Three Questions is a semi-regular series introducing individuals across the NAB by asking them about their story, their ministry, and what they are learning. These features on members of our NAB family also provide great opportunities to pray for them as we get to know more of their story. This week, we hear from Jean Ewing, the team lead for the Women’s Connection Leadership Team.
What’s your story?
As I was considering how to respond to this question, these words from a powerful worship song came to mind:
I love you Lord, for Your mercy never fails me
All my days, I’ve been held in Your hands.
From the moment that I wake up, Until I lay my head
I will sing of the goodness of God.
I was born into a loving family that had no desire to attend church. When I was 9, my aunt and uncle convinced my parents that my brothers and I should go to Andrews Street Baptist Church in downtown Rochester, New York. It was there that I was nurtured in the faith by Sunday School teachers who had immigrated from Germany. They loved the Lord and inspired me to learn more about Him and invited me to give my life to Him at age 16. My desire to serve Him was ignited as I taught Sunday School, sang in the choir, and helped with youth groups.
After I graduated from a local college with a degree in elementary education, the opportunity to travel with eleven other young people as part of the NAB’s God’s Volunteers teams excited me. There I met David Ewing from North Dakota, and our common calling to serve Him as a couple led us to pastoral ministry in South Dakota, Missouri, North Dakota, and New York. Before our retirement, David was the regional minister in the NAB’s Eastern Association. What a joy it was to work with pastors, their wives, and the congregations of these churches.
As we moved to each new location, God provided opportunities to teach in both public and private schools. My experience as assistant principal in several school districts prepared me well for the final twenty years of my career in education as the assistant principal, and then principal, of a Christian school in Buffalo, New York. Along the way, our family grew to four children and their significant others, twelve grandchildren, and now a sweet baby great-granddaughter.
I love Your voice, You have led me through the fire.
In darkest night You are close like no other.
I’ve known you as a Father, I have known you as a friend
And I have lived in the goodness of God.
What’s ministry like for you?
Even in retirement, I enjoy serving others. Over a cup of coffee, I can lend a listening ear to encourage women in ministry. I remain involved in our weekly AWANA children’s ministry and am a mentor mom to a table of young moms who meet monthly in our Motherhood ministry at theWellbuffalo, our home church. It is a joy to serve as the team leader on the NAB’s Women Connection Leadership Team (WCLT), meeting women all over NAB-land and working with four extraordinary women who are constantly teaching me something new. The mission of the team is to serve as a source of encouragement and equipping for women leading and serving within NAB churches. We desire to engage with women as God works through their lives, providing training opportunities and passing on resources and support to enhance their ministry efforts.
What are you learning?
Serving in Christian ministry offers a variety of learning experiences that promote personal and spiritual growth. As I meet with women, I am witness to the incredible resilience and determined faith they have as they face challenges. This inspires me to pray and to seek ways to support women in their daily walks.
Ultimately, ministry has caused me to come face to face with my own strengths and weaknesses, and I have developed a deeper reliance on God’s guidance rather than solely on my own abilities. The challenge is to not feel that I always need to have the answer.
I am deeply grateful for younger women who continue to teach me new ways to approach the challenges of today through their words and actions.
All my life You have been faithful
and all my life you have been so, so good.
With every breath that I am able,
I will sing of the goodness of God.
What a blessing it is to be part of the great North American Baptist Conference community. Would you please take a moment to pray for Jean Ewing, as well as the Women’s Connection Leadership Team?