Thelma Wells

From times of singing in a dark closet to the founding of a national womens mentoring ministry, Thelma Wells' life has been a courageous journey of faith. The name on her birth certificate read simply: Baby Girl Morris. Thelma's mother was a severely deformed teenager with no husband and no place to go, since her own abusive mother insisted that she take the baby and leave the house. So when the baby was born, her unwed teenage mother found work as a maid cleaning the big house while living with her baby daughter in servants quarters. Eventually, the baby went to live with her great-grandparents, who called her Thelma Louise Smith and loved her dearly. They took little Thelma to church, where she learned to love the hymns and praise songs. On those occasions when Thelma was taken to her grandparents home, her grandmother abused her, just as she had tormented Thelma's mother. She was locked in a dark, smelly, insect-infested closet until just before her grandfather came home when her grandmother would bring her out of the closet, clean her up, and act as if all was well. In spite of her deep fear, little Thelma spent her time in the closet singing every hymn and praise song she could remember. She would sing herself to sleep in that closet, and the Lord received this little girls innocent praise and rewarded it with an abundant life of joy, protecting her from feelings of anger or bitterness.

Thelma grew up to become a trailblazer for black women, a prominent international speaker and author, and a wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. As a student at North Texas State University in Denton, Texas (now the University of North Texas), she was a member of the first group of girls to integrate the schools dormitories. She earned her Bachelors degree there and eventually received a Masters of Ministry from Masters International School of Divinity in Evansville, Indiana. In 2002 she became the school's first black female professor.

In 1980 Thelma became the first black woman in the South to organize her own international speaking and consulting corporation. Her natural talent for public speaking and storytelling attracted the attention of the Women of Faith Tour, and in 1996 she became the first black core speaker for the organization. She has authored several books, including her latest, Don't Give In God Wants You to Win and the Ready to Win series, Ready to Win Over Depression and Ready To Win Over Worry and Anxiety , and Mama T Says, Rise and Shine Devotional . She serves as the president of The Daughters of Zion Leadership Mentoring Program, an organization she founded in 2000 (another first for a black woman). Through this ministry, Mama T, as she is affectionately called, has mentored over 100 spiritual daughters, received an honorary doctorate degree and was ordained into the Christian Ministry on December 16, 2006, from St. Thomas Christian College and Theological Seminary and the Association of Christian Churches in Jacksonville, Florida. She was also was named Extraordinary Woman of the Year 2008 by Mrs. Julie Clinton, Host of the Extraordinary Women Conferences an affiliate of the American Association of Christian Counselors. On July 12, 2009, Thelma was awarded the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award by AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association) founded by Linda Evans Shepherd.

Thelma has been married to George Wells, her best friend, supporter, and encourager, for over 48 years. The couple lives in Dallas, Texas, and has three children, nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.