Coffee With E

The PK Diaries: What It’s Really Like Growing Up in Church Culture

• Erica Rawls

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What does it mean to grow up in the church while trying to discover who you really are? In this deeply personal solo episode, Erica Rawls opens up about life as a preacher’s kid, the pressure to be perfect, the unspoken rules, and the quiet rebellion it often sparks.

From questioning what makes someone a “sinner” to redefining faith on her own terms, Erica shares real moments from her teenage years, her journey through college, and the healing power of honest conversations.

This episode is for anyone who grew up feeling like they had to hide parts of themselves just to belong. Whether you’re a PK or simply someone trying to reconcile your faith with your identity, Erica reminds you that grace is available, and you are not alone.

☕ What You’ll Hear:

        •       What it means to be a PK

        •       Identity, rebellion, and early faith struggles

        •       The impact of church culture on self-expression

        •       How questions lead to growth and healing

        •       A powerful call to create space for grace

💡 “You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be real.”

🔗 Sponsored by:

TOCH Construction • Dirty Dog Hauling • Movers For Me

Allstate Insurance – Rob Shaw • Chavis Law Firm

💼 Powered by The Erica Rawls Team

#CoffeeWithE #EricaRawls #PreachersKid #PKLife #ChurchCulture #FaithJourney #ChristianPodcast #GraceStory #FaithAndIdentity #SpiritualGrowth #WomenInFaith #IdentityHealing #ChristianWomenVoices #WomenOfFaith #RealTalkWithE



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Erica Rawls:

Hey y'all, we need your help. We are building an amazing community on Coffee with E platform, youtube channel. We would love nothing more than to have you join us. We're looking to have a thousand, at least a thousand people join our community, or actually less than a thousand, because we have 632, I believe, as a recording of this. So share it, spread it. We're building something great and I would love nothing more than to meet you in the comments.

Erica Rawls:

Ok, this is for all the PKs out there that are struggling with trying to figure out who they are becoming, with the fierce feeling of everyone is looking at you. I see you because I once was you, so let's talk about it. So in today's episode of Coffee with Thee, I grew up in a church family on my mother's side. Everybody was part of the church. We grew up ever since I can remember. I don't remember a time not being in church, and that's a great thing, because I do believe that I am a Christian to this day and I believe that I have a lot of values and the way that I actually choose to live my life has a lot to do with Bible principles. So I'm grateful for those things. However, today I want to talk about the challenges of growing up as a PK, and if you don't know what that is, you're going to know. Just stay tuned, just stay, just walk along this journey with me. So it wasn't until I was about 13 years old. Why 13? It was just so vivid. I remember being in church and I was starting to like boys and trying to figure out why they didn't like me. You know, that age is so awkward and weird and it's just like ugh, right? So he intentionally, at least for me, because remember, if you follow along with me, church was the only place where I actually saw people that look like me in one whole place at one time, right? Otherwise, I went to a predominantly white school, so church for me was like ooh, okay, I went to a predominantly white school, so church for me was like Ooh, okay, I get to go to church, I'm going to look really nice Cause I want this boys to like me. And it never happened, y'all. But that's the story for a whole other day. Hey, I'm hoping you're enjoying this episode of Coffee with E.

Erica Rawls:

I had to take 30 seconds to share with you one of our sponsors for this episode Top Construction. They are premier construction company located in central PA. So if you live in Dauphin, cumberland, lancaster and Lebanon counties, you want to check them out. Not only are they reliable, they are reasonable and they get the job done. Now let's go back to the episode, however.

Erica Rawls:

Going there every Sunday was eyeopening for me because not only because of me, you know, seeing people that look like myself but also because I had to what people perceive to be act a certain way. Now, if you follow along with me again, you know that I'm not one to like to fit into a box, and I actually would like to give credit to that of the way that my parents raised us all of their daughters to be independent women. So for someone to tell me I had to act a certain way, I was like, hmm, nope, I'm not going to do that because I know that I am Erica and I am here for a different purpose not to live my life the way that you choose to, but the way that God has choose live my life for me. So that was a challenge for me for a very long time. So just imagine being a teenager trying to figure it all out. You know, for women, you know you're growing into, you're maturing in different areas and things are happening to your body and in your mind and it's just like, oh, it's a whole mess. It's a mess. And then, to compound it, being a PK's, child, preacher's, kid, um, and trying to figure out where you fit in the world.

Erica Rawls:

So, of course, you're in the church atmosphere and everyone wants you to be an evangelist or missionary, or to be a preacher, or to wear the long dresses and don't wear the makeup, because Pentecostal hello, who's with me? You don't wear makeup, you don't wear pants, you wear your nice hats and you wear your bare face and you come in with your tight stockings and it's hot, doesn't matter if it's 100 degrees, you're wearing those things. Why? Because that's the way that we go to church. Dirty Dog Hauling. Thank you so much for your sponsorship. If you're looking for a junk removal company, they are the go-to company. Whether you have a small job or a large job and even excavation, you want to check them out. They are reasonable and also timely and effective. Dirty dog hauling. Now back to the show.

Erica Rawls:

So, of course, to me, as I got older, I would say like in high school, I started to be defiant. Now, if you all were defiant, I need you to say so too, because I know I'm not the only one. I would challenge my parents wear the makeup. And, fortunately enough, I will say this I am so grateful for my parents because they weren't as conservative as most people. I would even go as far, as I would believe our church, where we were raised, are probably the most flexible, if you will, when it came to how we came to church. We were considered to be the progressive church in our area, so I am grateful for that. And yet I like to wear makeup, so heavy makeup wasn't a thing, and I knew that that was something that I truly enjoyed doing.

Erica Rawls:

Not wearing stockings to church was being defiant. I mean, just think about that. And then just wearing skirts that were above your knees, oh my gosh. And don't even think about wearing pants. I did those things and it wasn't because I was being defiant, it's because it was who I was and I was trying to show at that young age, not knowing what the term was I was helping those see that it doesn't matter what you have on the outside, it matters what's in the inside, whether or not that you believe in God and he is your savior. I had to take two seconds to thank Allstate Insurance for sponsoring this episode. If you're looking for car life or casualty insurance, they're going to be your ultimate insurance company. Thank you, rob Shaw, with Allstate Insurance. Now back to the show, so moving right along, going to college.

Erica Rawls:

It was a hard time for me because if you're a preacher's child, you know that one of the things they teach you is you have to save yourself for marriage. You have to save yourself for marriage, and I would see a lot of PKs that didn't do that thing, and I always thought that. I thought that they were very brave and yet they were looking to find themselves, and I also wondered why that was. Was it possible that the preacher's kid ended up pregnant because they were seeking love from their fathers, who were pastors? I mean, this is something that would just go through my mind, because I do know for a fact. There's a lot of girls that I grew up with that did have the love from their fathers and yet they still ended up pregnant. But that was one of the questions that I always had. The other thing was why did some people choose not to call Jesus like be what we call sinners of the world? And then you think about that term? Sinners, right. If we're not acting what we perceive to be a holy life, then that person is perceived to be a sinner.

Erica Rawls:

Chavis for sponsoring this show. Chavis Law Firm is an elite law firm in central Pennsylvania that helps with estate planning as well as understanding what type of business entity you should enter into when starting your business. If you're looking for a great attorney that understands estate planning as well as business entity how to start the right way, you want to check out Attorney Chavis, chavis Law Firm. Now back to the show. And yet I know what the Bible told me and tells me to this, so I struggled with that question.

Erica Rawls:

So, as a preacher's kid, if you're watching this, do you struggle with that too? Like what is it to be so-called center, living in a world that is filled with so many different things, just chaos around you, and yet you feel as though you are living in a space where you are giving it your all. God is the center of your life, and you may like things that are of the world. It's okay if you feel that way, because I felt that way too. So these are the conversations that I always would have with myself as a young person person would always be afraid to talk to my parents about even my family members, cause, remember, I grew up in a church family. So if you feel like that, here's something I want you to share with you. You are not alone and you're able to have those conversations with your parents. I challenge you to have those with your aunts, with your uncles, with your friends, because one thing is that healing starts there, and they may have the same questions too, or they may even say well, I don't know why we're doing it, we're doing it because that's the way I was raised to do.

Erica Rawls:

It Doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. Or if you have questions about, hey, I'm feeling this way and it may not be of God and maybe of the world, it doesn't mean I'm going to go to hell. No, because you're human right and we all have free will. I say read your Bible, find friends, find family members. That's going to be able to guide you, because I believe through those teachings and through biblical principles, you're going to find the answers. And it's okay if you mess up to find the answers. And it's okay if you mess up because I know I have. So the fact that you're going to mess up, it's okay. It doesn't mean that you're going to be condemned and that you're going to have a scarlet letter or you're not worthy of anything in life, because that's not true. I'm here to tell you that that's not true. Hey, are you looking to move and you just don't know what to do with all your stuff or where to start with packing? Call Movers for Me. They are the elite moving company. They will help you get organized and packed and be efficient, streamline the whole process. Located in central Pennsylvania Movers for Me.

Erica Rawls:

Now back to the show. Why am I having this conversation? Because these are the things that I used to think of when I was growing up and I wish someone had this conversation with me. It's okay. If you don't feel like you are fitting into a community or a culture the church culture you won't be the last one and I promise you, everyone around you that's your age is going through the same exact thing. So find a safe space, and for me it was Bible school, and it was also finding friends that allowed me to speak my peace and not be judged for it. Those are the people that are going to help you get through your challenging times. You're watching.

Erica Rawls:

I run a real estate business and the way we fund this podcast is through that business, the Erica Ross team. I would love it if you would just give us one opportunity to service your real estate needs, whether you are in central PA or around the entire world. Think of us first, so we can help you. Now back to the show and ultimately, remember grace is God's unmerited favor and I believe if we give everyone grace, the world would be such a better place. So, from me to you, I'm sharing for you, I'm rooting for you. You got this. Remember there's only one you in this world and you only have one opportunity to live it to the fullest. So why not?

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Erica Rawls

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