Ministry Chick Network Podcast

Melissa Mashburn
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Self-Improvement

The Ministry Chick Network Podcast is for women of faith who are leading, serving, and sensing there’s more—but want clarity before they make their next move. Hosted by Melissa Mashburn, pastor, coach, and founder of the Ministry Chick Network, this weekly podcast offers honest, practical conversations around calling, confidence, leadership, and sustainable ministry. Episodes feature everyday women in ministry, trusted leaders, and experienced practitioners who share real stories, lived wisdom, and the behind-the-scenes realities of leadership. You’ll hear conversations about: Finding clarity in your callingLeading with confidence without burning outNavigating ministry, leadership tension, and self-doubtBuilding community and support instead of doing it aloneAligning your faith, leadership, and next step with purpose This podcast exists to remind you of something essential: You are called. You are gifted. And you don’t have to figure this out alone. Whether you lead in a church, nonprofit, marketplace, or your local community, the Ministry Chick Network Podcast is a place to reset your leadership, strengthen your voice, and take your next step with clarity and support.

  1. 6h ago

    Why Women in Ministry Keep Silencing Themselves — Cheryl Luke | MCN Conversations

    She keeps editing herself out. Not because she doesn't have something to say. Not because she isn't qualified. Because something inside her hasn't fully healed yet — and an unhealed woman is a silenced woman, even when she's in the room. In this episode Melissa sits down with Cheryl Luke — transformational coach, speaker, 40-year ministry veteran, National Director for Cultural Communities at Celebrate Recovery, and founder of The Mosaic Life — to talk about what healing has to do with voice, why women in ministry keep silencing themselves even when they belong in the room, and what it actually looks like to move from stuck and uncertain to intentional, purposeful, and fully alive in your calling. Keywords: women in ministry, ministry leadership, faith-based leadership, healing and leadership, identity and calling, women of faith, voice and confidence, celebrate recovery, spiritual direction, purpose. KEY TAKEAWAYS Why women in ministry keep editing themselves out of rooms they belong in — and what healing has to do with it that no leadership framework can replaceWhat 40 years of vocational ministry and working with people who feel stuck has taught Cheryl about what actually sets a woman free to use her voice fullyWhat the woman listening can do this week to start moving from uncertain and silenced to intentional, purposeful, and present in the rooms she was made for RESOURCES & LINKSIndividual Membership ($67/mo) → member.ministrychick.com/courses/membershipFree Clarity Journal → member.ministrychick.com/courses/clarity-journalConnect with Cheryl → themosaiclife.com | @cheryllukeThe Mosaic Life → themosaiclife.comCelebrate Recovery → celebraterecovery.comChurch Membership → ministrychick.com/the-church

  2. Sep 29

    Lead From Who You’ve Become | Melissa + Matt Mashburn

    You walked back into the same building. Same calendar. Same team. Same role. But something is different — and if you're honest, you know it. You have grown. You have been through something. You have learned things you didn't know a year ago. The question is whether you're going to lead like it. In this episode, Melissa sits down with her husband Matt Mashburn — Operations Pastor and the man who has watched her lead for 33 years — for a conversation about what it actually looks like to show up differently in a season that looks exactly the same as the last one. What growth looks like from the outside. What changes when a leader finally stops leading from who she was and starts leading from who she has become. Keywords: women in ministry, ministry leadership, faith-based leadership, leadership growth, showing up differently, ministry season, Christian women in leadership, women of faith. ─────────────────────────────── KEY TAKEAWAYS ─────────────────────────────── What it actually looks like to show up differently in a season that looks exactly the same as the last one — and why that difference matters more than any strategy or planWhat growth looks like from the outside — what an executive leader who has watched you lead sees changing in you that you may not be able to see yourselfWhat the woman in ministry needs to claim about who she has become before she walks into this next season ─────────────────────────────── RESOURCES & LINKS ─────────────────────────────── Individual Membership → member.ministrychick.com/courses/membershipChurch Membership → ministrychick.com/the-churchFree Clarity Journal → member.ministrychick.com/courses/clarity-journal

  3. Sep 22

    What the Church Never Taught Women About Leadership — Suzanne Nadell | MCN Conversations

    She spent 30 years as an executive producer in TV news — one of the most high-pressure, high-stakes leadership environments that exists. And somewhere in the middle of all of it she started asking a question that wouldn't leave her alone: what if the church had taught women these leadership lessons instead? In this episode Melissa sits down with Suzanne Nadell — author of Wired to Lead and CEO of She Leads Church — to talk about the leadership lessons she learned in a secular room that she wishes the church had given her, what it looks like to carry those lessons into faith-based leadership, and what she is building so the next generation of women in ministry doesn't have to learn them the hard way. Keywords: women in ministry, ministry leadership, faith-based leadership, women in church leadership, leadership development, Christian women leaders, wired to lead, she leads church, calling, women of faith. ─────────────────────────────── KEY TAKEAWAYS ─────────────────────────────── The specific leadership lessons Suzanne learned in 30 years of TV news that the church wasn't teaching women — and what changes for the woman in ministry when she finally has themWhat the "what if" question actually unlocks — what if the church had equipped women with these tools from the beginning — and how the woman listening can stop waiting for the church to catch upWhat Suzanne is building at She Leads Church and why the woman in ministry who has been leading without the right training needs to know about it ─────────────────────────────── RESOURCES & LINKS ─────────────────────────────── Individual Membership ($67/mo) → member.ministrychick.com/courses/membershipFree Clarity Journal → member.ministrychick.com/courses/clarity-journalWired to Lead → [book link]Connect with Suzanne → suzannenadell.com | @suznadell on InstagramShe Leads Church → [SLC website + fall conference info]Church Membership → ministrychick.com/the-church

  4. Sep 15

    How to Become a Better Ministry Leader This Month | Same Calendar. Different Leader.

    Each year, there's a season that feels like a fresh start in ministry. You know what that season is for your church. New Bible studies. New volunteers. New calendars. New opportunities. But here's the question most of us never stop to ask: Are you actually a different leader than you were last year? In this episode, Melissa Mashburn and Dr. Brandy Baxter explore why experience alone doesn't create growth, why so many leaders unknowingly repeat the same patterns year after year, and what actually changes a leader over time. If you're stepping into another ministry season, don't just prepare your calendar. Prepare yourself. Key TakeawaysWhy another year of ministry doesn't automatically equal another year of growth.The difference between experience and intentional leadership development.Three reflection questions every ministry leader should ask before fall begins.Why coaching, community, and honest reflection accelerate leadership growth.

  5. Sep 8

    Women in Ministry: How Men and Women Can Lead Better Together

    There is a man in your life who works beside you, leads beside you, maybe even lives beside you — and still doesn't fully understand what you carry. Not because he doesn't care. Because nobody ever asked him to look. In this episode of the Allyship Table, Melissa sits down with her husband Matt Mashburn — Operations Pastor, 25+ years in local church ministry, and the man who has had a front-row seat to her leadership for 33 years — for an honest conversation about what he didn't see, when he finally saw it, and what changed. This episode is for the woman in ministry who has wanted someone in her world to get it. And for the pastor or church leader who wants to be that person. Keywords: women in ministry, ministry leadership, faith-based leadership, church leadership, male allies in ministry, healthy church culture, developing female leaders, women of faith. ───────────────────────────────── KEY TAKEAWAYS ───────────────────────────────── What a man with 33 years of front-row access to a woman in ministry leadership finally understood — and what it took to get thereWhat well-intentioned male church leaders consistently miss about the women already leading on their teams — named specifically, not genericallyWhat the woman listening can stop waiting for and start asking for — because the conversation she needs is possible, and this episode shows her what it looks like ───────────────────────────────────── RESOURCES & LINKS ───────────────────────────────────── Church Membership → ministrychick.com/the-churchIndividual Membership → member.ministrychick.com/courses/membershipFree Clarity Journal → member.ministrychick.com/courses/clarity-journalConnect with Matt Mashburn → https://remotexp.net/

  6. Sep 1

    How to Lead Through Change Without Losing Yourself — Diana Rush | MCN Conversations

    You've been through enough ministry seasons to know that change is not the exception — it's the job. New campuses, new leadership, new initiatives, new everything. And somewhere in the middle of managing all of it, you've wondered how to stay genuinely energized instead of just professionally functional. Diana Rush has been figuring that out at scale — overseeing small groups, guest services, volunteer coordination, pastoral care, and people development across seven locations at Eastside Christian Church. In this conversation, Melissa sits down with Diana to talk about leading through change without burning out, what systems thinking actually does for relational ministry, and what it looks like to stay rooted in calling when the operational demands never stop. Keywords: women in ministry, ministry leadership, faith-based leadership, change management, church leadership, women of faith, calling, leadership sustainability, multi-site church, AI in ministry. ───────────────────────────────── KEY TAKEAWAYS ───────────────────────────────── How to stay genuinely energized in ministry across multiple seasons of change — not just surviving the transition but leading well through itWhat systems thinking actually does for relational ministry — and why having the right operational framework is what makes personal connection scalableWhat Diana has learned about building community intentionally across seven locations that the woman leading one program in one church needs to hear right now ───────────────────────────────── RESOURCES & LINKS ───────────────────────────────── Individual Membership ($67/mo) → member.ministrychick.com/courses/membershipFree Clarity Journal → member.ministrychick.com/courses/clarity-journalClarity Kickstart Kit ($27) → member.ministrychick.com/courses/clarity-kickstartChurch Membership → ministrychick.com/the-church

  7. Aug 25

    The Most Dangerous Place in Ministry — And What to Do About It

    You’ve been listening. You’ve been nodding along. You’ve heard about the cost of leading alone, the importance of community, and the room that was built specifically for the woman in ministry. And somewhere in all of that you’ve been thinking — maybe. Maybe this is for me. Maybe this is the right time. This episode is Melissa and Brandy’s answer to the maybe. Keywords: women in ministry, ministry leadership, faith-based leadership, community, belonging, membership, women of faith, calling. KEY TAKEAWAYS What it actually costs to keep leading alone — not in theory, in the specific moments she has already lived this monthWhat the decision to join actually is — not a financial decision, an identity decisionWhat changes the moment she stops navigating alone — and why that change is available right now RESOURCES & LINKS Individual Membership → member.ministrychick.com/courses/membershipFree Clarity Journal → member.ministrychick.com/courses/clarity-journalClarity Kickstart Kit ($27) → member.ministrychick.com/courses/clarity-kickstartChurch Membership → ministrychick.com/the-church

  8. Aug 18

    The Hidden Cost of Leading Alone | Carrie Williams

    Carrie Williams has been in rooms that most women in ministry never get to enter. She helped launch Eleven22 in Jacksonville. She led Truth Republic. She now serves as Executive Director of Exponential NEXT, equipping current and next-generation leaders to navigate the future of the church. And through all of it, she has been building something most women in ministry quietly ache for but rarely find: a room full of people who actually understand what they carry. In this conversation, Melissa sits down with her longtime friend Carrie Williams to talk about what it means to lead in ministry without navigating alone — what it costs, what it looks like to build the right community around you, and why the women who go furthest are the ones who figured out they were never meant to do it by themselves. Keywords: women in ministry, ministry leadership, faith-based leadership, church multiplication, community, belonging, calling, women of faith, leadership development. KEY TAKEAWAYS What Carrie has learned about community from decades of building it intentionally — inside churches, inside networks, and inside rooms most women never get access toWhat the woman in ministry is actually missing when she leads alone — named specifically, not genericallyWhat it looks like to build the kind of relationships that sustain a calling for the long haul — and where most women in ministry stop short of actually having them RESOURCES & LINKS Individual Membership → member.ministrychick.com/courses/membershipFree Clarity Journal → member.ministrychick.com/courses/clarity-journalConnect with Carrie → carrie@exponential.orgExponential NEXT → [exponential.org/next or current URL]Church Membership → ministrychick.com/the-church

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About

The Ministry Chick Network Podcast is for women of faith who are leading, serving, and sensing there’s more—but want clarity before they make their next move. Hosted by Melissa Mashburn, pastor, coach, and founder of the Ministry Chick Network, this weekly podcast offers honest, practical conversations around calling, confidence, leadership, and sustainable ministry. Episodes feature everyday women in ministry, trusted leaders, and experienced practitioners who share real stories, lived wisdom, and the behind-the-scenes realities of leadership. You’ll hear conversations about: Finding clarity in your callingLeading with confidence without burning outNavigating ministry, leadership tension, and self-doubtBuilding community and support instead of doing it aloneAligning your faith, leadership, and next step with purpose This podcast exists to remind you of something essential: You are called. You are gifted. And you don’t have to figure this out alone. Whether you lead in a church, nonprofit, marketplace, or your local community, the Ministry Chick Network Podcast is a place to reset your leadership, strengthen your voice, and take your next step with clarity and support.

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