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GIVING WOMEN HOPE PRAYER
THROUGH THE POWER OF
By Pastor Judy Achero
The journey to greatness rarely begins where
we expect it to. More often than not, it begins quietly — in seasons of uncertainty, in moments of private wrestling, in places where ambition collides with divine interruption. Destiny does not always announce itself with applause. Sometimes it arrives as a disruption. Sometimes it dismantles carefully crafted plans. Sometimes it asks for surrender before it offers significance.
There are women who discover their calling early and embrace it effortlessly. And then there are women who must wrestle with it — who must confront their fears, their preferences, and their ambitions before they can step fully into purpose. For such women, calling is not a gentle whisper; it is a persistent pursuit.
Pastor Judy Achero is one such woman. Today, she is the founder of the Warrior Women Prayer Movement and co-pastor of Jubilee Christian Church in Johannesburg alongside her husband, Pastor Ben Achero. She mobilizes women across cities and nations to rise in prayer. Yet her journey into ministry did not begin with influence or visibility. It began with resistance.
It was 1997. Kenya was experiencing severe drought, followed by destructive El Niño rains that disrupted
normal life. In that unsettled national atmosphere, twenty-year-old Judy encountered God in a way that would permanently alter her trajectory. God spoke clearly to her about her calling into ministry. The encounter was direct — and it unsettled her deeply.
At that stage, she had envisioned a very different future. Academically strong and ambitious, she saw herself thriving in the corporate world as an accountant, building financial stability and professional success. Ministry, in her understanding, seemed associated with sacrifice and limitation. Many of the women she observed in ministry were primarily singers, and she did not possess that gift. “I struggled with the idea of ministry,” she later admitted. “I couldn’t sing. I didn’t see women preaching the way I now preach. I simply could not picture myself in that space.” And so she ran.
She immersed herself in accounting studies with renewed determination, pursuing qualification as a Chartered Accountant. The plan was solid, respectable, and predictable. Yet despite discipline and effort, she repeatedly failed her professional examinations. At first, she assumed she needed better strategy. More effort. More focus. But as the pattern continued, she began to sense that this was more than academic frustration. >
Warrior Woman Magazine
Issue 1 :: April 2026
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“At any given moment, you have the power to declare, this is not how my story will end.”
Judy AcheroPastor
Issue 1 :: April 2026
Warrior Woman Magazine
Issue 1 :: April 2026
Cover Story
There are moments in life when what feels like resistance is actually redirection. Each failed attempt confronted her with a deeper truth: she could not outrun what God had spoken. The call she had tried to silence persisted. Over time, she came to understand a principle that would shape her life: God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called. The issue was never her readiness. The issue was her surrender. That surrender unfolded gradually — through prayer, reflection, and quiet conviction. Eventually, she chose obedience over personal ambition.
For the next eight years, she served faithfully as an usher at Jubilee Christian Church. There were no titles, no spotlight, no visible expression of the calling she carried. To some, it may have looked like delay. In truth, it was formation. Hidden seasons refine character. They purify motives. They teach faithfulness.
Looking back, she recognizes that God was not denying her ambition; He was reshaping it. What she once perceived as limitation was preparation and so, the woman who now mobilizes thousands in prayer first learned to say yes in obscurity. That yes would echo into every season that followed.
Her Journey Towards Marriage
Judy’s journey toward marriage also began with obedience to a divine instruction. At a time when she believed she was in a relationship that would eventually lead to marriage, God instructed her to end it. The directive was unexpected and emotionally difficult, yet she chose obedience over comfort. Trusting that God’s plan was superior to her own understanding, she broke off the relationship.
In the seasons that followed, she developed an even deeper love for her spiritual home and her spiritual parents. Jubilee Christian Church was more than a place of worship; it was family, covering, and identity. She began praying specifically that God would give her a husband from within her church
community. Her desire was simple yet profound — she did not want to leave her spiritual family in order to marry. She wanted alignment, not division.
God honored that prayer in a remarkable way. Around that time, a young minister from western Kenya sensed a leading to relocate to Nairobi, the capital city, and submit under Bishop Allan Kiuna at Jubilee Christian Church. In an act of obedience, he closed his ministry in Eldoret and moved to Nairobi, joining Jubilee. What seemed like an ordinary relocation was, in reality, a divine orchestration. It was during this season that he met Judy Achero. >
Warrior Woman Magazine
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Their relationship, however, was not without challenges. Judy and her mother had already made plans to travel to the United States, where Judy hoped to relocate and possibly build a future. Changing those plans required difficult conversations and courage. It was not easy to tell her parents that she had reconsidered and would instead be getting married.
Cultural dynamics also presented obstacles. Coming from the prestigious Kikuyu tibe in central Kenya, marrying someone from western Kenya required her to rise above deeply rooted expectations and societal perceptions. Yet, once again, she chose obedience over pressure. After six months of courtship, she married Pastor Ben Achero, who was already serving faithfully as the music ministry leader at Jubilee Christian Church. What began as obedience to God’s instruction blossomed into a union that would eventually carry a shared calling far beyond what either of them imagined.
Missionaries in South Africa
Two years into their marriage, another life-altering instruction came. Pastor Judy and Pastor Ben relocated to South Africa with the mandate to establish a branch of Jubilee Christian Church. “We were at Oliver Tambo International Airport when God spoke to me, saying, ‘This is your Canaan,’” she recalls. She understood this statement as prophetic. In Scripture, Canaan represents inheritance, promise, and possession — the land God promised to the children of Israel. Yet she also understood that entering Canaan required faith, resilience, and warfare.
In 2008, they launched Jubilee Christian Church in Centurion before later relocating to Johannesburg. The vision was clear, but the process was anything but easy. Ministry in South Africa proved incredibly challenging. Despite her qualifications, Pastor Judy was unable to secure employment as an accountant. What had once been her professional aspiration remained out of reach. Consequently, she became a stay-at-home mother, supporting her husband in full-time ministry while raising their young children.
When financial support from their home church in Kenya ceased, the pressure intensified. For over a year, they faced severe hardship. They were unable to afford stable housing and were temporarily accommodated by three different families within a span of seven months. The instability was exhausting. The uncertainty was real.
There were moments when food was scarce. Moments when pride had to be surrendered. Moments when discouragement could easily have taken root. Yet through every hardship, prayer remained their anchor. Prayer sustained Judy during seasons of financial strain. Prayer comforted her when family was far away. Prayer strengthened her when cultural tensions and xenophobic threats surfaced. Prayer was not an occasional activity; it was her lifeline.
Over time, God began to restore stability. Doors opened. Provision improved. They were eventually able to live comfortably with their two children. Looking back, she recognizes that those early years of struggle laid a foundation of resilience that would later sustain a growing movement. >
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Warrior Woman Magazine
Issue 1 :: April 2026
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A Wake-Up Call
By 2010, after six years of marriage, Pastor Judy had not yet fully discovered her distinct place in ministry. Although she faithfully supported her husband, her visible role was limited to leading brief intercessory prayers just before church services.
Then came a pivotal moment. A church member made a critical remark: “What kind of pastor’s wife is she, that she can’t even start a women’s ministry?” The comment was painful. Yet rather than allowing it to discourage her, she allowed it to awaken her. The words forced her to revisit the encounter she had with God in 1997. Had she settled? Had she confined herself to a supportive role when perhaps God was calling her to something more?
At that time, she was overwhelmed by financial responsibilities and the demands of raising two young children. Ministry expression was not her primary focus. However, the criticism ignited something within her — a determination to seek God more intentionally about her assignment. Instead of responding defensively, she responded prayerfully. >
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The Making of a Movie
One evening, as she sought clarity from God, He spoke to her through a vivid metaphor. “God began to speak to me about the making of a movie,” she explains. “Before a movie appears on the screen, the producer writes the entire story from beginning to end before casting the protagonist — the one who will carry the narrative.”
She continues, “When selecting the main character, the producer ensures that the chosen person has the necessary qualities to perform in every scene. After choosing the protagonist, the producer hands them the script containing the full story.”
Then came the revelation. “God said to me, ‘In 1997, I called you to ministry. By then, as the Producer, I had already written the script of your life and chosen you as the main character. It is time to live it.’” That moment marked a turning point. “The journey to becoming who I had not yet become started that day,” she reflects.
From that point forward, preparation intensified. For hours each day, Pastor Judy sat quietly, listening to seasoned women of God, including her spiritual mother, Lady Bishop Kathy Kiuna, as well as influential voices such as Sheryl Brady and Paula White. She immersed herself in Scripture, studying from nearly ten well-worn Bibles. Her focus became clear: prayer and the Word.
It was during those hidden hours that her courage to rise as a preacher was cultivated. In 2010, under her husband’s encouragement, she preached her first sermon. Though modest, it marked the public expression of a long-carried calling. She continued to grow in confidence and clarity.
In 2012, Pastor Judy launched the Daughters of Zion women’s ministry, hosting quarterly
gatherings that impacted many lives. These meetings became spaces of healing, teaching, and empowerment. One evening, after a gathering, she sensed God instructing her to write a book titled Becoming Who You Have Not Yet Become.
“This book reflects my personal journey,” she explains. “I once believed I was content being a pastor’s wife — supporting my husband and serving as his intercessor. But God revealed that my calling was to preach and minister in my own right. Being a pastor’s wife was not my final destination.”
Initially, she thought preaching locally while her husband travelled was enough. However, God began opening doors beyond her local church — nationally and internationally — and awakened within her a deep passion to minister to women. Soon, she found herself writing late into the night. Becoming an author had never been part of her plan, yet she realized God had already placed the capacity within her. “At any given time,” she often says, “you have the power to declare, ‘This is not how my story will end.’” This declaration became more than a phrase; it became a mindset.
In her book, she explains that many people operate like a Toyota fitted with a Ferrari engine — full of untapped potential. There comes a moment when a woman must step into her full capacity and refuse to remain confined by limitation.
No matter how far one has risen, there are greater heights to reach. Inside each of us lies more than we have yet expressed. Life is like a ladder — each step requires intention and growth, and the higher we climb, the closer we move toward our highest potential. >
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Your pain has a purpose
In 2015, Pastor Judy entered what she now describes as one of the most defining seasons of her life — a season of deep intimacy with God born out of profound personal pain.
This chapter began at what she calls her darkest hour. She endured a painful personal trial that lasted two years. Though she eventually emerged victorious, she returned from that battle emotionally wounded. The scars lingered. She found herself carrying unseen pain while continuing to lead, and the hurt slowly threatened to redefine her identity. One night, overwhelmed, she broke down before God. “I’ve tried everything to heal from this emotional pain,” she cried. “But I am still hurting. How will I continue leading other women while I am bleeding?”
The atmosphere shifted. She describes being transported into another realm in the Spirit. In that moment, she saw a vision of the mercy seat and herself lying at the feet of Jesus. There was no striving — only safety. She felt seen, cared for, and held. She remained there until she eventually fell asleep.
Nearly two hours later, she awoke sensing that something within her had shifted. Then came another instruction: repeat this every day. And she did. Day after day, she returned to the mat. Sometimes she wept intensely. Sometimes she simply rested in worship. Gradually, the heaviness lifted. The wound healed. The pain that once defined her lost its grip. She was free. Then God spoke again: “This is how you heal from emotional pain. Now go and teach women how to heal.”
In response, God gave her a simple instruction: “Take a mat, lie on the floor, and choose worship from YouTube that touches your heart. Lie there quietly. Just listen.” There was no formula — only worship and surrender.
In obedience, she spread a mat on the floor and began playing Pastor Benny Hinn’s worship music. As the music filled the room, her heart softened. Tears flowed.>
Through this deeply personal journey, Pastor Judy learned that worship is not merely music — it is a place of divine exchange. When we pour our hearts out before God, our pain is exchanged for His peace, our sorrow for His love, our brokenness for His wholeness. From that moment, she understood that true healing happens in the presence of God.
The secret place
What began as healing became a lifestyle. After her restoration, God instructed her to continue her daily times of worship. What started as a response to pain became a disciplined rhythm of intimacy. Each day she would spend an hour — sometimes two — on her prayer mat, immersed in worship.
Over time, these moments ushered her into what she describes as another dimension — a place of overwhelming closeness to God. Her prayer life shifted from structured intercession to intimate communion. “As I continued to worship at the feet of Jesus,” she explains, “I felt drawn into another realm — a heart-to- heart connection with my Creator. I loved being there.”
During these encounters, she would sometimes see visions and sense a tangible presence beyond the natural. One evening, while watching Pastor Benny Hinn minister, she heard him describe the experience she had been having. He called it “the Secret Place.” She immediately recognized it. The Secret Place was not a physical location. It was a spiritual dimension of intimacy — the inner chambers of communion with >
God. She realized that her pain had ushered her into that place. In her book Yielded, Pastor Judy explains that the Secret Place is where identity is formed, wounds are healed, and destiny is revealed. Indeed, many of her subsequent assignments were birthed there — the book Warrior Women, her talk show Deep Talk with Judy, and further ministry expansion. From 2015 onward, the Secret Place became non- negotiable. Every morning at 6 a.m., before rising from bed, she places her AirPods in her ears and begins her day with worship. She lingers in God’s presence before stepping into leadership, family, and ministry responsibilities. When asked about the secret to who she has become, she answers simply: “The secret is in the secret place.” Even when painful seasons resurfaced — in 2013 and again in 2019 — she refused to abandon that space. “You can play with anything in my life,” she says, “but you cannot play with my secret place. That is my source.” That place of intimacy has become the foundation of her strength and endurance. >
Warrior Woman Magazine
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TheBirthof Hopein Many Women
a Movement That Has Inspired
In July 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, God spoke clearly once again. The world was in turmoil. South Africa was experiencing one of the highest death tolls on the continent. Fear and grief were widespread. In that climate, God directed her to Jeremiah 9:17–18, 20–21: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider and call for the mourning women, that they may come; And send for skilful wailing women, that they may come. 18 Let them make haste and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run with tears, and our eyelids gush with water….20 Yet hear the word of the Lord, O women, and let your ear receive the word of His mouth; Teach your daughters wailing, and everyone her neighbour a lamentation. 21 For death has come through our windows, has entered our palaces, to kill off the children—no longer to be outside! And the young men—no longer on the streets!”
The Scripture was immediate and urgent. Death had indeed entered homes. God was calling women to rise in intercession. In obedience, Pastor Judy birthed the Warrior Women Prayer Movement. She began hosting online prayer sessions every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The early meetings were small — sometimes fewer than ten women physically present and fewer than twenty online — but she remained faithful. >
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Warrior Woman Magazine
Issue 1 :: April 2026
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— women who refuse to surrender their battles. “Prayer brings God into the battle,” Pastor Judy says, “and God has never lost a battle.”
In September 2022, God instructed her to gather women for three hours of prayer. Though it seemed unrealistic, she obeyed. On September 17th, the Three-Hour Prayer Stretch launched in Johan- nesburg. Women gathered. Worship deepened. Intercession intensified. Soon, the vision extended to Pretoria and Sandton. Monthly gatherings ex- panded. “Command Your Month” prayer sessions and marriage summits were added.
Looking back, Pastor Judy recognizes that the early years of small numbers built endurance and discipline. Consistency prepared the ground for expansion. Today, testimonies continue to flow — marriages restored after years of separation, husbands returning home repentant, and a wom- an healed from 31 years of migraines and seizures, among many others. The movement has become a beacon of hope.
During one early session, she felt prompted to ask participants to submit the names of loved ones affected by COVID-19. Nearly 80 names were submitted. Some were critically ill. Others were on ventilators. She printed the names and laid them on the altar. Then she prayed — not casually, but fervently.
Miraculously, none of those 80 individuals passed away. That moment confirmed her conviction: prayer is not ritual — it is intervention. For three years, she continued hosting weekly meetings de- spite modest numbers. Growth was slow. Discour- agement whispered. But then God spoke clearly: “Focus on obedience, not results.” Those words anchored her. She stopped measuring success by attendance and focused solely on the instruction: gather women and pray. Obedience, she teaches, must precede visible fruit.
The Warrior Women Prayer Movement is now an interdenominational platform centered on prayer. Women gather to bring marriages, children, health challenges, and personal battles to the altar. They pray until restoration manifests and destinies are realigned.
The movement also cultivates deeper intimacy with God through worship, raising women like Esther, Hannah, and the Shunammite woman
Final Reflections
Pastor Judy Achero’s story reminds us that destiny unfolds through obedience, intimacy, and perseverance.
She is a woman who once resisted her calling but embraced it fully. A woman who healed privately before leading publicly. A woman who gathered others to pray when few were watching. Her life demonstrates that pain can become purpose and that hidden seasons often precede visible impact. Above all, her journey reinforces one declaration: “At any given time, you have the power to declare, ‘This is not how my story will end.’”
When prayer meets obedience, stories change — and history confirms that God has never lost a battle. WWM
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