Rick Jones, director of communications in the Office of the General Assembly since 2018, was named Wednesday to lead the unifying communications ministries in OGA and the Presbyterian Mission Agency. The appointment is effective immediately.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the confidence that leadership has given me with this opportunity. I’ve had the joy of working closely with staff in both agencies over the last 10 years and have been amazed at the significant ministry that is taking place at all levels,” Jones said. “I look forward to working closely with some of the most talented communicators I know to share this work to the church and the world.”
In 2014, Jones began his service to the national church as a communications strategist for the PMA’s Compassion, Peace & Justice ministries.
In a joint statement, the Rev. Bronwen Boswell, the Acting Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and Dr. Corey Schlosser-Hall, deputy executive for vision and innovation in the Presbyterian Mission Agency, who are leading the process of unifying the communications ministry team, noted that Jones “brings a remarkable set of experiences into this role. He worked for 10 years as an award-winning broadcast journalist then moved into communications management roles in government, nonprofit and for-profit companies before starting with PMA in 2014.”
“He has such a calming and encouraging mode of engagement while delivering on fast-paced, precision-driven results,” Schlosser-Hall and Boswell said. “He’s led the development of a trustworthy organizational culture where candor and joy thrive together. We are thrilled to support and encourage him in these next steps.”
In October, Boswell joined the Rev. Dr. Diane Givens Moffett, president and executive director of the PMA, and Kathy Lueckert, president of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation, to propose to the Unification Commission that communications ministries in the OGA and PMA unify, and the commission unanimously approved. The two ministries are in the second phase of a three-phase unifying process that includes Review and Reflect, Revise and Re-envision, and Rebuild.
“Rick begins this role at just the right time where the emerging vision, mission and culture of the unifying ministry is taking shape through the Revise and Re-envision phase,” Boswell and Schlosser-Hall said. “The joy of aligning the talented people serving in both ministries into a new ministry will soon begin.” Mid-April is the anticipated date for inaugurating the new ministry and concluding this phase of the unifying process.
“We are grateful to God for aligning this next step for Rick and both communications ministries,” Schlosser-Hall and Boswell said, “and we look hopefully toward what’s to come.”