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As An Example…
"For Such a Time as This"
Joyce Godwin, Royal Treasure Board Member, and so much more...
She’s the ultimate professional woman—organized and focused.
Structured, but free. Structured to get things done that must be done, and then intentionally free to do what
comes along.
An encourager and mentor.
Centered in Christ.
By nature diligent and organized, Joyce has worked all her life, earning money for her education and to help
her family. She earned a degree in government at Florida State University and then went on to a masters in political science and public administration at George Washington University in
Washington D.C. Along the way she gathered a world of experience—especially in areas that would later become very useful to her, but she was not aware at the time that God was guiding her
along.
Not ambitious—she didn’t set out to achieve special honors and "firsts," but nevertheless was the first woman to become student body vice president at Florida State
and the first woman to head the chamber of commerce and the United Way fund drive in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She has gone on to serve as the first female chairman of a number of major
non-profit organizations including the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), a position currently held. Joyce does not grasp these as trophies, but sees them as an
outworking of God’s leading her through preparation, waiting and then nudging her when the time is right.
A good case in point was her acceptance of the position of director of
education with Presbyterian Healthcare Services in Albuquerque in 1973. In order to get a feel for what was needed by employees, Joyce interviewed a number of them. One of these was Marion
Kellog Van Devanter, whose work and association with the organization stretched back nearly 50 years. When they met, "Mrs. Van," as she was affectionately known, said "You’re
finally here. I’ve been praying about you coming." Mrs. Van then began to mentor and model the Christian life to Joyce, who was fairly new in her faith. Invaluable were the lessons in
how to incorporate faith into the workplace. Eventually Joyce became the Chief Administrative Officer at PHC and in 1993 was in charge of restructuring and downsizing the organization. As she
met, prayed with and counseled employees, she became excited about a;; the opportunities available to them. That, in turn, led her to thinking of taking early retirement herself. and a move
into whatever God had in store for her.
Faith became especially precious to her during a time of great difficulty in 1989. As a new board member of Public Service Company of New
Mexico, a $6.5 billion energy services firm, she learned that several class action suits had been filed against the company, naming each person on the board of directors except her, since she
was not there at the time of the alleged wrong-doing. Soon she was the only board member of a special litigation committee charged with investigating all the other members of the board. The
investigation eventually took three years with legal costs of $23 million and frequent publicity. Joyce again felt that God had prepared and placed her there to do the job and she relied
daily on His Word, placing special verses right on her calendar with her appointments. She also enlisted prayer warriors to intercede for her regularly. "That was wonderfully reassuring
to me," she says. "I could go into those interview sessions with confidence because people were supporting me by praying for me." The outcome of the investigation led to a
completely new board of directors with one exception: the woman who had walked through it all with her hand in the hand of her Lord.
Early retirement has allowed Joyce to step up her
board service. She currently serves on nine boards, including several non-profits. She especially enjoys traveling with her husband Earl, a semi-retired anesthesiologist. They enjoy both
vacation trips and visits to mission hospitals where Earl teaches anesthesia to local staff members. On these trips Joyce works wherever needed, whether it is clerical work, advising in
organizational concerns or encouraging the believers she finds there. As always, she is looking ahead to whatever God has for her to do next. Joyce will be speaking at the next symposium on
"So You're Thinking of Becoming a Board Member?"
Suggested reading
Women, Faith, and Work
How ten successful professionals blend belief and work.
by Lois Flowers, Word Publishing
Did You Know?...
As a citizen of the United States of
America, you live in the wealthiest country in the world.
The wealthiest 5% of Americans have
• an annual household income of $127,000 or more
or
• a household net worth of $897,000.
The wealthiest 1% of Americans have
• an annual household income of $350,000 or more
or
• a household net worth of $3,802,950
The Global per capita income is $4,840
The median annual household income in America is $33,000.
There is approximately $500 billion in annual disposable income
available in the evangelical community.
How Are You Investing Your Time, Talent and Treasure?
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