportunity for my family to gather around our table with delicious food that creates meaningful conversations. Our go-to is Thai, but we also love pizza, Mexican and hamburgers. I cannot imagine how our family would have survived without this miraculous invention.
Letícia Alvares; Pexels
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
What “nonspiritual” activity have you found to be quite spiritual, after all? What quirky proclivity, out-of-the-way interest or unexpected pursuit refreshes your soul?
I love to read! And I know what you’re thinking here. You think I’m talking about self-help books and biblical commentaries. I’m not a huge fan of self-help books (which is ironic since I write them), but as a theology student, I do read a lot of commentaries and history books. But that’s not what I’m talking about here. I’m talking about my love for novels.
This love began in middle school, when I discovered books by Bodie Thoene and Janette Oke (anyone else remember these?). The highlight of my summer was going to the Christian bookstore to buy new books. I loved the sense of escape and adventure that reading provided — the opportunity to live a story in another time and place through someone else’s perspective opened up the world around me.
Now, I am a Kindle girl. I no longer have to wait to go to the bookstore to find a new book. As soon as I finish one, I have another book within minutes. And my genres have expanded: mystery, romance, thriller, historical, dystopian. If it’s well-written with great characters, I’m in.
I’m going out on a limb to admit this because I sometimes feel that there is a sentiment that reading novels is a waste of time. But hear me out. Reading provides an opportunity to see the world in a way that we wouldn’t have seen on our own. We get to experience someone else’s emotions and hear their thoughts. And all of this we live through our imagination, which requires our undivided attention (i.e., no phone interruptions!). And through all of this, my soul is restored.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness; every human, too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re all broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite, and how do you confront its power?
Speaking of that middle school girl who loved to read, I look back and see a carefree girl who was willing to make mistakes, fall and get back up, and fall asleep peacefully. While I love the woman I have grown into, there is a part of me that feels envious of that carefree girl, because life has tried to replace that freedom with some other traits.
Perfectionism.
Control.
Don’t you love how I blame ambiguous “life” for these habits when actually they are my own? But here’s the reality for me: as a church pastor, my work is never done. At the end of the day, people still need more help, and projects still need more work. And the more our church has grown, the more things feel undone at the end of the day. So as the church grew, so did my need for everything at home to be perfectly in order. I used to be able to relax in a messy room, but now, I have to make sure everything is in its place before I can sit down and read, fall asleep or eat dinner.
I really don’t want to keep living this way. Nobody told me that perfectionism is a prison. But I have realized that the more honest I am with God and others about my own imperfections, the less I hold onto perfectionism and the less I need to control. But it is, undoubtedly, a daily habit and a work in progress.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your current obsession? And why should it be ours?
Without a doubt, the proudest thing I have done in my life is my 26 years of marriage. But I actually don’t know how much credit I can take! First, I am married to the most consistent, most integrous, sexiest man on the planet. Second, we both got to see examples of healthy marriages from our own parents. That seems pretty rare in 2025, and those examples gave us a huge head start in our own marriage. We got to learn from their mistakes and failures, build healthy expectations for marriage and each other, and learn what the texture of a healthy marriage feels like on a daily basis.
We really can’t take credit for any of this, but we sure have benefited from it! A few years ago, I began to feel like I had a responsibility to pass this gift on to others, so I started a weekly Instagram post about simple, everyday aspects of marriage that could transform our relationships. I really do believe that the most significant transformations take place through small, consistent, incremental changes.
And now — drumroll please — I have taken all of that material and compiled it into a book titled “I Do” Today.” But this actually isn’t a book; it’s a 52-week guide to lead readers into the marriage they’ve always wanted. Each week has a reflection piece, journaling questions, discussion questions and an activity for couples to do together. Topics range from sex, money and in-laws to how to fight fair and even how to deal with little annoyances. This is my way of passing hard-fought marriage wisdom on, and I can’t wait to hear about the transformations it brings others.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Whether we’re cashiers or CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need God’s love flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?
In my early 20s, newly married and working in ministry, I remember feeling paralyzed by fear of the future. I was convinced I wasn’t talented enough to do anything meaningful. Every time I looked at my own skills, the numbers didn’t add up. Then one day, God interrupted my anxious math. I heard him whisper, “You aren’t factoring me into the equation.” Who hears from God in math terms, right? But that’s exactly what I needed to realize — my calculations were based only on what I could bring to the table, not on what he could do through me.
That moment shifted everything. I began to notice that something is from God when it is simply too big for me. When I’m stretched beyond my own strength, that’s when I sense him most clearly. It’s not about me being clever enough, organized enough or talented enough. It’s about his Spirit filling the gaps and multiplying what little I have.
And here’s the beautiful part: God isn’t just interested in “big” ministry moments so that we can do things for him. He is actually looking for a relationship with us, and he loves to partner with us in our everyday work. Whatever our personal vocation or whatever it is we need help with, at the end of the day, the Spirit’s greatest gift isn’t what we accomplish — it’s that we walk with him, loved and empowered, in whatever he’s called us to do.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied habits that open our hearts to the presence of God. So let us in. Which spiritual practice is working best for you in this season?
Two seemingly unrelated yet significant events took place in the summer of 1995 before my senior year of high school. First, I experienced God in a genuine, firsthand way at church camp. My counselor, understanding the nature of these encounters, wanted to give me something that would further my journey with God, so she gave me a New Testament Bible reading plan. The other event is significantly less spiritual: my mom got an espresso machine and taught me how to make a perfectly foamy vanilla latte. These events began a lifelong habit of starting my days with coffee and Bible reading.
The habit has changed, grown, ebbed and flowed over the past 30 years. I eventually expanded my Bible reading to the Old Testament, stopped adding vanilla syrup to my lattes and had to make adjustments for changing seasons of life. I didn’t know what to do with myself when my firstborn son stopped taking his morning nap. When would I get my coffee and Bible time? After I discovered the trick of putting him in his high chair with some Cheerios, I was back in my routine. Through seasons of more children, health challenges and expanding work responsibilities, my morning habit of coffee and Bible reading has looked different, and at times, it took a while to get into a new groove, but I’ve always found a way to adapt to keep this routine going.
It is mind-blowing to me, if not supernatural, that I still find life every morning sitting in a chair, drinking coffee and reading the same material over and over again. I don’t know how God does it, but he meets me there every morning.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Looking backward, considering the full sweep of your unique faith journey and all you encountered along the way, what top resources stand out to you? What changed reality and changed your heart?
Whoa, a full sweep — that’s an intense question!
Since we are doing a “full sweep,” I have to go to consistency. I’m not talking about things that have hit me, then were later forgotten about. I’m looking for the things I go back to time and again, that have consistently shaped me.
The first is the Message translation/paraphrase (big debate here!) of the Bible. As a theologian, I find it to be unbelievably accurate in its scholarly approach, yet able to bypass my logic and speak to my spirit in practical, life-changing ways. Right now, I am specifically reading an edition that removes all of the chapter and verse breaks, which is so good!
Don’t judge me for my second resource, and I promise I am being genuine. My husband’s preaching has shaped my spiritual life and helped me see Jesus more than any resource other than the Bible. I mean, how many wives can actually say that about their husband’s preaching? It’s that good and rich!
Certain things can be godsends, helping us survive, even thrive, in our fast-paced world. Does technology ever help you this way? Has an app ever boosted your spiritual growth? If so, how?
I’ll be honest: I’ve always found prayer hard. (Yes, I’m a pastor admitting that.) As an introvert, the idea of “just talk to God” felt overwhelming. How do you talk to someone you can’t actually see? The funny part is, the thing that changed everything for me is something I helped create: Daily Guided Prayers on our Churchome app. We basically built what I needed.
They’re short audio prayers of five to seven minutes long, and they follow a simple rhythm, starting with a verse, then walking you through a few prompts to help you actually connect with God. For me, the difference has been huge. Instead of me trying to force the right words, these prayers help me see God in a fresh way every day. They lead me into honest conversations with him about what I’m really facing, things I might not have had the courage (or even the thought) to bring up on my own.
Now, I look forward to those prayer moments instead of dreading them. And yes, the app is free, and you can grab it wherever you get your apps. (Because what’s better than a little divine guidance that’s completely free?)
QUESTION #8: dream
God’s continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
Eugene Peterson, obviously one of my heroes, once said that handing someone a Bible and telling them to read it is like giving a 16-year-old the keys to the car and saying, “Go drive.” I just finished teaching my third teenager how to drive, and let me tell you, those were some of the scariest moments of my life. Why? Because cars are powerful. They literally carry the power of life and death.
The same is true of Scripture. Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that God’s word is “alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword.” All we have to do is look at history to see its impact. When handled rightly, the Bible has inspired hospitals, orphanages, schools and countless life-giving movements. When handled wrongly, it’s been twisted to justify slavery, crusades and colonization. That’s a sobering reality, and a reminder that this book is not neutral.
So what’s stirring in me right now? Honestly, I don’t have the finished picture. That’s why this belongs in the “dreams” category. But I do know this: part of my future will be about helping people engage the Bible in a way that leads to life. I want to see people discover that Scripture isn’t just an ancient text but a living word that shapes everyday decisions, relationships and even the culture we create.
I may not know exactly what that will look like yet, but I know I want to hand people more than keys; I want to help them actually learn how to drive.
Earlier in her interview, Chelsea said, “I was convinced I wasn’t talented enough to do anything meaningful. Every time I looked at my own skills, the numbers didn’t add up.”
Have you ever felt that way? As if your skills and talents weren’t enough to matter? As though you weren’t enough?
The good news is, you don’t have to be enough because, as Chelsea pointed out, Jesus is. And he is more than enough. All we have to do is trust and obey — with a heart of surrender.
Chelsea Smith and her husband, Judah, serve on the leadership team at Churchome as the lead theologian and lead communicator, respectively. Prior to their leadership team roles, they were the lead pastors for 13 years, and before that, they led Generation Church, the youth ministry of The City Church, for 10 years. Chelsea is a gifted leader and speaker, noted for her down-to-earth wisdom, authenticity, humor and strong faith. Judah and Chelsea deeply love Jesus, each other and their three children, Zion, Eliott and Grace.