My Story

I didn’t lose my faith —
I lost my footing.

I didn’t walk away from God.
I got honest with Him.

There was a time when my life no longer matched the faith I claimed. Sin and failure placed me outside of organized church, and in that quiet space I realized my connection with God wasn’t all that I thought it was — but He met me there anyway.

That season humbled me. It stripped away routine and revealed relationship. I had to sit with God without titles, without expectations, without anyone watching. Just honesty. Just truth. Just Him

I didn’t walk away from God.
I got honest with Him.

And that honesty changed everything.

I learned that faith doesn’t disappear when structure falls away. Sometimes it deepens. Sometimes it becomes more personal, more reverent, more real. I learned that God is not afraid of our mess, our questions, or our distance. He is patient. He is present. He stays.

The Church Girl was born out of that realization.

This space is for women who still want God — even if their relationship with church looks different now. For women who are healing. For women who have lived. For women who are tired of pretending but not ready to quit believing.

I don’t have all the answers.
But I know God meets us where we are — not where we think we should be.

And that is enough to keep going.

— Penni McConnell, MA

Founder, The Church Girl