ADM Fellowships
ENGAGING OUR WORLD WITH THE GOSPEL
ADM Fellowships raise up Christian women to engage a sceptical and hurting world with the good news of Jesus.
Since appointing our first cohort of ADM Fellows in 2016, the program has provided financial and institutional support for Christian women to complete a major project and pursue avenues for public gospel witness.
Applications for 2026 are now closed. Register below to be notified when 2027 applications open.
Fellows in the Media
Fellowship News
Impact
From our Fellows
“The Fellowship was a game-changer for me. It put around me the resources I needed to do my best work, to finish the book, and I think, to grow as a person who has something to say.”
Dr Meredith Lake
2017 ADM Senior Research Fellow
“Bringing Forth Life would not have come into existence without Anglican Deaconess Ministries and their fellowships program. Alongside the practical support and community they provided, having someone external believe in my idea was what really made the book happen.”
Jodie McIver
2021 ADM Fellow
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to have been an ADM Senior Research Fellow. My ministry to both single Christians themselves, and the wider Christian community on this topic is all the richer for it. I’d love to see the Fellowships Program continue to be a blessing to other Christian women involved in various forms of vocational, word-based ministry and theological research.”
Rev. Dr Dani Treweek
2019 ADM Senior Research Fellow
“The ADM Fellowship came at a perfect time in order to propel and equip me to meet the challenges of providing an Asian Australian voice that points to Jesus. Now I feel like I’m getting a seat at the table, and gatekeepers are open to hearing that my work could help them. I’m so thankful for where God has put me now, and ADM played an instrumental role in getting me there.”
Grace Lung 2019
ADM Summer Fellow
Books by ADM Fellows
Imperfect Reflections: The Art of Christian Journaling
2018 Senior Research Fellow Rev. Dr Kirsten Birkett, Christian Focus Publications
Shakespeare, the Reformation and the Interpreting Self
2019 Senior Research Fellow Dr Roberta Kwan, Edinburgh University Press
10 Dead Gals You Should Know: Leaving an Enduring Legacy
2023 Senior Fellow Rachel Ciano (with Ian J Maddock), Christian Focus Publications
Bringing Forth Life: God’s Purposes in Pregnancy and Birth
2021 Fellow Jodie McIver, Youthworks Media
The Meaning of Singleness: Retrieving an Eschatological Vision for the Contemporary Church
2019 Senior Research Fellow Rev. Dr Dani Treweek, InterVarsity Press
2017 ADM Senior Research Fellow, Dr Meredith Lake, New South Books
The Spiritual Formation of Evelyn Underhill
2020 ADM Senior Research Fellow Robyn Wrigley-Carr, SPCK Publishing
2020 ADM Summer Fellow Susy Lee, 598press
I am a huge fan of the ADM Fellowships program. It is the most generous and important Christian fellowship program in Australia. The diversity of fellows and topics is inspiring, yet the goal remains the same—to make the wisdom of Christ public in our questioning world.
Rev. Dr John Dickson
ADM Fellowships Program Ambassador
Jean Kvamme Distinguished Chair at Wheaton College, Illinois, where he is also Distinguished Scholar in Public Christianity
The ADM Fellowships Program is an innovative program which seeks to empower, equip and encourage amazing Christian women to contribute to the common good in the ways only they can. I love seeing these women better understand the gift they are to the church and the world, and grow in their unique skills and gifts.
Elizabeth Oldfield
Podcaster, Author and former director Theos
ADM Fellowships are a marvellous opportunity to advance the name of Jesus through the creative and industrious work of the Fellows. The Fellowships have already had a huge impact in unleashing women with extraordinary ideas and gifts.
Rev. Dr Michael P Jensen
Rector of St Mark’s Anglican Church, Darling Point
Through its Fellowships Program, ADM is a national leader in inspiring and resourcing women to attempt great things in dependence upon God, for the good of the church, and of the society we are called to love.
Rev. Michael Paget
Rector of St Barnabas Anglican Church, Broadway
It’s always hard – perhaps particularly for women - to create the conditions in which to research, think and write – whether that’s done inside the university or, as in my case, outside it. Much of this book was written, hotdesking around public libraries, between the preschool drop off and pick up times. After two and a half years of that, I received a generous part-time Fellowship from Anglican Deaconess Ministries, a Christian foundation for women. An absolutely critical intervention, that enabled me to keep going and finish the book, and to do my best writing. So thank you to all at ADM.
Dr Meredith Lake
2017 ADM Senior Research Fellow
Quote taken from her thank you speech at the 2019 NSW Premier’s History Awards
where her book ‘The Bible in Australia: A Cultural History’ won the prestigious Australian History Prize.
I love and support the work of ADM and am particularly thankful for the Fellowships Program. Its very existence affirms the contribution of women in many spheres and shows them doing it with excellence and intelligence. In my pastoral work, I want to encourage women to grow in their faith and talents and to have the opportunity to live purposefully for Christ. This program enables and encourages a seat at the table.
Vanessa Hughes
Assistant Pastor at St Andrew's Anglican Church, Roseville
There’s nowhere else like this organisation, as far as I’m aware, anywhere in the world.
Professor Alison Milbank
Department of Theology and Religious Studies
University of Nottingham and Canon Theologian, Southwell Minster
Spending a week with Anglican Deaconess Ministries was one of the highlights of my whole career. What ADM is doing to empower Christian women for public vocation is unparalleled—truly, I can’t think of another organisation like it.
Katelyn Beaty
ADM Visiting Fellow
Writer, speaker and editor. Acquisitions Editor, Brazos Press.
2025 ADM Fellows
Dr Leisa Aitken
ADM Senior Fellow
Fellowship project: Rediscovering hope
Dr Leisa Aitken is a clinical psychologist who has been counselling for nearly 30 years. She recently completed a PhD through the University of Sydney on ‘The Psychology of Hope’, and, alongside clinical practice, Leisa regularly speaks at schools, churches and conferences on this topic. She is a member of the Clinical College of the Australian Psychological Society.
Leisa will use her ADM Fellowship to write a book exploring how believers can nurture their experience of hope. Her book will look at what the Bible says about hope as well as how theologians and philosophers have reflected on hope throughout history. Engaging with psychological and neuroscience research along with her clinical experience, Leisa will explore how hope generally, and hope in Christ specifically, can best be understood and nurtured.
“As we look back to Jesus’ death and resurrection, we find the grounds for our hope, and this propels us forward to the wonderful eschatological plans of God for the New creation. This vision of hope in both God’s deeds from the past and promises for our future inevitably impacts our present experience and motivates us to participate with Him in the task of blessing the world—an inherently hopeful activity! I anticipate that by helping believers develop an excitement about God’s presence in their future, it enables them to be more confident now to share and live out the hope-filled message of Jesus to a world often in despair.”
Jeri Jones Sparks
ADM Senior Fellow
Fellowship project: Good News Series
There are currently no video evangelism tools for South Asians. Good News Series takes 15 years of learnings from evangelist, Joseph Jones, and sharpens it into an 8 week evangelistic course with gospel clarity, cultural resonance and in heart language. The pilot launch in Tamil is halfway through production and in plans to distribute it in Easter 2025. Joseph will host a coaching cohort for the pilot so that we can train local church leaders and learn from them.
Delivering The Good News Series pilot production in Tamil, incorporating learnings and developing the next production in another South Asian Heart language. During the distribution phase, I will take on public engagement opportunities i.e. articles and podcasts.
For more, visit www.goodnewsseries.org (see video at the bottom of home page)
“I have a vision to see the kind of cultural humility and honour that is required of Christ’s unified and diverse body, that will enable us to effectively engage the South Asian community with the good news of Jesus. Ultimately, I want to see more and more positions of meaningful leadership held by key South Asian Christians to reach the South Asian community, the tables where decisions are made and the platforms where church culture is shaped being increasingly South Asian.”
Danielle Terceiro
ADM Fellow
Fellowship project: The holy fool in the 21st century
Danielle Terceiro is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity. She has just completed a PhD by publication in the area of Literature and Theology on "Teaching children to read the world: Retelling stories in picture books, graphic novels and animations" at Alphacrucis University College.
Danielle will use her ADM Fellowship to write a scholarly yet accessible book on ‘The holy fool in the 21st century’, examining contemporary novels, movies and multimodal texts and considering why the Judeo-Christian idea of the ‘holy fool’ is still a compelling one, even for religious sceptics. She hopes to help readers grapple with the continuing cultural power of this Judeo-Christian trope, and its continuing appeal to secular readers as a way of making sense of the world.
“I believe that Jesus is the ‘first among fools’ and that the wisdom of the cross is the balm for our hurting age. Jesus lived as a holy fool, drawing the ire of the leaders around him. He deliberately feasted with the ‘sinners’ in his society. And of course, Christians understand that the whole trajectory of Jesus’ life is a ‘foolish’ one: a life lived toward crucifixion, outside the camp of respectability.”
Nicky Fortescue
ADM Senior Fellow
Fellowship project: Understanding our creatureliness as a way to facilitate maturity, godliness and love
Nicky is a Family Systems coach and qualified Pastoral Supervisor who is actively engaged in learning, teaching, coaching, and applying Bowen Family Systems Theory in various contexts. Nicky is on the Faculty of the Family Systems Institute, specialising in Systems in Ministry, and holds a Graduate Certificate in Professional (Pastoral) Supervision and a Certificate in Family Systems Theory and Practice.
Nicky will use her ADM Fellowship to work on a project that takes Family Systems Theory and applies it to Christian leadership and church communities. Nicky believes the theory can help Christians better navigate the challenges of being human in relationships, providing time and space for wiser choices and greater compassion, grace and forgiveness in our interactions.
“When God created humans, he placed us in families. As most will attest, being in a family presents us with challenges alongside blessings, profoundly shaping the way we engage in relationships as adults. Interestingly, as creatures, the relationship challenges we face are quite predictable. While it is natural to focus on the faults of others, real growth comes from recognising and managing our own reactions, seeking to take responsibility for ourselves while staying lovingly connected to others. By developing emotional maturity, individuals can gradually bring greater love, grace, and maturity to their relationships and, in turn, positively influence the broader systems they are part of.”
Fellows Alumnae
About the ADM Fellowship Program
ADM Fellowships raise up Christian women to engage a sceptical and hurting world with the good news of Jesus, as they serve Christ in the church, the community, and the world.
ADM established its Fellowships Program in 2016 and appointed its first cohort of ADM Fellows in 2017. ADM has so far seen 23 Fellows through its year-long program, with 5 current 2023 Fellows.
The Objectives of the ADM Fellowships Program are to:
Enable the completion of high-quality major projects by Christian women that will give them credibility in their field and set them up for further opportunities to serve Christ and his Church, particularly in engaging a sceptical and hurting world with the good news of Jesus;
Train and equip Christian women to share their contributions with wider public audiences, through providing integrated theological and professional development in a supportive Christian environment;
Progress Christian women at the early-mid vocational stage towards sustainable pathways to continue their work, and promote the creation of more pathways for Christian women and girls to serve Christ in the church, the community and the world.
Impact so far
ADM began offering its Fellowships and Senior Fellowships in 2017.
To date, ADM has hosted eight year-long cohorts of Fellows (2017-2024), with the ninth cohort (2025) having begun on 1 February.
Each cohort has had 4-5 Fellows, totalling 35 Fellows to date. (Note, however, that many of our year-long Fellows took up ‘part-time’ Fellowships of 2, 3 or 4 days per week).
ADM has also hosted three cohorts of Summer Fellows (2018, 2019 and 2020), with a total of 11 Summer Fellows.
ADM offers an International Visiting Fellowship each year by invitation, often in connection with the Annual Public Lecture or other major events.
Supporting Christian Women
The Fellowships Program reflects ADM’s commitment to see women serve Christ and his Church by supporting them to undertake high-quality major projects which give them credibility in their area and open up further opportunities for them to contribute to serving God’s people and engaging a sceptical and hurting world with the good news of Jesus.
At present, many Christian women who have a desire to make a significant contribution to the Church and its witness have limited access to support and funding that would allow them the time, space and training to do this. As a result, Christian women at the early-mid career stage can end up needing to leave these projects aside for financial, family and other reasons. Sadly, this can mean the Church too often misses out on the particular contributions women might make to its ministry and mission.
The ADM Fellowships Program was developed to address this need and to expand the capacity of Christian women to serve Christ in the church, the community and the world. In creating the program, we drew on best-practice models of early-mid career Fellowships, which are used extensively in a wide variety of contexts from universities and theological colleges through to government, philanthropic foundations and even banks.