Building Community
Through Faith
Faith-based Ministry for Women of all Ages and Stages of Life
What Is Sonflower Ministries (SFM)?
SFM is a ministry of diversity for women of all ages, races, socio-economic backgrounds, and church denominational backgrounds.
SFM is a faith ministry — being built by faith and supported by faithful prayers and donations. SFM is a multi-faceted ministry that offers women Bible teaching, counseling, mentoring, discipleship, prayer, fellowship, and fun.
Registered Non-Profit Organization
SFM is a non-profit organization and a non-denominational ministry. Donations of financial support are tax-deductible. Sonflower Ministries is registered in the State of GA as a non-profit organization and depends on financial gifts of support which are tax-deductible to enable its continued growth and outreach. All donations receive a receipt at year-end.
Our Purpose
SFM is a restoration ministry that provides a secure environment for today’s women to receive Christ-centered Bible teaching, ministry, counseling, fellowship, and fun so that the Lord can bring restoration to her spirit, soul, and body.
Our Mission
Sonflower Ministries focuses on providing life-changing retreats for women of all ages, races, and socio-economic backgrounds. Women come from executive board rooms or back alleys. Many women come from local communities of friends and family, neighborhood churches, distant states, and even foreign countries.
Some come from prison, or restoration ministries or having made poor choices of alcohol, drugs, prostitution, gambling, or pornography or are affected by abuse, homelessness, divorce, or losing their children to the court system.
The Answer
At these spiritual retreats, many women come searching for an answer. The only answer to grief, loss, sorrow, loneliness, or feelings of hopelessness is Jesus Christ!
Our History
Sonflower Ministries (SFM) is 30 years old. It was founded by Mary Lucy & the late Pastor J. Rea Holliday in 1994 and has held 58 women’s retreats (Due to Covid, three retreats had to be canceled), seven teenage girl's retreats, ten conferences, six summer camps, and numerous mission projects. It continues its ongoing ministry outreach events of Bible studies, workshops, and mentoring and discipleship programs. It offers individual and family counseling.
Our Partners
We have partnered with other organizations to minister restoration to women and children through more than three decades of outreach.
We have worked with:
Our Logo
WHY THE SUNFLOWER IS THE SYMBOL FOR SONFLOWER MINISTRIES:
The sunflower is a gorgeous example of God’s handiwork…a flower that stands tall and follows the sun; a flower that can even be used to bring impurities out of the soil.
This ministry chose the sunflower as our floral symbol and incorporated it into our logo which tells a story of our mission.
THE PETALS: They represent the many different ways a woman can come into the fellowship of Sonflower Ministries…Retreats, Bible Studies, Conferences, Special Events, Mission Projects. These events will always honor our Lord Jesus Christ and the message of the cross.
THE CROSS: Once a woman has had a personal encounter at the cross, she is then mentored and sent out (see straight lines) as a woman of faith to share the SO THAT message of Sonflower Ministries.
Our Founders
The late J. REA HOLLIDAY was the Pastor and Spiritual Director of Sonflower Ministries. Since its inception in the fall of 1994, Pastor Rea was actively directing Sonflower Ministries and its outreach of retreats, Bible studies, discipleship, counseling, and crisis intervention. He also served for more than two decades as a Prison Chaplain in both Fulton and Cobb Counties in Georgia. His spiritual gifts were prophecy (speaking and teaching God’s truth) and evangelism. Pastor Rea and his wife, Mary Lucy, had been married for 55 years and they have one grown daughter. They enjoyed serving the Lord together and disciplining individuals and couples to be all that God created them to be.
MARY LUCY HOLLIDAY is the Executive Director of Sonflower Ministries. She is a Bible teacher with an evangelistic heart. Her “rubber-meets-the-road” real-life experiences bring women of all ages a message of hope. Her background of working with women through retreat ministry, counseling and previously owning an image business in Buckhead has given her a heart for women. Mary Lucy is a “SO THAT” woman with the spiritual gifts of teaching and leadership. She teaches the “SO THAT” principle as found in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. Mary Lucy has taught the SFM Thursday Evening Bible Study and Mentoring Program for many years which now reaches women from New York to Florida via Zoom and in person.
Recent Stats
From spring 2012 to spring 2024, 22 retreats were held which have resulted in 533 decisions for Christ. Many prayed for the release of pain and past hurts. Many have prayed for healing from having a barren womb or losing a child to abortion or the court system.
When a woman accepts Jesus Christ as her personal Savior, it positively impacts her life as well as her children, grandchildren, place of employment, or community in which she lives.
What Women Are Saying
Whether a woman is a busy carpooling mom, a corporate executive, or a carefree senior citizen, these retreats minister to today's woman's body, soul, and spirit!
Many women leave saying… “I never felt so loved or accepted in my life!”, “A weekend away was just what I needed to refresh and refocus my spiritual priorities!”, “I have been to many retreats in my life, but never one that was life-changing. I now want to become involved in this ministry!”