Meet Judy! She began serving with Wycliffe in 2015. She has contributed to Bible translation by serving in a variety of roles, including in international relations in Washington, D.C., advocating for communities in Asia, mobilization and most recently in organizational relations for Wycliffe’s Church Relations team.
Discovering a New Role
At Wycliffe, we’re committed to local church ownership, building local capacity and fostering healthy collaboration between both the U.S. and global expressions of the Church. We prayerfully discern God’s will, wholeheartedly seek His wisdom and eagerly follow His guidance in our pursuit to serve with excellence. We want to help meet Bible translation needs in timely, innovative ways!
Judy shared about a time in 2017 when she needed to take on a different role. Due to family matters, she needed to make a change so she could work from home. Although Judy has changed roles many times over the years, it isn’t always easy to discern how God might be leading her to serve next. She said:
“It was a really big decision for me. I really enjoyed the people that I worked with on my team, and I really loved my job.”
Judy knew her contributions were valued by her team, so she was concerned about what would happen if she moved to a new team. She said, “I worried about what … [that would] do to my team, as I was leaving a hole in my team.”
As Judy began exploring new ways that she could serve with her skills, she learned that many teams had open roles and opportunities for her to make meaningful contributions. Even though her team would be left with an opening, there were a lot of other teams that needed support. She said, “I realized that there are needs all across the organization.”
At Wycliffe we believe God provides each of us with unique gifts, backgrounds and experiences to serve Him.
As we participate in God’s work, we discern how to steward the resources that God has given us and explore how God is leading us to serve in His mission.
Prayer and Community
If you’re contemplating making a change in your role, Judy recommends asking lots of questions about what opportunities are available. It’s also helpful to get feedback from people you trust about what roles and opportunities might be good fits for you. For Judy, it was important to keep her church updated and in the loop throughout the process of discovering her new role. She recommends intentionally praying about the decision:
“Have lots of people pray for you and just spend some dedicated time in prayer, asking the Lord where He might lead you.”
Asking for prayer is an invitation for your community — your family, friends, Bible study group, church and more — to join in what God is doing and take part in the transformational work of Bible translation. As we depend on God, we pray with expectation, just like Scripture reminds us:
“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Hebrews 6:18 NLT).
Taking on New Things
Changing roles requires a dedication to personal and professional growth, and learning new things means that we get to practice agility and perseverance.
Judy said “yes” to what God was leading her to do, and discovered the new place He had for her in mobilization. She said:
“I ended up in a role that I really love. … I can see God’s hand in all of that, in bringing me to that new role.”
Think about how God might be leading you to say “yes” today!
