Late last year we announced that the lovely Anna Moss, our inaugural Women’s Ministry Facilitator, had decided it was time to focus more fully on her work with the Family Systems Institute. We felt it appropriate to acknowledge and celebrate Anna and her ministry before announcing what’s next.

It’s a little strange to introduce myself in this space – and even stranger to do so in the third person. But as we look ahead to what’s next for the Women’s Ministry Facilitator, it felt more helpful to reflect openly on the transition and the season ahead.

How does it feel to step fully into the role after working alongside Anna?

Change is always hard. Before she tendered her resignation, Anna and I sat down and discussed all the different ways we could possibly continue our collegial relationship, but the Lord has directed our paths in different directions. I loved working with Anna, was blessed by her wisdom, strength and friendship, and am so thankful for the way she brought a new tone to the conversation on men and women working together in gospel partnership.

But I’m also very excited to give my full attention to the role. Both Anna and I struggled with the compartmentalisation that comes with working multiple ministry roles, and I never felt there was enough time to meet the vision the Committee has in place.

What excites you most about the Women’s Ministry Facilitator role?

While we are all called to gospel ministry, I have had a specific sense of calling to the PCNSW since my mid 20s. Over the last 20 years, I’ve been grateful for opportunities to serve through various committees, completing the Deaconess Course of Training and studying our historical context to better understand the work ahead.

I’m excited to see that sense of calling and ministry experience come together in the work already begun. Most of all, I’m excited that by stepping more fully into the role, I have the privilege to meet one-to-one with women in ministry throughout the state.

Hearing their stories, encouraging them in their gospel work, resourcing and networking them to one another is (what Anna used to call) the “bread and butter” of this work. This gospel, pastoral, and relational work is what I love most – and I take seriously the privilege of being a resource and encourager to those women.

What can we expect from this next season?

It may be a little quiet for a while.

We’ve reassessed our ministries and decided that The Living Room will go on hiatus for a little while, and we’ll spend some time listening and hopefully, understanding what is needed. We’ll also focus our energies to developing more resources, podcasts, and refurbishing the website.

The team over at Ministry & Mission have kindly invited me to join them on their regional visits, and I’m looking forward to hitting the road with them, and meeting women and ministry leaders from across the state. There will also be a bit more collaboration with other denominational committees including METRO and PY.

After that, we’re hoping to establish regular in person and online catchups for women in ministry, for pastoral support, resourcing and encouragement.

Any personal encouragement or hope for women and churches?

I’ve been serving in PCNSW ministries for just over 20 years now, and I remember when having whispered conversations with other women about the prospects of entering ministry felt hard and rare. Few women I knew saw a place for themselves ministering in the PCNSW, and most conversations I had about the place of women in ministry were couched in warnings of the “slippery slope” and were focused on what women couldn’t do.

But over the last 20 years, I have seen a positive shift in both the tone of the conversation, and its practice. I’m delighted by the conversations I have with young women who are being encouraged by their ministers to consider ministry apprenticeships and theological study. I’m encouraged by women who feel equipped and resourced to serve within their local church contexts. And I’m continuing to see the conversation shift – away from whispers of suspicion about ordination and towards a more holistically complementarian discussion, around the benefits of women and men working together in gospel partnership, better reflecting the glorious purpose of Christ for His Church: that the whole body, joined and held together under Him as the head, would grow and be built up in love, as each part does its work (Ephesians 4:15–16).