Rev. Angéle Saunders Johnson has been called as the new Executive Director of Disciples Women. As an ordained Minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), she brings experience, passion, and expertise to this role. Most recently, Rev. Johnson served as the Minister of Discipleship and Outreach for Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, Tennessee . Her prior experience includes faith-based community organizing, executive pastoral leadership, and Serving as Director of Christian Education for New Covenant Christian Church in Nashville, Tennessee.
The IDWM (International Disciples Women’s Ministries) Search Committee Chair, Claretta Witherspoon, shares that the team prayed and deliberated for months to find the woman that God had ordained to fill the position of IDWM Executive Director. “We unanimously and joyfully selected Rev. Angéle Saunders Johnson. With great excitement we welcome her as the new leader for Disciples Women’s Ministries in the United States and Canada. We look forward to working with her and her vision for the women in our denomination.”
Wanona Redd, IDWM President, shares, “It is a pleasure and an honor to have the opportunity to welcome to the Disciples Women Ministry Rev. Angéle Saunders Johnson. I believe that Rev. Johnson will work diligently to fulfill our purpose statement, “.…to be a conduit for diverse connections empowering each woman to find her voice and live out her call.” Her road to Executive Director of Disciples Women has been, I believe, paved with obstacles of many shapes and sizes which have built character and fortitude that will be exemplary of a “Disciple Woman”. I, as president of the International Disciple Women Ministry, send a call to my Sisters in Christ. I urge you to welcome, assist, pray for and encourage Rev. Johnson as she represents us, the Disciples Women Ministry, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and most of all, God.
Rev. Angéle Saunders Johnson shares, “For over one hundred years, the Disciples Women’s Ministries has aimed to be a source of empowerment for women as they seek to live out their call. As Executive Director, I look forward to co-laboring with an amazing body of women across this denomination and reimagining this ministry into a relevant vehicle of transformation for all women, both clergy and lay. At its best, Disciples Women’s Ministry will have an indelible impact that transcends any imaginable boundary creating pathways for women to restore, retool, and reclaim that which is rightfully hers: the audacity to manifest her divine call in the world in holistically healthy ways, ultimately advancing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Rev. Angéle Saunders Johnson will officially begin her call on August 16, 2021. Rev. Sheila P. Spencer, Interim President of Disciples Home Missions shares, “We are grateful that Rev. Johnson has answered this call and we are thankful for the multiple gifts and talents that she will be able to share with Disciples Women and the Body of Christ.”