Part of a series ‘Leadership at Large’.
Sarah Kuswadi: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and what brought you to your current role(s)?
Jo Gibbs: I’m married to Mike, and we live in Sydney with our two lovely kids. I’m a Senior Consultant with the Reach Australia network. I have a specific focus on building healthy teams.
I became a Christian while I was studying at uni and almost immediately developed a heart for cross-cultural mission. My husband and I both studied at SMBC, and then served in South Asia with CMS in a diverse multicultural team. After returning to Australia, I’ve served in different church roles and been CEO of a parachurch women’s organisation, before becoming a consultant with Reach Australia in 2023. I’m also currently part of MIMAC a Sydney Diocesan Committee focused on ministry amongst marginalised communities.
I’m thankful for such a diverse range of leadership roles, that has helped to develop my leadership skills and opened opportunities to try new things. No matter what role I’ve had, I’ve aimed to make spaces for women to grow both as disciples of Jesus and in their leadership, and to help men and women work well together in partnership.
What does leadership look like in your current role(s)?
Sometimes it’s supporting leaders and their teams to develop healthier ways of leading and working together. At other times it’s thought leadership: thinking more deeply into theological convictions or ministry practice, developing new paradigms and frameworks for ministry. This could be participating in a podcast interview or writing a paper or starting some theological and collaborative conversations with our team. Sometimes it’s just being brave enough to speak up no matter who’s in a meeting.
My role requires a lot of innovation, including designing things from the ground up. For example, I have recently been involved in designing and running the pilot of Reach Australia’s Team Development Program, developing new content, thinking into a new format and what would be the best way to nurture healthy teams.
Sometimes my work is ‘leading up’: raising issues, pushing into new areas, supporting and encouraging leaders above me, helping implement their vision. Sometimes it’s ‘leading across’. For example, one part of my role is to bring together those who run our different intensives in order to stretch our understanding in areas like adult education, or get our programs aligned.
My role also involves multiplying leaders, creating new ways to encourage more women into ministry and develop their leadership skills. Sometimes that’s working together on solutions to some of the more common challenges for female leaders or providing examples of the diverse roles that women can have in churches or encouraging women to keep going in ministry for the marathon not just the sprint.
What has God been teaching you about leadership?
In my role I’m often thinking through how best to think of leadership within a biblical framework. Here are a few things I’ve been pondering…
As Reformed evangelicals, it can sometimes be tricky or uncomfortable for us to talk about women and leadership, because we rightly want to respect the way Scripture reserves the specific leadership role of the elder or overseer to suitably qualified men. But I’m wondering, is this the only way to think about leadership, or is this the only sphere of leadership we see in the Bible?
We often think about leadership as a specific role or position—like a growth group leader, a ministry staff member, or an office holder in the governance of the church. Not all of these need to be equated with the role of elder/overseer and so restricted to suitably qualified men. I’m so thankful for the broader vision for women’s contribution to the leadership of God’s people in the Bible like Phoebe the deacon (Rom 16:1–2), Deborah the judge (Judges 4–5) and Anna the prophetess (Luke 2:36–38). I also love the biblical truth that every believer is now part of the royal priesthood, and ambassadors for Christ.
But leadership is also about influence: the ability to affect how someone thinks or behaves, to get people on board or to inspire others to action. It makes me thankful for women like Priscilla being involved in teaching Apollos (Acts 18), the woman at the well bringing her village to meet Jesus (Jn 4), Dorcas’ mercy ministry that had an impact on the lives of many (Acts 9) and the influence of Timothy’s mother and grandmother on his discipleship (2 Tim 1).
I’ve been pondering how we can uphold the gendered role of elder/overseer in our churches, while also welcoming the diverse ways that both men and women can lead, as we see in Scripture. Then together we can encourage more people to step into and grow in leadership, so that every person is fully engaged in the important task of reaching Australia (and the world) with the gospel.
I’ve also been reflecting on how important it is for the gospel that men and women are in leadership together. Men and women bring different gifts and perspectives to the body of Christ helping us to be more effective. We really are better together. And when godly men and women serve in leadership together, as partners and co-workers in the gospel, this is a powerful expression of our unity in Christ.
Can you tell us where you have had to change the way you lead recently?
It’s been interesting and enjoyable to shift between first chair and second chair leadership, moving from CEO to being part of the leadership team. Bringing my understanding of the stresses and challenges of first chair leadership, I love supporting and enhancing the first chair leaders around me, whether that’s in my own team, or working with senior pastors in churches.
In the Team Development Program, we’ve been thinking about the significance of the second chair role, not as a stepping stone to something else, but as a valuable role in itself. Most leaders in the world are second chair leaders! As second chair leaders learn to ‘lead up’ well, there can be a great alignment of vision and purpose, and they can supercharge the leadership of the first chair in a good way. It’s a role that brings out the servant part of servant leadership. It takes humility. It also takes courage to raise hard questions sometimes, but to do it in a way that builds a bridge and not a wall.
Who is a leader that you find inspiring (besides Jesus) and why?
After many years in ministry, under different leaders, I look to serve under leaders I really respect. Someone said to me recently, “Only work for someone you want to become more like.” I think that’s so true! You spend a lot of time together; their leadership will shape who you are for better or worse.
I really respect leaders who are willing to get their hands dirty and who put others before themselves; leaders with good self-awareness who are honest about their own weaknesses; leaders who make space for other leaders; and leaders who have an unwavering gospel-centred vision for ministry above all else.
Without meaning to sound cheesy, the team of leaders I get to work with every day are inspiring. They’re an incredibly gifted, high-capacity team, who are more concerned about gospel outcomes than their own egos. They ask great questions and are willing to shake things up to be more effective. They’re not perfect by any means, but they’re quick to say sorry and there’s a high level of trust. And they’re a lot of fun to be around!
Is there a Bible verse that you often come back to for encouragement?
“Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim 2:1): not strong in my Bible knowledge, my strategic planning ability, my job title or my years of ministry experience. My true strength is found in the Lord, and in the boundless riches I have in Christ.
