How many women are seeking purpose, asking, “Is this all there is to life?” Reason to Return answers: “You were made for so much more!” Ericka invites women to be who God made us to be by living an abundant life in a church community. Her words are refreshing and inspiring because they encourage us to “rewrite our faith stories.” Ericka sees women as vital to church life because it is in our DNA to be life givers. And she encourages us to realize we have so much to receive inside “God’s holy home on earth.”

Linda Znachko
Author and founder of He Knows Your Name

In the evangelical Western church, we inadvertently underestimate (and sometimes purposefully neglect) the communal aspect of our Christian faith. When we do, we miss out on meaningful community, embodied worship, and a historic and beautiful ecclesiology. If you’ve walked away from a church family or even the idea of church because of pain, trauma, shame, or flat-out annoyance, journalist Ericka Andersen is inviting you to reconsider coming home. While acknowledging the heartache that the Church has caused women, Reason to Return also reminds women of the deeper theological reasons why the Church desperately needs us―and why we still need the Church for our flourishing, growth, and purposes in God’s Kingdom.

Aubrey Sampson
Church planter and pastor at Renewal Church; speaker; and author of Known, The Louder Song, and Overcomer

In Reason to Return, Ericka Andersen honestly and delicately uncovers the spiritual woundings many of us have experienced in the local church while beautifully restoring the dignity of the Church at large. I especially appreciate Ericka’s advocacy for the underserved in our church communities, most notably single mothers, who often feel unseen, unheard, and unwanted. For any woman desiring to encounter God more fully, reengagement in the local church is essential, and Ericka compassionately offers both renewed hope and practical guidance for safely navigating the experience. 

Michelle Donnelly
President and CEO of PlusONE Parents and author of Save Haven

Church is always and forever both highly personal and highly communal. In this book, Andersen boldly encourages us to keep asking Jesus for the right church balance in our lives. I found her arguments for being in church both convincing and encouraging

Traci Rhoades
Author of Not All Who Wander (Spiritually) Are Lost and Shaky Ground

If you’re like me, one of your deepest longings is to taste and see fresh evidence that we serve a living God―one who is actively making all things new. In Reason to Return, Ericka Andersen winsomely reminds us that the local church is the best place to find God at work, even if He’s presently called us to a season of patient endurance. Engage with the local church, and you will find God on the move. 

Anna Broadway
Author of Sexless in the City

In Reason to Return, Ericka casts a beautiful and compelling vision for women’s commitment to a local body of believers. She reminds us of how vital being a part of an embodied community of Christians is, and she helps us navigate barriers to knowing and loving the bride of Christ. 

Chelsea Sobolik
ERLC director of public policy and author of Longing for Motherhood

Ministering to young, busy women in a post-Christian culture is challenging enough, but inviting the ones who have left back into a church community is downright daunting and intimidating. Ericka Andersen welcomes readers into her own spiritual journey―one of being raised in the Church, questioning the Church’s methods, and then returning to the body of Christ. With truth and love, Andersen presents pragmatic, biblically based reasons why life lived in church fellowship is beneficial for individuals and the community. This book is a must-read for any woman questioning whether she can ever find her place in the Church again.

Christina Crenshaw, PhD
Associate researcher at the Hendricks Center at Dallas Theological Seminary and visiting fellow at Independent Women’s Forum

Women are an integral and influential part of the body of Christ, necessary for the health of the Church. Ericka provides helpful insights into the alarming rate of women leaving the Church. She encourages women to consider what the Church still has to offer them―and what they can offer the Church. This is a necessary message for women today.

Lauren McAfee
Ministry Investment Coordinator at Hobby Lobby Corporate and coauthor of Only One Life and Not What You Think

In our current culture, the Church is not known for its virtues. When stories of corruption and scandal seem to emerge every week, it’s no wonder people are staying away. Thankfully, these stories of church failure are not the full picture. In pockets of faithfulness all over the world, God’s people are showing up to be Jesus’ hands and feet, and Ericka is telling this story. While the Church is not perfect, it is still a place of healing and calling, which is why I am so grateful to Ericka for beckoning women home.

Sharon Hodde Miller
author of The Cost of Control