Shelli Rowley: People on the Periphery

People on Periphery—

Shepherding to Shelli Rowley

Amy Boyle

Shelli Rowley is a woman that some might describe as “shy” and “reserved,” but with one conversation, it’s not hard to tell that she is about people… about Jesus… “about being Jesus…” she stands for “outcasts… family… and inclusion.”

How she shepherds is an expression of, not an exception to, these core convictions.

“Shepherding is for everyone, and looks different for everyone,” Shelli shares.

As a wife, mom, friend, study abroad facilitator, and local pickleball player, the pastures that she shepherds in, extend deeply within and beyond her home–into parks, on courts, in airplanes, and over holiday meals with international students. 

Wherever God has her, she is simply a woman who is about “being His hands and feet,” as someone passionate to see the needs of others being met.

This is especially true of her heart for people on the periphery. 

Shelli and her husband (Don) have raised their family in Marion, where together, they’ve laid a foundation for their children to grow up “grounded” in their community. 

But before landing in Marion, her upbringing was characterized by constant moves.

Having herself been raised in many different places, Shelli struggled to feel “rooted” and “settled” for most of her childhood. And inevitably, moving around often, came with a sense of always feeling on the margins. 

Her family eventually settled in Marion, where God introduced her to Esther Shigley and Judy Crossman, two women in the local church who saw, invested, and poured into her as a youth and young adult.

And though Shelli didn’t know it at the time, God was molding her through every move, making her more like Him in every moment of feeling on the margins. 

He was redeeming her experience by blessing her with eyes to see the forgotten, a heart intent on inclusion, and a life open to listening and making space “for those who don’t have a place” to belong.

Introverted by nature, her life has been a series of steps requiring her to “trust the Lord.”