I’m Sarah Ross and have been attending CCC for the past 5 years. I’ve been married to my high school sweetheart, Dustin Ross, for 13 years and we have 3 children. Mireya is 9, Jabin is 8, and Marisa is 5. I also work per-diem as a hemodialysis nurse.

Last year, CCC took a break from Women’s Ministry and took a step back to pray and discern over what God would have for the women of our church. The women’s discernment team concluded their meetings in March 2011. There were 2 main results that came out of this process.

The first result was the development of 3 “wins.” These are goals that we want to see every woman at CCC grow into.

§         Experience authentic, Christ-centered connections with other women

§         Discover their unique identity in Jesus Christ

§         Participate in God’s work

These wins are our prayer for you and they are the driving force behind everything we do in women’s ministry.

The second result was the development of a team leadership structure, where one woman would be the leader of a team of about 4-5 women. The two primary roles of the women’s ministry leader is:

§         Be the coach and encourager for the other leaders on the team, keeping the mission and wins in the for front of each sub-ministry’s mind.

§         Be the “face” of women’s ministry. To have knowledge of various ministries happening at CCC and be a networker to point interested women in the right direction.

These are my primary roles and I encourage you to come to me. If I don’t have the answer for you, I will point you to someone who does or I will find the answer for you. I’m here for you!

The other women on the team will oversee a particular ministry. Even though the women might be a leader of  a particular area, it does not mean they are responsible for everything within that area. Rather, they are responsible for recruiting, coaching, and supporting the leaders in their particular ministry.

How did I come to be Women’s Ministry Leader? I think this is an important question. I did not pursue this position, but God pursued me. I think it’s quite interesting that the synopsis of the women’s discernment team was written on 4/4/2011. On that day, I was in Honduras serving with a fine team of CCC folks. When I got back from Honduras, I had a hard time settling back into a culture of excess. As I struggled in coming to grips with the extreme poverty I witnessed and how I could apply that to my every day life, God was molding my heart. 

After much prayer and tears, I concluded that I needed to be a good steward with all that I have been given. Not just my money, but also my time, skills, and relationships. I realized that everything I have been given is God’s and I need to be wise with what I have been given.

It wasn’t long after that, that God began a new thing in me. I’d go to the store, see women, and wonder if they were really doing well or if there was a struggle behind that smile. God reminded me of many times in my life where I looked like I had it all together, but really I was lonely and lost. In the last year, I have discovered that my identity  is rooted in Christ Jesus and His love for me. This has been life changing for me! And God put a deep desire in me to see women embrace God’s love for them.

I felt God was calling me to women’s ministry, but quite frankly this scared me! I felt I was not qualified and there were many women out there that could do this better than me. I felt I did not fit the mold and argued with God about this. I told him I did not speak well in front of people, my family life was not perfect (in fact, it’s pretty messy!), I’m not old enough, I like to listen to metal music and women’s ministry leaders just don’t do that! God was very patient with me as I tried to convince Him that I was not the one for this role. But in the end, I just could not say no to God. I trust that He knows what He’s doing and I’m in awe and humbled that He would ask me to serve in this way.

Over the summer, I met with many different women and established a wonderful team! I’m happy to introduce them to you. Deb Hinz oversees Events, Connie Williams oversees Community Groups, Sharon Bridges oversees MOPS, and Christine Balyeat & Sue Mocker oversee Friendship Connection. I just love serving with this team of women!