04 November 2026 | Budva, Montenegro [Zhané Simpson and tedNEWS]
Over 150 women pastors and ministry leaders from across the Trans-European Division (TED) gathered in Budva, Montenegro, for the Women Pastors’ Council (WPC). Held from 2 to 4 November 2026, the event centred on the theme “Partners in Mission”.
The women serve as pastors, Bible workers, chaplains, administrators and church leaders across the division, representing 13 of the TED’s 14 unions and attached fields. Female theology students also joined the gathering, offering them an opportunity to connect with women already serving in ministry and experience the sense of community among their future colleagues. For many, it was their first time attending the council.
A council for women in ministry
The WPC is organised every five years by the TED Ministerial Association to support women serving in pastoral and leadership roles across the division.
Pastor Daniel Duda, TED president, said the council was important because a significant percentage of the division’s workers are women. “They have different needs than male pastors,” he said. “We want to support them, inspire them and develop them.”
Reflecting on the theme, Duda explained that “Partners in Mission” means recognising “that each one has something to contribute and that together we are stronger”. He added: “None of us can do it single-handedly.”
Called, gifted and serving
The first morning opened with a devotional message by Pastor Crystal Ward, Associate Ministerial Secretary for the General Conference, titled “Called, Gifted and Serving”. Drawing on Jeremiah 1:5, she reminded delegates that God knew and equipped them before they were born, and that spiritual gifts are given to serve a shared mission.
To illustrate the point, Ward shared her own journey from nearly two decades in banking, including leadership roles at Citibank and JPMorgan, to pastoral ministry. After sensing a call during the pandemic, she studied for a Master of Divinity at Andrews University and became executive pastor of Spencerville Seventh-day Adventist Church in Silver Spring, USA, in 2022. Then, in July 2025, she was elected Associate Ministerial Secretary for the General Conference, becoming the first black woman pastor to serve in the role. “I see it as a privilege. I see it as a great responsibility,” she said. “How I show up will impact those that come behind me,” she reflected.
Holding up each other’s hands
On Tuesday morning, Pastor Audrey Andersson, a General Conference vice-president who previously served in the TED office for 12 years, shared a devotional with attendees. Drawing on Exodus 17, which tells how Aaron and Hur supported Moses by holding up his tired arms during Israel’s battle against the Amalekites, Andersson noted that “Moses’ exhaustion did not mean he had lost his faith or his calling”, and that leaders often “expect more of themselves than God does”.
Reflecting further on the passage, Andersson said God had not called leaders to be strong enough to do everything alone, but to be faithful enough to walk together. She shared how many people had supported her throughout the years, and emphasised that the mission belongs to God. “If we faithfully do our part, we don’t have to stress about the outcome,” she said.
Blessed is she who believes
Pastor Dilys Brooks, who has served as campus chaplain at Loma Linda University in California since 2005, was the keynote speaker. In her first session, “Called: Blessed is she who believes”, Brooks explored the story of Mary and Elizabeth in Luke 1. She highlighted Mary’s willingness to say yes to God’s call and Elizabeth’s role in confirming it. “A call is not confirmed by credentials and positions,” she said, “but by those who witness a person’s ministry.”
In her second session, Brooks followed Mary’s story to the upper room at Pentecost, emphasising that being kept by God does not mean being spared from pain. “The sword may pierce,” she said, “but it does not sever a person from God.” She urged the women to keep God’s word in their hearts before sharing it with others and warned that isolation is a danger for women in ministry.
Workshops on preaching, leadership and calling
Afternoon workshops explored practical aspects of ministry alongside biblical themes. Anne-May Müller, pastor of Vejlefjordkirken and Ministerial Secretary of the Danish Union, led a session on finding one’s own preaching voice, while Crystal Ward explored emotionally healthy leadership.
In “The Call: A Biblical Perspective”, Duda traced how God invites ordinary people into his extraordinary mission, from Adam and Eve to Mary, the disciples and Pentecost. He also explored the implications of this biblical perspective for women serving in pastoral ministry in secular Europe.
New mentoring initiative
The council also marked the launch of a new TED mentoring initiative for women in ministry. Led by the Ministerial Department in collaboration with Family, Children’s, Health and Women’s Ministries, the initiative responds to requests raised by women at the previous council.
It will pair women who are new to pastoral ministry or leadership with more experienced colleagues willing to listen, share and encourage. Delegates were invited to register as mentors or mentees, and a mentor training event is planned for June 2027.
Introducing the initiative, Karen Holford, TED Family Ministries director, and Sylvia Cariotoglou, TED director for Adventist Mission, Evangelism and Women’s Ministries, emphasised that “no woman beginning her journey in ministry should feel she has to walk it alone”.
The council also introduced a new collaboration with Pyson, an online Christian mental health platform run by Kettering Health. Through this partnership, attendees will be able to access free support from 2027.
One Spirit, one mission
The WPC concluded on Wednesday morning with two messages, one by Crystal Ward and the other by Daniel Duda.
Ward’s devotional, titled “One Spirit, One Mission: United in Christ, Empowered to Serve”, explored four sayings from her late grandmother: “trust God, stick together, help others, and pray for the Holy Spirit”. Focusing on the final piece of advice, Ward read from Luke 11 and reflected on Jesus’ teaching about asking for the Holy Spirit. She reminded delegates that the strategies and skills they had learned were valuable, but “it is the Holy Spirit who guides leaders and empowers them for mission”.
Daniel Duda closed the council with a reflection on Luke 11:27–28. When a woman said to Jesus, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are the breasts that nursed You!”, He responded unusually. According to Duda, Jesus used the opportunity to show that a woman’s value is not determined by social expectations (at the time, these included being married and having children) but by hearing God’s voice and following Him.
Women “don’t need to prove their value to anyone,” Duda said, explaining that in God’s kingdom, worth is not earned through achievements; it is intrinsic and unchangeable.
“You may be too late to be the mother of Jesus, but you are not too late to participate in the mission of Jesus!” Duda said. “You are invited to become the faithful person God is shaping you to be, through the gifts He has entrusted to you and the opportunities He places before you. Imagine if every woman here returned home knowing that her significance is not determined by her position, her performance, or somebody else’s recognition, but by the extraordinary God who has called her to follow Him.”
Photos: Anja Cikač / AME (CC BY 4.0).
