Ruth Awogbade is the founder of an organisation called MAGNIFY, as well as an avid football fan and lover of fashion! We asked her to share the heart and vision behind the organisation:

How did MAGNIFY come about, and what is its purpose?

The MAGNIFY vision is to communicate the message of Jesus Christ to women aged 20-35 in a creative and engaging way, predominantly through media-based resources.

I grew up in a Christian family but initially, a lot of my ‘faith’ came from relying on my parents’ relationship with God. In school I was happy being labelled as the ‘religious, fun’ one.

However, between my last year of school and the end of my gap year, I suddenly lost three people in my family: my grandma, my 33 year old aunty who’d just got married, and later my uncle. It devastated and completely rocked me. I couldn't understand how an apparently loving God had allowed this to happen. In my first term of uni I dealt with it by completely pushing God out of my life and just throwing myself into the typical student lifestyle. It was fun but deep down I knew there was no purpose in this.

In January 2008, after searching, it was like a light switched on in my head and I realised God was still God despite everything that had happened to my family and true faith couldn’t be dependent on whether things just went our way. Then, God gave me a burning passion to share the gospel with my girlfriends and for them to see that it was about a relationship with an amazing and true Saviour, not about rules or conforming to a certain mould.

If you could use four words to describe MAGNIFY, which words would you use?

Outreach. Creativity. Bold. Journey.

Where does the name MAGNIFY derive from?

What are some of the biblical principles or values behind MAGNIFY?

Christ is at the centre of who we are and why we exist and God’s word is applicable to every area of our lives (Eph 2:20). Excellence is a key value for us as an organisation – it is a heart attitude, we want to honour God in all we do. (Matt 5:16). Other key values include:

· Identity – our identity is secure in Jesus Christ and it’s the foundation upon which we build our lives. (Eph 1:11 MSG)

· Worth – we are all worthy in our Father’s eyes. We have been made in the image of God and we want women to know that (Proverbs 31:10).

· Purpose – God has a unique purpose for each of our lives. He’s gifted and graced us to be a blessing for His glory and our good to those in our sphere of influence. (Jeremiah 29:11).

Could you tell us a story illustrating some of the impact MAGNIFY has had so far?

How can we get involved with MAGNIFY?

- Check out the website and blog and share the links.

- Buy the magazine when it comes out in Spring 2013. Why not buy several copies and give to women in our target demographic as gifts? (available from hellomagnify.com)

- To get involved on our team visit this section on our website.

- We’d be grateful for any financial support (we run purely on generous donations). Please email donate@hellomagnify.com for details.

- We’d appreciate your prayers – both for wisdom for our team and for the softening of hearts of the women that we are so desperate and prayerful to reach through MAGNIFY. 

- Finally, please watch and share the concept video below: