Sheryl Gehrls has been in ministry over 50 years. Together she and her husband Dave pastored churches in the Midwest for 23 of those years. They served as Urban Missionaries with Christ For the City International for the last 27 years before his passing. Sheryl has also served as the Director of Pastoral Care Ministries with a large congregation in Omaha, training a team of over 200 Caregivers.

In 1969, Dave and Sheryl married and have three married adult children and nine grandchildren. In 2019, after 50 years of marriage, Dave died of head and neck cancer, and Sheryl found herself in the unexpected role of widow.

Sheryl has worked extensively with teaching, mentoring, and leadership development, gathering tools to help individuals evaluate and discern how God has uniquely equipped and prepared them to serve others. Refocusing Widows was born out of the need for faith-based, peer-led support groups that help widows to embrace the loss, and to grow personally, discovering God’s purpose for them in the next season.