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1. What have you found most challenging as a church leader?

I am very new to my role as a leader, but I think being younger than the people I lead is the most daunting thing? Christ says not to worry about age, and my team has been amazing to work with, but there is still an amount of rhetoric that is involved in showing people that I have been called and equipped?

2. How did you become a church leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

During COVID, research work (I am a Public Health Researcher and was a new grad from a Masters in Public Health) was in short supply. But I don't sit still very well, so I went up to the person leading the care team at the time and offered to complete a Needs Assessment for the new ministry before it established. So, once she retired from her role, she invited me to carry on implementing the recommendations I had started through that work.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

1. bear hug my husband in the kitchen as we make brekkie and coffee
2. coffee and brekkie and quiet time with Jesus
3. depending on what work i have on that day, I am starting from 7.30-9am, WFH. So I open up my calendar and my to do list, do a brain dump, order my lists, and prepare for the day. That might mean I'm doing a little bit of homework before a call etc etc
4. working 9-5 (or if I've got the day off, doing a project/catching up with people). I don't use social media in those hours and I try not to do personal admin. I am bad and often don't take a lunch break, but I get up and have lots of tea breaks!
5. once I've finished working, I go for a walk or a bike ride to get my blood pumping and process what I did/learned that day.
6. usually, I have a friend over or a date night or a bible study after work. So I'll be showering and switching gears and eating dinner.
7. 'please leave by 9' is real! I want time to hang out with husbando or decompress before bed.
8. sleeeeep!

4. What's one book apart from the Bible that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

not a book, but through my studies, we've read a lot of papers and conceptual models of leadership for community development. Particularly, facilitative leadership v top-down leadership and why values-based and flat-hierarchies tend to be more successful in community development

5. What's the most recent significant leadership lesson you've learned?

How to honour and value the work of a volunteer

6. How do you develop a healthy leadership pipeline in a church?

I don't think I know enough about this yet to say... if I were to spit-ball, I'd guess it would be something to do with raising up people around you who love Jesus, who lean into wisdom and refinement, and who have a passion for what your ministry is?

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a church leader so far?

We've been setting up a Community Morning Tea to support people sleeping rough or recently housed as they navigate the housing sector. So, we've worked with a couple of beautiful friends who have come in missing rent payments or being completely unable to access income support because of their visa status. It's been inspiring to sit with them, give them the tools to advocate for themselves, and hear their success stories as they've negotiated rent repayment schedules and kept their roof over their head :)