Part of the series ‘Leadership at Large’.
Rory Shiner: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and what brought you to your current role(s)?
Sarah Kuswadi: I work at TGCA as the Chief Operating Officer. I have been here for a little over two years. I explain my role to others as, with Gods’ help, making things happen for TGCA. It’s a diverse role and certainly keeps me on my toes!
I am married to Tim, a marvellous man, and we have two delightful kids (they also keep us on our toes, but that’s a story for another time!). We are both involved in ministry leadership at the Presbyterian church we attend here in Brisbane: among other things, Tim is an elder and I am a member of our women’s ministry committee.
I became a Christian at high school. Sinking into the depths of Jesus’ love profoundly changed my outlook on life. I did an economics degree at uni and worked in a variety of different finance and operations roles, moving into leadership over time. I served as a youth group leader for several years and later led Bible study groups with my marvellous man, which we continue to do. After having kids, I started working in ministry, predominately in working operations, from home—I was a working from home expert even before Covid!
Over the years many people have describe me as a women’s ministry leader. I did not set out to do this, but now see it was part of God’s plan for me.
What does leadership look like in your current role(s)?
My work is very diverse. Sometimes I am raising new ideas, writing and presenting policies and papers in Council or Executive meetings; bringing a number of people together to plan for future events; writing articles for the website; or talking to people while washing the coffee cups after an event.
Sometimes I need to really push through on an idea. This can involve extensive work—planning, delegating, many meetings and phone calls—to ensure that it sees the light of day.
I have learnt over the years that leadership has many forms. My leadership style works through engaging with others and creating space for them, rather than speaking from the front. I am also mindful that effective leadership is an all-the-time thing not a sometimes thing.
What has God been teaching you about leadership?
I think women in ministry leadership has an image problem. For some complementarians, we can be viewed with suspicion. My prayer is that this would change. Sometimes I find being a woman in ministry hard as we can incorrectly be pigeon-holed—packaged over to the side. At times it can be lonely, as often there are no other female peers to discuss things with. Jesus valued everyone and their contribution and there are many examples in Scripture of his interactions with women. God has given people different gifts and that’s why men and women need to work together in ministry to support the whole body.
Can you tell us where you have had to change the way you lead recently?
Recently I have become much more vocal in things at my church. I have been involved in recruitment of new staff and updating some policies and procedures.
Too often a woman finds she is the only women on staff or in a meeting room. Something I would love all leaders to know is that this is super awkward! You can feel like there is a bright yellow neon sign above your head shouting “WOMAN!” I try hard to be an advocate for women. I can give my own perspective as a woman. However, I cannot speak for all women—even as I feel as though I need to in these situations. My hope and prayer is that in the future there would be more women in ministry leadership teams so the neon sign disappears.
This has inspired me to be more active in meetings. Sometimes I take time to think before speaking, but often in meetings there is not heaps of space for this. A solution that I have is to take the time to pray before important meetings, to think through what might come up and to plan my response. If there is a lot of discussion in a meeting and I need more time to formulate my thoughts, I suggest to the team that we hold off on a decision and I will email some thoughts after the meeting. I find this helpful as it gives me time to refine and articulate my thoughts.
Who is a leader that you find inspiring (besides Jesus) and why?
When I was involved in organising many large events there was a volunteer at one location who epitomised servant leadership. He worked in logistics, and nothing was too much trouble to make something work for the gospel. He arranged for a room to be quickly reorganised to meet a speaker’s needs and completed many tasks behind the scenes to serve the body without complaining. He would often say something to the effect of ‘Tell me what you need, sister, and Jesus will help me do it’. He was a leader through his influence. We need more people like him.
I also have several close friends who show me how to be an incredible Christian woman in the world. They are like a lighthouse to show others the way. I hope that through my leadership I can provide the same service to others.
Is there a Bible verse that you often come back to for encouragement?
“He must become greater; I must become less” (Jn 3:30). Christian leadership is not about self-promotion, telling others what to do or impressively speaking the best from the front, but rather exemplifying how Jesus can be the focus of our lives.
