Isabelle Smith
isabelle.s@realityla.com
Women’s Care Coordinator
Isabelle is the youngest of five kids, born into a very musical family in the French-speaking, culturally-Catholic, hockey-crazed, Canadian province of Québec - the homeland of Celine Dion and DA Carson.
In her pre-teen years, Isabelle started rebelling against authority figures and filling her weekends with drugs and alcohol. Yes, as a pre-teen. Despite what she describes as “acting like a punk,” she was able to excel academically.
As a Catholic growing up in a province that is less than 1% evangelical Christian, she dutifully attended mass but considered religion essentially irrelevant.
It wasn’t until she was fifteen that Isabelle’s brothers, who had become Christians while playing in an 80‘s glam rock band, explained the Gospel to her. She thought they’d gone crazy and joined a cult, but would still respectfully listen and ask questions as they shared the Gospel with her every chance they got.
After a year of conversations with her brothers and watching the transformation taking place in their lives, it finally clicked that the world had nothing to offer her. Jesus, in contrast, was offering her everything.
She dove headfirst into a relationship with Jesus and has never looked back. It became all-consuming to the point that she let go of her own plans and ambitions to become a pro basketball player and/or the Prime Minister of Québec. As a young adult, she would invest several hours a day alone with God, studying the Bible and worshipping Him through music. There just wasn’t anything else she’d rather do.
Upon graduating from Bible college in 2002, she starting working at a church in Orange County where she met Lorenzo (now RLA’s Executive Pastor). In the early days, it was no secret they didn’t exactly get along - but they eventually got over it and married five years later.
Isabelle and Lorenzo served together for five more years in the OC before God called them to Los Angeles in 2009, when Lorenzo accepted a position at Reality LA. Eighteen months later, an opportunity arose for Isabelle to join the RLA staff as the Women’s Care Coordinator.
Isabelle and Lorenzo currently live in Wilshire Vista (where???) with their little daughter, Jaslyn.
