About, Verna McFelin, MNZM
My story is not about what I built. It is about what God built through surrender.
I never set out to become an author, an international speaker, or an award-winning advocate. My only desire was to follow God’s leading. Looking back, I can see that every step, even those I never anticipated, was part of His purpose. He was writing a story far greater than the one I could have planned for myself.
Write to me
Held loosely.
The work was never about the honours. But over the years it was seen, by communities, by leaders, and by the Crown. I hold all of it loosely. None of it was the point.
- MNZMMember of the New Zealand Order of Merit
- 2019Mitre 10 Community of the Year Award, New Zealander of the Year Awards (Pillars)
- 2018Finalist, New Zealand's Hero of the Year and NEXT Woman of the Year
- 2011Every Child Counts Award
- FellowRotary International Paul Harris Fellowship
- Co-FounderINCCIP, the international coalition for children of incarcerated parents
That season broke me open.
My story took a sharp turn in 1983, when my husband Paul was imprisoned, in ways I couldn’t have anticipated at the time. Out of that season came Pillars, a New Zealand organisation built to support the children and families of people in prison, the ones who carry the sentence they didn’t earn.
I led that work for over 32 years, and watching it grow from something very small into something with international reach still takes my breath away. Along the way, some extraordinary things happened, but none of them was the point.
The point has always been prayer.
My first real encounter with Jesus came when I was five years old. Something settled in me that day that has never left. Over the decades, what began as simple prayer lists became something much harder to explain, a life of intercession, prophetic prayer, and watchman ministry. That hidden life of prayer has shaped everything else: the writing, the speaking, the advocacy, the moments in rooms I had no earthly right to be in.
I was born into six generations of Christian heritage, a legacy of revival and evangelism that still fuels me. From the fiery meetings of Smith Wigglesworth in 1920s New Zealand to my great-uncle Allan Goodson’s bold preaching mid-century, faith runs deep in my family line. I didn’t choose that inheritance, but I’m grateful for every strand of it.
The message carried further.
Pillars received the 2019 Mitre 10 Community of the Year Award at the New Zealander of the Year Awards. I’ve had the privilege of meeting members of the Royal Family on several occasions, and of hosting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during their visit to New Zealand. I’ve also had the honour of meeting Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
I co-founded INCCIP, an international coalition advocating for the children of incarcerated parents, and hosted its first global conference here in New Zealand, with representatives from more than 27 countries around the table. I’ve since carried that message further still, including a TEDx talk on the children who serve an invisible sentence alongside their parents.
I write and speak because I believe God’s faithfulness is worth talking about. Loudly and often.
The story, told on air.
Pull up a chair. Stay a while.
Today I live in Christchurch with my husband Paul, 55 years married and still going strong. We have four children and seven grandchildren who bring us more joy than I know how to properly account for. My books, blogs, and messages are all drawn from real life, my life, and the God who has been utterly faithful through every bit of it.
If something here resonates with you, I’d love to hear from you.