Jenny Stewart of Australia/United Kingdom has joined the Baptist World Alliance executive leadership as its first director of ministries and chief operating officer.
Working closely with the BWA general secretary/CEO, this new position will provide leadership to the five BWA ministry areas—worship, fellowship and unity; mission and evangelism; aid, relief and community development; religious freedom, human rights and justice; and transformational leadership and theological reflection.
The role will be responsible for collaborating together with each ministry’s personnel regarding strategy and finances, ensuring alignment with the BWA’s overall mission for meaningful impact.
“We are blessed to welcome Jenny Stewart to the BWA team and look forward to how the Lord will use her gifts and experience to further God’s global mission,” said BWA General Secretary Elijah Brown.
Stewart’s appointment, with a start date pending obtaining the necessary work visa, was announced last July at the BWA Executive Committee meeting preceding the annual gathering in Birmingham, Ala. She also was included in a special BWA General Council commissioning prayer time.
Having successfully obtained her work visa, she has relocated and began serving at the BWA offices in Falls Church, Va., effective Jan. 1.
Stewart comes to the position with wide-ranging experience in finance, communications, event coordination and nonprofit management. With a financial and accounting management background, she has served several ministries in her career.
From 2002 to 2010 she was the events manager and communications and publications manager for the Baptist Union of Great Britain, followed by her role as the operations director for Scripture Union International from 2010 to 2019.
Stewart has been active in the ministry of the BWA since 1998 when she attended her first BWA meeting, the International Worship Conference held in Berlin.
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“It was an incredibly challenging and blessed experience as the Baptist family from around the world came together and shared their worship traditions with each other—new and old. We all had so much to learn,” Stewart said. “It certainly encouraged me to continue my BWA involvement, as I could see how much more we could impact the world for Christ by working together and learning from each other.”
She was a key leader in the planning of the centennial Baptist World Congress held in Birmingham, England, in 2005, and she has served in a contract role as special projects coordinator for the BWA since 2020.
As coordinator, Stewart worked with the general secretary on projects including governance, membership and department reviews; development of an updated human resources policy and manual; and assistance with transitioning the 2020 Congress from an in-person to virtual event. Before her recent contract role, Stewart also served extensively on BWA committees.
“It is a great honor for me to accept the appointment to the role of director of ministries/chief operating officer for the BWA,” Stewart said.
“I am grateful for the gifts and experiences God has given me over the years, and I see them all coming together in this role. I look forward to using them as I play my part in supporting General Secretary Elijah Brown, as well as facilitating both individuals and the various BWA groups to be well connected and to flourish in their ministry as we continue to grow and explore new ways to achieve our mission together.”
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