Paul founded the Corinthian church, which repaid him with scorn. “In person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing” (2 Corinthians 10:10). Corinthians considered him inferior to their favorite “super-apostles” (11:5; 12:11).

How would the Corinthians have responded to Beth Grant? Years ago, a doctor diagnosed her with spasmodic dysphonia. This disorder causes laryngeal muscles to spasm, resulting in a whispery, strained voice.

Grant’s literal voice may be weak, but her spiritual voice is strong. An ordained Assemblies of God minister, she is a veteran missionary to India, co-founder of the anti-trafficking ministry Project Rescue, founding director of the AG’s Network of Women Ministers, and the first woman to serve on the AG’s Executive Presbytery.

Leading with a Whisper is Grant’s memoir of Christian life and service. When I was young, Dad paid me a dollar each to read missionary biographies, books not usually on my reading list. Grant’s story is so compelling I’d read it for free.

Space constraints prohibit a detailed review here, so let me highlight just one incident from the book.

Grant’s literal voice may be weak, but her spiritual voice 
is strong.

Grant was born and raised in the mid-Atlantic, a basically egalitarian culture that valued direct communication. She served in India, a hierarchical culture whose communication style was indirect. Unlike the churches of her youth, Indian churches often segregated activities by sex.

Grant noticed the cultural differences, which frustrated her at first. But over time, female Indian believers inspired her.

“These strong, wise women who did not call attention to themselves earned my growing respect as they discreetly handled complicated problems in families, churches, and communities, while gathered in kitchens, around tea and biscuits, as they hosted countless guests together,” she writes.

Leadership was taking place in the margins. And it was in the margins where Grant would make a signal contribution through Project Rescue — freeing prostituted women and their children from spiritual, emotional, social, and physical bondage.

Over time, Grant took on leadership roles in the U.S. AG, too, directing the Network of Women Ministers and serving on the Executive Presbytery. The lessons she learned on the margins never left her, though.

As the apostle Paul considered the Corinthians’ scorn, he reminded them of a truth Christ taught him during a period of intense suffering: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Power made perfect in weakness summarizes Grant’s leadership, and it serves as a good model for our own ministries as well.

Book Reviewed

Beth Grant, Leading with a Whisper (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2025).

This article appears in the Summer 2025 issue of Influence magazine.