Each Friday, Baptist Women in Ministry introduces an amazing minister. This week, we’re thrilled to introduce Ashton Wells.
Ashton, tell us about your ministry journey, the places and ways you have been serving and are serving.
My ministry journey was really formed when I was a high school student. I went to a small group through an organization named K-Life with a bunch of friends. We had two college-aged leaders who mentored us and supported our group. The fact that two college students took time to get to know me was really impactful. So, when I was in college I helped with Young Life and youth ministries in various places to provide the same sort of mentorship to middle and high school students. I knew I wanted to work with youth.
I had never thought of seminary until college, when my good friend and mentor Tyler Tankersly told me about Central Seminary and recommended me to their Create program. I was accepted and began my Master of Divinity journey with nine of the most wonderful people you will ever meet. These friends were extremely affirming, loving, and pushed me outside of my comfort zone. For three years I had the privilege of learning alongside them and exploring what being in ministry truly meant for me. While I love the church, I also knew from my undergraduate experience that I loved nonprofit work.
During my time working as office manager then church administrator at Rainbow Mennonite Church, one of the largest ministries of the church, a summer Freedom School program, lost its funding source. Because of this loss, the church decided to reactivate a nonprofit called Sharing Community in Rosedale to get grant funding for the summer program.
As the program grew, the community gave feedback that afterschool programming was important. So, the board decided to grow the organization and hire an executive director. Since I had been part of the process of Sharing Community in Rosedale from the beginning stages, I applied for the job, and they hired me.
For the past year, I have been serving as the executive director of Sharing Community in Rosedale, fundraising and developing programming for K-8th grade students in the Rosedale area of Kansas City, Kansas. We currently run an afterschool program for 8th graders and a six-week summer enrichment program for 100 K-8th graders. For me, this job is a hybrid of the church world that I love, working with youth, and getting to serve in a nonprofit setting.
What have been your greatest sources of joy in ministry?
My source of joy continues to be found in the relationships I form with the people I work with. It is a wonderful experience to get to work with young people, to encourage them and be a part of their formation. Little moments, like when an eighth-grader tells you that this is the first afterschool program he can be a part of because of his mother’s works schedule, or when a first grader is able to identify her emotions for the first time because of the work being done in your organization’s programming, bring me joy. This summer, I operated as the main disciplinarian of our summer program and it was always so joyful when a scholar who had been sent to the office more than once began to show improvement in behavior. Those moments are the ones that sustain me and remind me on the hard days why I do what I do.
I would also add that another great source of joy is the many women who have come alongside me and mentored me. I would not know these women if it were not for ministry and I am so thankful for them as I could not do ministry without their guidance. I find so much joy in learning from them and also being able to share insight with them from my own ministry experiences.
What have been the greatest challenges you have encountered in ministry?
As a whole, I think that ministry can be a very isolating experience. When you are working with restricted budgets and limited resources, it can be easy to turn inward and get caught in the negatives. It can also be frustrating to feel like your ministry is being held back because of these things. However, most learning is done in those places of struggle as it requires us to get creative and collaborative. So, I think overall being challenged does not need to be negative–it is an opportunity to grow.
How do you stay healthy, physically and spiritually?
I think health is something that we all struggle with. First, I would say one of the best things I do for my overall health is to see a counselor on a regular basis. She continues to encourage me to find ways to be healthy and operate in a healthy way in difficult situations. Right now, I am working on learning more areas of self-compassion, which has really fueled my spiritual life as I am learning about grace in a whole new realm—grace with myself.
I also find things I enjoy doing that encourage health. I recently discovered that I enjoy cooking, so I look for healthy recipes to make. I try to work out five times a week (thanks FitBit for holding me accountable for this one). Also, I have a dog whom I love, so he encourages me to get outside. I also try to use exercise as a stress reliever, only doing exercises I enjoy instead of forcing myself to do ones I don’t. For example, I LOVE Zumba, so that’s a great exercise and self-care place for me. But, I hate just running on a treadmill so I don’t make myself do it.
What is the best ministry advice you have been given?
Pam Durso once told me that “leaders show up.” That piece of advice has stuck with me since she said it to me three or four years ago. It’s so transcendent. I use it as a personal philosophy. I show up to church events, birthday parties, funerals, youth sporting events, fundraising events, seminary events, etc. Showing up fosters connection and leads to more opportunities than I could have ever guessed. It means supporting and being a part of your community, however you define that. And, for those introverts reading this, I don’t think it’s about showing up to everything, but going to those important events and being present when you do.