Westmont Magazine Joyful Growth
Businesses tend to measure success by growth in both size and revenue. According to this standard, Kathy Greig Rowland ’75, the director of Joy of Living Bible Studies, has certainly been successful. But her greatest achievement may be that financial and corporate growth are the last things she considers in measuring success. Instead she looks at the relationships she has built, the lives Jesus has changed, and the number of people across the world who have come to hear God’s truth.
She follows in the ministry footsteps of her mother, Doris Greig, author and founder of The Joy of Living Bible Studies. Kathy graduated from Westmont and spent five years searching for a career that would enable her to reach out to others and share God’s love. Teaching was her original goal, but when it didn’t work out she took a position as the only employee in the office of Joy of Living. At the time, the ministry offered five courses on the Bible, all in English. Over the next 20 years, the Bible study program has expanded to include courses covering the majority of the Scriptures. As director, Kathy has spearheaded the growth of the program to provide materials for over 800 classes meeting both nationally and internationally. She has implemented the addition of elementary and preschool material and encouraged groups to provide Bible teaching within their children’s programs.
The studies have been translated into Spanish, Swahili, German and Russian, greatly increasing the number of people being nurtured and disciplined in God’s word. She has been a part of developing a lecture tape series on audiocassette, providing students and teachers with the actual lectures given by founder Doris Greig and other experienced teachers. Joy of Living is so well known that they do not do any advertising; all their growth has come by word of mouth.
Just last year, Kathy coordinated the writing of a study, a very different role than she has taken in the past. Her work on the lesson, “Psalms of Faith” was both mind-stretching and challenging. Kathy admits the best part of her job is talking to the people who are teaching classes using the Joy of Living materials and hearing personal stories of how God’s truth is making an impact. She feels so blessed that she is able to make a living watching the Lord move.
Kathy and her husband, Gary, live in Oak View, Calif., with their four daughters, ages 14-21. They are active in their church, Ojai Valley Community. For more information about Joy of Living Classes, visit www.joyofliving.org or contact info@joyofliving.org.