Marla was born and raised in Baton Rouge , LA , then moved to the quaint community of Denham Springs when she was 8 years old. Marla accepted Christ as her personal Savior at the age of 13 right here at Amite Baptist Church during the church’s annual Easter Drama.

The summer after Marla earned a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Science from Southeastern Louisiana University , she headed to Penticton , British Columbia , Canada to serve as summer missionary for the second summer in a row. While there, Marla felt God calling her into full time ministry. Marla started her seminary training at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, then transferred and graduated from the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary in Calgary , AB , earning a Masters in Religious Education. While in seminary, Marla was on staff at Mountain View Christian Fellowship.  After graduation, Marla moved to Whistler, British Columbia to work as a church planter with the North American Mission Board. It was there that Marla started learning about music, learning how to play guitar and piano. After spending almost 5 years in Canada , Marla felt the need to move back home and await what God had for her next. She went on to serve with Lifeway as a Centrifuge Summer Camp staffer, then as the interim student minister her at Amite Baptist, which brings you back to the beginning of the story.

 Marla strives each day to live out what Paul states in Philippians 2:3-5:  “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”