In May 2023, the Women in Leadership Collective released our full report on the Lived Experiences of Alliance Women in Ministry in Canada. You can find it on The Alliance Canada website here. We wish to thank all the women and men who participated in the process and hope all Alliance workers take the time to read it. But how did we get here? And where are we going? Here is our story so far.
It was January 2021 and leaders in the Alliance Canada, specifically, President David Hearn and Vice President Ryan Graham, were asking how we could better encourage and support women in leadership in our churches. It has always been the focus of the Alliance to see “everyone, everywhere, all the time” take their place in God’s mission to reach the nations with the Gospel by entering fully into His calling on our lives and faithfully operating in the gifts He has given each of us.
There were already networks within the Alliance structure that supported Disciple Making, retired pastors and IWs (Power Team), youth ministries, children’s ministries, chaplains, and the various National Cultural Associations. It was time to create a network to support Alliance women in leadership. The Women in Leadership Collective was born out of this desire and with the support and initiation of the National Office and President David Hearn.
Seven women from various backgrounds and experiences were invited to form the first Core Team, with Ryan Graham representing the NMC Lead Team. As we began meeting together, praying for wisdom, and sharing our own stories, we soon realized that in order to be effective in supporting women, we first needed to know more about their lived experiences in leadership within our churches; to have current, objective data which could guide us toward next steps.
We were grateful to have the expertise of Drs Cynthia Tam and Miriam Charter, both professional researchers, who were willing to take on the challenge. Joined by Rebecca Persaud and Briana Southerland, they began formulating questions. In partnership with the National Office, we were given access to the official workers database, and supplied with the needed software to do the job well.
Hundreds of volunteer hours were invested; first of all with sending out the surveys to every licensed woman (and because of a glitch in the mailing list, a good number of men as well, some of whom graciously answered the questions anyway!) and then processing all the answers. An incredible 79% participation showed us that this topic is extremely important to the women leading within our Alliance family.
Because the response was so overwhelming, and since many requested further conversation, focus groups were offered over the first few months of 2022. There was also a great response to this idea, and 11 focus groups were needed to give all those interested the chance to discuss and share experiences together in a smaller setting.
With data collection complete, the survey was translated into statistics, which were then depicted in graph form, making it easy to identify the impact of the various questions on specific groups. This preliminary report was made available on the WLC’s page of the Alliance Canada, and a verbal summary was given at General Assembly in July 2022, with the promise of the full report coming out at a later date.
Then began the huge task of transcribing all the comments from these focus groups into a written form for analysis and organizing them so that conclusions could be drawn in a professional manner. Many further volunteer woman-hours were devoted to this project.
The research team grouped like responses together, illustrating the various points with personal stories, and changed names to protect the privacy of those answering. Reading these true-life accounts is moving: sometimes encouraging and at other times painful.
Now we have current, objective data giving an understanding of the realities women experience in our churches. Sharing our stories creates community in a way nothing else can, so we encourage you to read and enter into the experiences of your fellow ministry leaders. Perhaps you will hear your own voice echoed there.
And what has come as a result of the study? We have gained a clearer sense of our shared values and aspirations for the Alliance of the future, deeper empathy for one another, and practical ideas about how we can better celebrate, empower and equip women in leadership.
Our quarterly newsletter is one way we connect to be encouraged; a place to tell stories and be informed about opportunities for learning and growth. We welcome you to join this community by subscribing and joining us in the comments on each issue with feedback, conversation, and encouragement alongside other readers. If you find the newsletter helpful, feel free to forward it to others you think would appreciate it and encourage them to subscribe.
Our Resource Hub, in collaboration with Ambrose University, is a growing collection of books, podcasts and articles to inspire and equip you. If you have suggestions you can send those through the comments of our newsletter or to [email protected], and they will be vetted by our Resource Hub team. Thanks for your contributions.
In October 2023 we launch WLC Networks using Slack as a place for connection and collaboration with other women across the country who serve in similar ministry roles. In upcoming issues of the Newsletter, we give instructions for joining Slack if it is new to you.
We are also working on providing a network of mentoring relationships, which was one of the needs mentioned by many in the research report. And in the August 2023 issue of the newsletter, we interviewed Elke Carlson, Director of Safe Ministry. This position was created and Elke was hired because the Board of Directors wanted to put someone in place to assist in handling sexual misconduct reporting in a safe, professional, and compassionate way.
Because of the results of the WLC research report, an HR component was added to Elke’s job description, which will see her take responsibility for ensuring there is continuing education for Districts and churches, empowering them to support thriving and collaborative workplaces for women and men. Take a little time to get to know her through the interview she kindly gave us by subscribing to our newsletter at any time and reading the August 2023 issue.
Thank you again to those who responded to the initial survey or participated in a focus group, and those who have worked to complete this project and take next steps.
We are also grateful for those who continue to share stories with us through the comments in our newsletters. We value every input. We long to serve God well together in the places He’s called us to, walking arm in arm to see His Kingdom come, His will be done and His name glorified. We invite you to join us as we celebrate, empower and equip women workers for this purpose.