Destiny Ministries was established in 1994 by The Rev. Dr. Claudette Anderson Copeland with a mission of bringing restoration and empowerment to women in the San Antonio region, the United States, and impoverished countries of the two-thirds world. Destiny Ministries seeks justice and joy for women, particularly those in traditional Christian contexts where women have been excluded from leadership roles. Dr. Copeland is a trained pastoral counselor, an author, an adjunct professor, a community activist, a pastor, a breast cancer survivor and an accomplished preacher and teacher. In addition to founding and co-pastoring a 2,000 member church in San Antonio, TX, Dr. Copeland and her husband David were the first active duty, African American couple in the United States Air Force Chaplaincy.

Wars fought with women soldiers on active duty have taken a toll on female soldiers. Too often, women warriors receive repeated re-assignment without adequate time for rest and recovery, due to the shortage of military personnel serving the escalating war need. Women soldiers on active duty military service are faced with significant challenges when it comes to reintegrating into civilian life, marital unity and engaged motherhood after suffering the psychological and spiritual trauma, as well as physical deformity that come as a result of combat. Currently 54% of active duty women are in dual-military marriages and bear the brunt of their military husband’s rage and dysfunction, as well as their own personal struggles. To make matters worse, female soldiers often feel that expressing their post-traumatic stress will affect their promote-ability. Their efforts to maintain their image of being strong women prevent them from asking for mental health support from inside the military structure. The Well Women Warriors program was designed to provide vulnerable, returning Air Force personnel with the multifaceted support they need to reintegrate into their families, churches and communities after deployment.