Before she knew God, Danielle Padua called her career path “random.” She majored in industrial engineering at Penn State and, shortly after graduating, started a job in manufacturing with Anheuser Busch. At the same time, she worked a demanding schedule as a dancer for the New York Knicks. She’d danced at Penn State, danced her whole life—dancing for an NBA team under the bright lights of the ‘world’s most famous arena’ was her dream.

“Group fitness and entertainment changed completely,” she said. “Overnight, my identity was basically taken from me because, at the time, I put so much of who I was into these two positions.”

Like many, the COVID outbreak forced Danielle to focus on what really mattered. She took the time to examine herself and her heart. During this time, she also started attending Hoboken Grace with her then-fiance, now husband, Blake. And it was here that she realized there was nothing “random” about her path at all. It was all by design.

In our new series, we’ll be taking you behind the scenes with staff members whose work and faith play a key role in impacting our community both inside our church family and throughout the surrounding area. Today, we’re learning more about Danielle:

Hoboken Grace: You’ve had a very interesting, exciting, career path. Can you share a bit about what drew you to your role at Hoboken Grace?

Danielle Padua: The short answer is God. My journey with God is a big part of this story. At the same time Covid hit, I was dancing professionally and running a fitness studio here in Hoboken. Suddenly, when I wasn't dancing, when I wasn't teaching in front of a crowd, all that validation I was getting from external things was gone. I began asking what am I doing here, what’s my next move? I’d been dancing since I could walk, so that being taken away was really hard.

In the midst of that, my husband encouraged us to find a church. And that started my spiritual journey. Fast forward a little bit, and I was approached about a position at Hoboken Grace that was open. At the time, I had been praying that by the time I turned 30 that I would find a job that I felt good about, that I could pour into and really believed in. I prayed about it for months and months, and finally just gave it to God. Then, sure enough, on my 30th birthday, the job offer from Hoboken Grace came into my inbox.

I had been serving with First Impressions for about a year before this, but Blake and I were getting more consistent serving together. We were getting more involved. I’d been staying after to help with whatever I could. So working at Hoboken Grace was in the back of my head for a while. It all worked out really beautifully and God gave me so much peace about it. Because,  yes, it was really scary to jump ship and work in ministry when I'd been a believer for all of like two-years, if that!

HG: So you’re new to attending church?

Danielle: Yes! I didn’t grow up going to church, not really. I grew up Catholic, we believed in God and recognized God, but not in a personal way. I knew it was important, but never really dove fully in. Coming to church here was the first time I felt like I really developed that personal relationship with God. I now have my own relationship with the Lord, and I’m able to grow and be confident in my own faith.

HG: You just made the move from working with Grace Kids to Community Partnerships, congrats! What does a typical day look like in your new role?

Danielle: My day-to-day in this role can look very different depending on what's happening in our church community. Last month, we were gearing up for our annual Christmas Exchange and working hard to ensure all the details were in place to love the families receiving gifts well! The application deadlines for two of our global mission trips were also approaching, which means coming alongside our global partners to finalize our plans for the upcoming visit.

HG: What has been your favorite part of the job so far?

Danielle: I love having the opportunity to expand our reach through events like the Hoboken Harvest Festival! It's exciting to be able to introduce someone new to Hoboken Grace and share the light of Jesus with them.

HG: Reflecting on your time with Grace Kids, what was the best part of that job?

Danielle: The biggest thing was seeing God moving and working in kids’ lives. Seeing them understanding God. Seeing them get that Jesus is for them and loves them and wants to have a relationship with them, it brings me to tears every time because I was 28 when that happened for me. To know that those kids get to live their whole lives knowing Jesus, it’s the craziest thing for me because I didn’t have that. And I know God works in everyone’s stories very differently, but it just speaks to what God can do because seeing Him work in their lives and seeing how they understand Him is just beautiful, nothing beats it.

HG: How have you felt his hand or seen God working through this time and transition?

Danielle: In this transition, God has continually brought me back to Matthew 6:33: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” When stepping into something new, you're not going to have all the answers. This time has really reminded me that I need to, and have the privilege to, rely on God to give me the strength and wisdom to keep moving forward.

To learn more about Danielle’s story, watch here.