How to Become the BEST Ministry Assistant

Seven years ago at age 22, Sarah Piercy became Carey Nieuwhof’s executive assistant. In this candid and honest interview, Sarah shared how she learned not only to be an exceptional executive assistant (in Carey’s view), but how she did it in an ever-growing church and exploding wider ministry with no previous training.

Three Things You Can Do Right Away

Sarah evolved in her role as Carey’s assistant through time, patience and consideration. Through trial and error and a generous learning curve, Carey and Sarah demonstrated grace through the process to ensure a copacetic routine. Here’s what Sarah says will help other executive assistants be the most effective in their roles:

1. Become a student of yourself. Sarah admits that she’s not naturally organized, but it’s a skill she developed over time because she had the patience and discipline to teach herself. When she missed something, she had to learn from every opportunity when that happened. Additionally, she taught herself to learn to over-communicate, improvise when necessary and say no when it is appropriate.
2. Find your voice. Given Sarah’s personality to be a natural harmonizer, she says she didn’t have a lot of confidence in her opinion. She was reserved to speak up, even when her ideas or concerns were warranted. After leaning into Carey for support, he gave her permission to speak into things and encouraged her perspective.
3. Become a student of your boss. It was important for Sarah to understand how Carey worked so she could maximize his capacity as a leader. She wanted to ensure Carey had margin to maintain priorities and had a buffer to nurture relationships, so she made it a priority to get acquainted with his personality, his habits and his schedule so she could get a bigger picture of how he operated on multiple levels.