Finding a home in The Greenhouse

Jessica Carroll Smith shares her experiences as a Greenhouse member.

After the isolation of the COVID pandemic, and now running her own business, Jessica Carroll Smith has found The Greenhouse to be a nurturing community for like-minded Christian women seeking to utilise their gifts for God in their respective contexts.

“It's been really confidence-giving for Christian women, saying, ‘You can be your distinctively you-shaped version of you as you serve Jesus,' and just celebrating what women are doing,” Jess explains.

Married to Byron and blessed with two children, a 13-year-old and a 10-year-old, Jess took her freelance work full-time two years ago. Her work days involve a unique combination of project management support for individuals pursuing endeavours such as writing books or starting businesses. She also undertakes a variety of social research and supports Bible translation organisations in their work.

Jess has experienced a tangible sense of connection through The Greenhouse—a connection that transcends the isolation she feels in other aspects of her life. Post-COVID, with her work meetings often taking place online, and being a mum to slightly older kids, she feels much less embedded in her local community than she did in the past.

"I think this is one of the reasons why The Greenhouse has been good for me,” Jess says, "because it’s giving me a community of women to belong to, an anchor, a home.”

“I think there are a lot of things in my life right now that mean that my connections are looser. So this initiative has come along at a really good time for me,” Jess explains.

Dr Katrina Clifford, Program Director of The Greenhouse, agrees. “As we’ve spoken with many Christian women, we’ve heard over and over again of the need for greater peer support, for more relationships of mutual encouragement, particularly in parts of their lives such as their work,” she says.

Jess admits that she didn’t realise she was missing something until she found it through The Greenhouse. But when she joined, she says, “I knew I had found an environment or a culture that was really encouraging women to use their gifts,” she shares. “It feels really affirming of the opportunities for women to do all kinds of things as they serve God. I want to use a word like “honouring” of women. It’s something that lifts you up and endorses you in your role and in your task,” she says.

Jess raves about her experience as part of a Greenhouse Guild for working mums. Greenhouse Guilds are small groups of Christian women with something in common—they work in the same industry, or have similar key relationships, or are passionate about the same issues, or serve in the same ministries at different churches. The online community connection with other women in a similar stage of life has been life-giving for Jess. “It’s been really nice to meet people and have the chance to feel connected and have that sense of belonging, and hear other people in a similar life circumstance asking similar questions,” she explains.

Jess is quick to point out that being part of a Guild is not just “another Christian thing” on top of ministry at church or involvement in a small group. While Jess feels supported by her local church in many ways, there is something precious about her involvement with The Greenhouse being uniquely for her—a space where she is not also juggling the needs of her children. “It’s a gift,” she admits, “particularly in this season of life. Church doesn’t necessarily have the targeted ability to meet you in your space,” she explains. While for Jess in particular it’s the working mum context, there are currently Guilds available for birth workers, play time leaders, regional ministry workers, trauma workers, readers, mentoring and more.

Jess has also cherished the community of the Greenhouse Gatherings. “I love meeting other women who are trying to be thoughtful about their faith and their practices,” she says.

In addition to attending these evening events, Jess was also a speaker at one of the gatherings. She shared insights on goal-setting and project management – her own area of passion and expertise. She appreciated the opportunity to contribute to a broader community of women seeking support, skills, and resources to pursue their projects. The event attracted a diverse range of women with distinct goals, further highlighting the inclusive nature of The Greenhouse and its commitment to encouraging and empowering all Christian women.

Jess (front row, left) at the Greenhouse Gathering she led

“I found it really encouraging just that here were all these women who were excited about serving God in different ways and were wanting skills or resourcing or someone to think with them about how they go out and get their jobs or their projects done,” Jess says.

Down the track, The Greenhouse will offer professional development and training across a range of topics, bringing Christian women together with top quality thinkers, trainers, industry professionals and ministry leaders. Jess is excited to see if there might be opportunities to utilise her experience and partner with The Greenhouse to encourage women in this way.

Even further into the future, Jess looks forward to The Greenhouse being a space available for the next generation of Christian women. As mum to a 13-year-old daughter, Jess is aware of the need for a specific ministry that encourages our girls and teens as they grow to adulthood and blesses them with their unique God-given gifts.

While a traditional greenhouse provides an ideal environment for plants to grow, Jess is a real-life example of the way ADM’s The Greenhouse is releasing and blessing Christian women, enabling them to flourish where God has planted them.