In 1993 the Lord gave Sandra a vision of the word ACACIA and later told her it was the name of a new ministry she was to found. The word was also acronymic for “Allied Christian Affiliates Celebrating I AM”.  The Lord God told Sandra to create this organization with the mandate to normalize (bring to common understanding) dissociation and to bring His healing and wholeness to His people who have suffered so much severe trauma.

Have you ever awakened to find a cloud in your bedroom?  I know that sounds really strange but it happened to me!  It was one of those heartbreaking times in a person’s life when a dream had been shattered.  I had cried myself to sleep the night before.  The sun’s warm rays gently awakened me.  As I opened my eyes, a white thick cloud was suspended in the middle of the room near the ceiling.  It was about five feet long and two feet wide with opening spaces which spelled “ACACIA.”

I had put months of hard work, prayer and finances into a prototype or original sample of a new idea.  I had been doing prayer counseling ministry with many people who were very broken people for several years. They would come to my office and the Holy spirit really did a terrific job of showing them the root problems and healed them.  But then, they had to go back home.  Home was not always a safe place.  Healing requires a safe environment for change.  It seemed so necessary for them to have an extended time and safe place for extensive healing to be received and practiced, or lived out.

The idea was to provide that environment for healing in a safe place.  For three months it was actually a success since the clients were helped and I realized that the idea worked.  But, then it came to an abrupt end.  The clients had left and I needed to leave the site quickly.  I had prayed about a place to live the night before.  I had also believed a terrible lie.  I actually believed that since the idea did not survive, that I had disappointed God.  Worse than that, I was tempted to believe that because God was disappointed I would never have the same special place in God’s heart that I had previously enjoyed.

As I marveled at the cloud, I decided that ACACIA must be the name of the street to where I would be moving.  There was no such street name. It was 1993 and I did find a nice place to live anyway. But the point is, at the very moment when I was so distraught, God was already miraculously [that is special treatment] telling me the name of the ministry which would be founded eight years later in 2001. I studied acacia and found much in the Bible about it.

After twelve rich years of learning, especially about our spiritual lives, and serving as a prayer counselor, teacher, and writer for Elijah House, Inc., the Lord called me away to found ACACIA.  God told me the name for the ministry one evening as I was praying.  Then I remembered the cloud.  A short time after that, He also instructed me that the letters were acronymic and what each letter stood for.

A = Allied
C = Christian
A = Affiliates
C = Celebrating
I = I
A = Am

The “I Am” has multiple meanings.   It stands for the great I AM, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who deserves the epitome of worshipful celebration for His glorious holiness and all He has done and is still doing.  It is the individual thankful celebration for being created.  I am, I exist!  It shouts of the joyful healing and freedom experienced from integration of the many wounded and imprisoned parts of a dissociative person.  The pain, terror, and confusion of “we” is now a focused “I”.  It proclaims the maturing of the Body of Christ into unity.  It delights in the oneness we can have in Father God, Christ Jesus and Holy Spirit.  It declares the necessity for the Body of Christ to again be joined to its Jewish roots for wholeness and victory.

The mission of A.C.A.C.I.A. LLC is “Wholiness”.  “Wholiness” is to be whole through holiness.  In John 17:23, Jesus Christ reveals that His desire for us is to be perfected through unity.

“I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”   John 17:23

There are seven branches which describe the purpose of the ministry:

  1. Prayer Counseling: for individuals, couples, groups for general needs and also victims of severe trauma.
  2. Consultations: for counselors and their clients.
  3. Mentoring: a program for counselors to learn how to do the very special type of prayer ministry required for healing dissociation.
  4. Institute of Wholiness: to provide education about dissociation to the Body of Christ, counselors, medical professionals, victims, nurturers, intercessors, Christian leaders and the general public.  This is accomplished through individual, couple and group consultations, seminars, guest speaking, and soon to be published materials.
  5. Golden Eagles Intercessory Prayer Network: people dedicated to pray for A.C.A.C.I.A. and all activities in which we are involved.
  6. Obadiah Entourage: provides training, care and agape love support for victims in the healing process.
  7. Our Jewish Roots: promoting unity with Jewish brothers and sisters through education, fellowship, support and practice.

Team-F, a vitally important Christian Ministry geared to families in Germany, was very supportive at beginning of the ministry. One of its founders and dear friend, Dirk Lueling, had arranged for me to do a seminar in Nuremberg.   It was there as I gave a talk on dissociation, that Ursula Roderus, MD and her husband, Helmut Roderus, PhD, became acquainted with me. We chatted awhile and to make a long story short, they have become family for us. Helmut suggested we produce a movie as a springboard for education.  Since he teaches communications, he made it happen.  What fun to make a real movie live in malls, streets and restaurants.

We collaborated along with their partners, Gerd and Tania Wagner to co-sponsor practicums [praxiswoche] at their seminar house and Ursula mentored as well.

In 2005, Sandra’s daughter, Bethany Young resigned a prestigious position in emergency services to join the ministry. She completed the mentoring program in prayer counseling ministry.

Bethany and her mother had growing and stretching to do since they are both administrators, teachers and prophetic.  True to many of her generation, Sandra lacked well honed technical and computer skills which Bethany had.  Before long, the division of labor was accomplished.  Sandra had to learn to delegate and trust someone else to do important things. Bethany was extremely competent and creative as well. She produced the formal infrastructure necessary for the ministry and organized products, files, and created power points for teaching materials.

Besides traveling and speaking for A.C.A.C.I.A. LLC, Bethany is a powerful intercessor, and manages social media for the ministry.

Being a powerful intercessor, it was a natural for her to be head of the Golden Eagles.  An important member of this prayer power house was Katherine Skinner.  She would often burden bear for us as we worked, reporting vital insight for “breakthrough” until going home to be with the Lord at 96.

A.C.A.C.I.A. has been privileged to minister to the nations.  After teaching a counseling school in Germany, a student there, Dagmar Rauch, expressed great interest in our work.   She was also a nurse by profession, highly anointed in the gifts of the spirit and also had an administratively gifted husband who was also very interested.  She mentored with me for several years by traveling with me whenever I ministered there.   We were so impressed with her that she founded ACACIA Germany in 2006.  She and her dear husband, Martin, have been instrumental for organizing European seminars, conferences and private ministry schedules for A.C.A.C.I.A. LLC.  A.C.A.C.I.A. Germany shares our goals. Dagmar does prayer ministry and has been a speaker at German events and in the United States.

Meet Sandra Skinner-Young