Staff Q&A with Lesley Hildreth

Lesley Hildreth is the assistant director of Women’s Life at Southeastern, a mom, a student and much more. She shares about her family, her work at Southeastern and how she prepares women for the mission field. 

Hildreth oversees Connecting Point, a ministry that hosts several events per year for all women connected to Southeastern. She also leads Thrive, a women’s mentorship program, and LEAD, a ministry that provides women speakers for local church events.

Q: Tell us about yourself.

A: I am the assistant director of Women’s Life at Southeastern, and I am also a student pursuing a Master of Arts in Christian Studies. Our family has been in Wake Forest, North Carolina, for eight years. We came here from the mission field so my husband, Scott, could pursue his Ph.D., which he earned last year. He is the director of the Center for Great Commission Studies and has been for seven years. 

Scott and I have been married for 23 years. We have two children, Rachel and Jacob. Rachel is a student at the College of Southeastern, and Jacob works and lives in Alabama. 

Q: When people ask you, “What do you do at Southeastern,” what is your response?

A: I am the assistant director of Women’s Life at Southeastern by title, but I really see my job as helping women grow spiritually and socially and prepare for whatever ministry God’s called them to.

I oversee programs that minister to women, and I am also responsible for our social media and blog.

Q: On what are you currently working? 

A: Currently on campus, I am recruiting more mentors for our Thrive program. We’ve only been in the classroom for two weeks, and I already have requests from 15 students to be mentored this semester. I am finishing up an article for a missiology journal about women making disciples.

Q: What have you been reading recently? 

A: I recently read “The Insanity of Obedience” and “The Insanity of God,” both by Nik Ripken. I also just read “Go Disciple” by Chad Hood, “Love Thy Neighbor” by Alice Crocker and “The Best Yes” by Lisa TerKerst.

Q: When you get home from work, what do you look forward to doing? (What are your other passions?)

A: Life is pretty crazy right now, so I really just love catching up with my family about their day or their week. Now that I’m a student, a good amount of my time after work is spent doing homework, so I do that too. My husband and I are coaches for our mission cohort group at church, and we also lead a small group in our home on Wednesday nights.

Q: Who are your role models? 

A: One of my role models is definitely my mom. She became a Christian when I was in college, and she has always been someone I have looked up to in my life. In general, people who are actively being transformed by the gospel and sharing it are my heroes.

Q: What has God been teaching you lately?

A: God has been showing me, especially through my studies, that I cannot do this all on my own—I must depend on him.

Q: Where are some of your former students?

A: A lot of the people I teach and mentor go on to be missionaries, so here is a partial list of some areas where they currently are: Afghanistan, Turkey, Egypt, Spain, India, Japan, Romania and more.

Q: When a student completes your class, what do you want him or her to walk away with at the end of the semester?

A: In my “Preparing for Missions” course, I obviously want them to leave more prepared for the mission field. More than anything, though, I want them to walk away with a higher regard for their relationship with Jesus.

Q: We always say that every classroom at SEBTS is a Great Commission classroom. What does that look like for your class?

 A: I challenge the women I teach and mentor to be faithful and content where they are right now, because if you aren’t faithful and content in the present, you won’t be in the future.