The first time I heard Melissa Mashburn speak was at the She Leads Church online conference. She’s clear, organized, and living in the trenches of local ministry with a history of wearing multiple hats. Her posts are encouraging and her redemption story includes her mother-in-law. Sweetness! I joined her Ministry Chick Facebook group immediately after the conference and have been an Instagram follower every since.

She’s written a book and it’s an absolute delight! Ministry Chick: Find Your Community, Own Your Leadership, Take your Step! Throughout the book she repeats a message that ‘you, Sister, were made for more’. She covers most of the major themes we all have or will encounter as a female leader in ministry reminding the reader that her identity is always in Christ. Her writing is like we’re sitting on the back porch in a small group holding multiple conversations going on at the same time. The wisdom is just that good and I felt I was drinking from a fire hose.

The wisdom is for all women in ministry. The quiet servant who loves behind the scenes and those of us who wear ‘too muchness’ like a new jean jacket.

She speaks about setting core values as guardrails in the ministry which serve as
protective barriers to keep me safe, healthy, and on track thereby resisting the wind gusts of other people’s opinions and values. This is just the thing to set aside the people-pleaser in many women in ministry, or is that just me?

The book is sprinkled with multiple Chick Chats. Chick Chats are insights gathered from the amazing and diverse women within the Ministry Chick online community. These women are making decisions every day, serving our great God in Christian community, leading others, and oh the stories they have to tell. Melissa kindly and graciously shares in several places my own experiences and stories I have shared within that amazing community.

Want to know if your voice matters? “If you want to think about it from a 30,000-foot view, your voice, as a woman, represents roughly about 60% of your church, ministry, or organization. This means it is imperative that you use your voice to represent your team, experiences, and thoughts.” Melissa Mashburn, Ministry Chick

The last section of the book is about taking your next, best step with a holy confidence and a healthy humility. The book closes with a fantastic Group Discussion Guide.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book and can’t wait for the conversations to begin.

“It’s the coolest thing to see a woman who has a holy confidence and healthy humility. She knows who she is, and she knows Whose she is, and she is not afraid to be all her and give Him all the glory.” Melissa Mashburn, Ministry Chick