We are honored and excited to announce Steve Hurry as the new Operations Director at ServLife International.
When we set out to hire an Operations Director, Steve was at the top of our list. Having already worked for ServLife International over a decade ago, and having run a ministry overseas recently, Steve was an obvious choice. His experience with international leadership, overseeing staff, creating systems and processes, combined with his passion to “equip God’s people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ” on a global scale make him an ideal candidate.
Get to know Steve more through the Q&A below and video.
How did you hear about ServLife and what was your early involvement like?
I first heard about ServLife International when the founder spoke at our church in 2005. He shared about the ministry and the emergency relief aid they provided after the 2004 Tsunami in Thailand.
Can you share about your first trip with ServLife? What was that experience like and what did you do?
My first mission trip ever was with ServLife in November 2006. My wife Bridget, and I traveled to Nepal to attend and serve at the annual pastor’s conference. While we were there, my wife used her expertise as a doctor who has traveled to 20+ countries doing medical missions to conduct a medical clinic for the pastors. That trip was life-changing in its impact on my walk with Christ. I was relatively young in my faith and was able to see the intersection of my love of travel and serving Jesus. My Christian worldview was challenged by experiencing the church through a different cultural perspective and lens which shifted my paradigm.
This trip was my on-ramp to working in vocational ministry. After this trip, I was approached by ServLife to their Operations Manager and served on staff with ServLife from 2007-2010. Now I’ve spent the last 15+ years working in the missions world. I’ve served on the staff of a church, worked overseas with two different missions organizations in Uganda, and have become familiar with all aspects of sending and receiving staff and working alongside nationals on the ground.
How did working for ServLife and going on those trips contribute to shaping your understanding of global missions?
Those experiences fueled my love for missions and have directed my career path for over 15 years. It shaped my understanding of global missions to understand the importance of entering each situation by continually being a learner. Sometimes what we may think here in the West will help the global Church could actually harm or hinder its growth. It has also taught me how important it is to enter into service with the posture that God is moving and already doing His thing in the places we are called to. We need to be obedient and faithfully walk with God by showing up to be His hands and feet. We then get to come alongside, pray, listen, be humbled, be quick to listen and understand and slow to move while following God’s direction.
What led you and your wife to decide to move overseas to do global missions?
During a Church small group retreat in 2009 the seeds were initially planted and we started pursuing moving overseas. The theme of that retreat was to do activities to help each other discern God’s calling on our lives. Through that time, we both heard that we were supposed to pursue beyond doing short-term missions and consider moving overseas and doing missions in a long-term full-time capacity. During that discernment process, we heard Uganda and following that confirmation, spent the next 3 years re-orienting our lives and preparing for overseas service.
What was it like living in Uganda and what kind of work did you get to do?
Living and serving in Uganda was an adventure for sure and forever life-changing. The people of Uganda are some of the most beautiful and amazing people on the planet and it really was a privilege to serve there. Ravaged by over 20 years of civil war and horrible atrocities being done to the people, we were able to enter in the wake of all that and really make an impact in the two organizations we served with. My background is in Information Technology and administration and my wife being a physician, was the doctor to over a million people in the region. I worked as an operations manager and an in-country director and I describe my experiences as basically taking every job and skill I acquired and wrapping it all into one job. We worked with 2 different holistic ministries that did orphan care, education, medical care, vocational skills development, church planting, and outreach.
How did those experiences shape your leadership and character?
At the core, my faith, trust, and relationship with God really grew. Daily, multiple times daily I would find myself in situations where I could only walk forward in faith and God had to show up to make it through. He demonstrated that time and again. These experiences humbled and helped me become more assertive, further developing my servant leadership skills.
Why are you returning to the ServLife staff now and what are you excited about going into the future?
My wife and I have always said that God has called each of us to our roles for such a time as this. When an opportunity to return to where my missions and ministry career was launched became available, I was excited to come back. I’m now returning to ServLife with 12 years of wisdom and experience working with both churches and missions organizations nationally and abroad. It is with joy that I get to return to ServLife and use the wisdom and gifts gained for the greater good.
What is your personal mission and how do you see it integrating with your role at ServLife?
Part of my personal mission statement since I first developed it back in 2010 is rooted in Ephesians 4. This passage talks about equipping God’s people for works of service so the body of Christ may be built up. During the interview process for the Operations Director role I am in now, I found out ServLife’s missions statement is now rooted in that exact passage. It was really confirming and refreshing for me to hear that. My heart is here now and was here when I first joined the staff in 2007 so it feels like a full circle journey that led me back here. Now, I feel like I have more to bring to the organization to be even more impactful and effective with my service. God has led me here and has called me to give back from what I have been given and to serve here, for such a time as this.
I’m excited to be working back at ServLife, and it’s full circle. Getting to come back here where my ministry career began. I feel like working overseas, I have a lot of wisdom and experiences that I gleaned from that I’ll be able to bring back here and be even more effective and impactful as I combine my passion with the mission of ServLife.
We’re so excited to have Steve back on staff and to see him grow into the role of Operations Director. He brings with him experience and expertise that is invaluable to the growth of ServLife International and the body of Christ. Welcome to the team, Steve!