Author’s Bio

CAROL YVONNE HIVELY KARL

“Yvonne”

BIOGRAPHICAL INFO

…dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past andlooking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize forwhich God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Phil. 3:13-14, NLT).

While not fond of using titles, this summary is provided by Yvonne in response to requests.

EARLY YEARS

Yvonne was born in Nitro, WV on June 9,1940. She went through Grades 1-12 at Nitro public schools graduating in 1958. During those years, her family attended the Nitro Church of God where Yvonne wasactive in Sunday School and Youth Fellowship groups. She made a commitment to be a follower of JesusChrist when she was eight years old.

However, it was the summer after her senior year that she sealed that commitment. https://yvonnekarl.com/tag/testimony/

EDUCATION

Upon graduating from Nitro High School (1958), Yvonne enrolled in West Virginia State University on a Board of Legislature Teacher Training Scholarship and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in SecondaryEducation (1961). She was among the early white students to      attend this school that had been one of the top ten Historical Black Colleges before the Supreme Court legislation in 1954. After college, she went back to Nitro High and taught Spanish for three years before leaving to do graduate studies at Michigan State University (1964). With master’s degree in hand, in the years that followed she also attended Anderson University-School of Theology part-time, did a doctoral program at Indiana University, Lake Charles BibleCollege, and post doc studies at The University of Michigan. After retiring, she moved to Las Vegas where shecompleted courses required and became a certified Chaplain with the Greater Western Division ofMChapUSA.

Yvonne has been awarded multiple listings in Marquis’ Who’s Who in American Education, Who’s Who ofAmerican Women, Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in the World.

EDUCATOR

During her professional years, Yvonne taught at Michigan State University, Anderson University-Indiana, Agape Bible College-Ghana, W. Africa, and in secondary school teaching assignments in  fivestates (WV, MI, IN, KY, NV), She also served as school counselor for four years in Indiana and K-12Christian School principal for ten years in Michigan. At age 70, she acquired a secondary teaching certificate in Las Vegas, NV and taught there for three years. At age 75, she accepted an invitation to a two-year term as Administrator of Wright Way Bible Institute (formerly Maranatha Bible Institute) in Culloden WV.

MARRIAGE

Julius and Yvonne met (1966) and married (1967) while both were teaching at Anderson (College) University in Anderson, Indiana. Julius immigrated from Germany to Canada at age 22. He attended German Bibelschule in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and was the founding pastor of the Gemeinde Gottes (German Church of God) in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in c1955. After seven years working in the Steel Mill and pastoring in Canada, he decided to pursue college degrees. In 1961, Julius went to the United States where he first attended Warner Pacific (College) University-Portland OR, then received a B.S. degree from Anderson University-IN (1965) and a Master’s of Divinity from Anderson School of Theology (1968). From there, he and Yvonne went to Indiana University-Bloomington, where he completed M.A. (1970) and Ph.D.(1974) degrees.

In 1975, Julius accepted the call to reopen the North Edmonton Church of God in Alberta, Canada. He and Yvonne spent the summer months completing that pastoral assignment. In August 1976, Julius accepted the pastorate at Riverside Park Church of God in Livonia, Michigan. In January 1981, he became pastor of New Life Community Church in Westland, Michigan. In December 1985, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma but remained as pastor of NLCC until he died in January 1999 after 31 years of marriage.

CHILDREN

Julius and Yvonne have two children: Caroline Julia (1973) and Robert Julius (1978). She teaches orchestrain Reno, Nevada. He is married, has three children, and is a Family Practice Physician in Spartanburg,South Carolina, USA.

MINISTRY

Yvonne is intimately acquainted with the church community having grown up in a committed Christian family. Her father was a factory worker and an itinerant evangelist. Since college graduation, she has been active in various aspects of church work including serving as ecumenical minister to summer farm workers in Michigan (1966) and Indiana (1967) sponsored by The Gideons and Pennway Church of God in Lansing.In the 1980’s, Yvonne  taught a Tuesday noon bible study at her church. It was attended by people from different denominations, and during those years she was often invited to be guest speaker  in a variety of churches and conferences. Out of these meetings, The Alabaster Box publication was born.

Ordained by her church in 1984, Yvonne then served as co-pastor with her husband at New Life Community Church in Michigan until his death in 1999. She continued there as pastor for 2 1/2 years until retiring insummer 2001. At the time she was also teaching at Inkster High School, Michigan, from which she retired in June 2000.

In the summer of 1999, Yvonne was invited to speak in Cape Town, South Africa, to a gathering of Christian professionals. After retiring in the summer of 2001, she spent the next few years traveling to speak inchurches and at conferences in various states. In 2002, she spent a term teaching at Agape Bible College inAccra, Ghana. Then in 2004, she was invited to return as featured speaker for the Agape Association of Bible Schools Convention in Ghana. For several years, she served on the Board of Agape GospelMission (Ghana) and has traveled to numerous other countries around the world.

Passionate about the Lord Jesus Christ, she communicates His Word in a down-to-earth, unpretentiousstyle knowing that all who so desire will experience His life-changing power in their lives.

TRAVEL

Traveled to: Most of the 50 states including Alaska and Hawaii, Amsterdam, Austria, Bahamas, Canada,Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Holland, Israel,Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Norway, Palestine, Panama, Poland, Puerto Rico, Russia, South Africa, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Sweden.

PUBLICATIONS

In addition to her roles as minister and educator, in 1986 Yvonne began publishing The Alabaster Boxpublication which was circulated around the world monthly for more than 20 years. Among others, she has authored six inspirational books and published hundreds of articles. Her books are out of stock and out ofprint, but occasionally they show up as used books on Amazon, E-bay, Alibris, and Abe Books under authorname: C. Yvonne Karl. (Handmaids  in the Reign of Almighty God; Scarecrows in my Cerebellum; Silk, Shoes andSalt; Brussels Sprouts in the Snow; Treasures in the Fire; East of Bethlehem). She also published her sister’s biography in 2020 after her death in 2019: (Virginia Ruth: Thrills, Romance, and Adventure). Some of her articlescan be read on her website: yvonnekarl.com.

CREDITS

For the many varied and exciting opportunities in her life, Yvonne gives credit first and foremost to her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. She honors numerous others who impacted  her life positively in ways only fully seen in retrospect: Principals she worked for: John Santrock (to whom she gives credit for herstart on the educational journey), Raymond Arbogast, Jayne Jones, Philip Rambo, William Houghton, Multiples at Inkster High School; Pastors: Mark Haynie, Robert Hazen; Evangelist, Dr. E. E. Wolfram;WVSU Professors Dr. Sarah Crosby and Dr. Lawrence Jordan; AU Professors Nilah Meier and Dr. Nancy Osborne; AU-SOT Professor Dr. Irene Caldwell; MSU Chairman Dr. Townsend, Professors RobertBishop and Dr. Carlos Teran; IU Professor Jung and Professor Stone; LCBC Dr. Don Johnson; especially her late husband, Julius Karl, who continually encouraged her to be active in her God-givengifts; her family and many friends and the list is inexhaustible. No life is lived without the influence of others.To God be the glory forever and ever! Amen (Galatians 1:5).

OTHER CREDITS as posted Yvonne in her book: Handmaids in the Reign of Almighty God, 1992.

To the preacher women of my youth who gave no thought to their gender when accepting the call of God to preach the gospel: Aunt Mae Clum, Dorothy Parsons, Mae Pauley, Sis. Raimey, Pastor AnnieHudson, Lillian Childers, and others. It was not that they were women in the ministry—they wereministers of Almighty God.

YVONNE’S HUSBAND SPEAKS

Before his death, Yvonne’s late husband encouraged her to write the book, Handmaids in the Reign ofAlmighty God, and he wrote the Foreword as follows:

“In the afternoon before our wedding on November 23, 1967, both of us sitting in the car, Yvonne said to me, “If you feel it’s a mistake for us to get married, you will have to call it off; I won’t! I am convinced it is no mistake.” Almost 25 years have passed since that afternoon. God has helped me to see His will and plan for both me and Yvonne. Our marriage was no mistake! At first, both of us saw marriage, though unconsciously, through the eyes of years of humanistic education. We, and probably more so I, thought we knew how marriage ought to work. It didn’t work for us until God opened especially my eyes to His plan in the Bible. God is the inventor of marriage, not man! The Bible is the Operating Manual, not the opinions of our culture! Most of all, I did not know how to be a husband; I had to be taught by the Lord and Scripture!

Since then everything changed. We began to develop each other. My view of women in general, and of a wife in particular, was brought in line with the Word of God. First, I saw the gifts God had bestowedupon Yvonne, and then I recognized His call on her life. Among many other things, she is called topreach and to pastor, side- by-side with me or independently of me, as the Lord chooses. In the following pages she tells her story and shares her convictions with the scriptural foundation uponwhich they are based. Read it! God will speak to you because He has a plan for you, too!

It is my sincere prayer that you serve as a Handmaid in the Reign of Almighty God. Remember,regardless how our age defines happiness, true happiness is being in the will and purpose of God(Acts 17:28). Precisely that is what is meant by Handmaids in the Reign of Almighty God.”

-J.E. Karl, Ph.D.

© Companion Press, 1992

 UPDATE 2017

Yvonne lives in the Greenville area of South Carolina. She regularly attends Taylors First Church of God, Taylors, South Carolina. Email her your questions or request more information: yvonnekarl@gmail.com