Michelle ‘Mona’ Thompson is a visionary leader and Senior Co-Pastor at Jubilee Christian Church, one of the largest churches in the New England area with over 7,000 members and multiple locations. Alongside her husband, Matthew K. Thompson, she is a highly sought after speaker and best-selling author. Mona is also the founder of the internationally recognized program R.I.S.E. (Reaching Into Self-Esteem), a life-changing girls program est. October 1994.
An insightful trailblazer, she draws heavily from her childhood experiences encouraging others to show compassion wherever they go. Mona, as she is warmly called, a name that originated from her grandmother was born and raised throughout the inner city neighborhoods of Boston, MA. Yet, she learned at a very young age how to survive and thrive as she had to move numerous times. In fact, she attended nine different schools between elementary and high school before graduating.
Mona shares her upbringing and life lessons as a catalyst to positively impact all those she encounters. With a heart for family she says, ‘My mom was a tough woman and she did what was necessary to raise her children as a single mom and she lived by the quote, “Nothing beats a failure, but a try!” Therefore, it’s this tenacity that despite Mona not having meet her Dad until she was eleven and herself becoming a single mom at 19 her trajectory towards excellence and success have been admired by thousands across the world.
By the age of 19, determined to use her mother’s drive, her potential for excellence and her gift of intelligence to set a new standard, she landed her first corporate job as a Foreign Currency Teller at BayBank, acquired by Fleet then merged into Bank of America. With a natural mathematical skill-set and a quantitative problem solver, Mona excelled in purchasing and selling foreign currency for six branches. Upon leaving the finance sector, Mona transitioned into becoming a Jewelry Buyer for Jewelry Promotions Inc. responsible for eight locations and several annual trunk shows. After working in that capacity for over six years, she decided to open her own boutique. As a young girl, Mona watched her grandmother and mother start many business ventures such as: bakery, florist, landscaping, hair styling, to name a few. Thus, it was their vision of hard work imbedded into Mona’s mind that gave her the courage she needed to start her own business. Mona operated her jewelry store for two years and it was in its New England location that served as the impetus which caused Pastor Matthew K. Thompson and her to meet, develop a friendship and marry in July 1996.
Shortly after getting married she closed her business having already joined then called New Covenant Christian Center, now Jubilee Christian Church and continued working on her passion, R.I.S.E for girls ages 6-14; while holding various other leadership roles in the church.
In her spare time, Mona loves to create art through various mediums such as painting, scrapbooks, jewelry making, and sewing. She is a mother of 2 and a grandmother of 3. Mona and her husband Pastor Matt, as many call him, have been
married for over 25 years.
In 2015, Mona released her new book entitled, "Rise", in 2017 her second book entitled "Shine" and in 2018 her third book in the RISE Girls Series entitled “Grow”. In 2019 she released two devotionals “Being Me” and “Being Proverbs 31”. In these books, Mona offers girls and women tools to help them grow their self-esteem and become self-empowered. She speaks directly to women and girls offering inspiration, guidance and a daily pledge encouraging readers to RISE into their greatness. Mona is also working on more books which promise to be a resource for women who desire to live a colorful life and become closer to God through devotion.
Mona completed her Associate of Arts in Elementary Education and Teaching at Quincy College. In addition, she was awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree in Early Childhood Education and Teaching from Bridgewater State University. All while being committed to enhancing her understanding of cultural diversity with travels that has brought her to: Uganda, India, Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Jamaica, Barbados, London, Paris, Cayman Islands, Haiti, Mexico, Bahamas, Bermuda, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Canada. She is currently working towards a masters in...
In July 2018 Mona was sworn in as a Massachusetts Eastern Regional Commissioner for Women and Girls. Her desire is to continue to pave the way for women and girls in the political arena. In December 2018 she was one of five women chosen for the Target Storyteller Award presented at the Massachusetts Women’s Conference for her ability to overcome obstacles and use them as a platform to empower others.
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