As a Chief Financial Officer and CPA by trade, Joy Dahl provided CFO services to startup and high growth companies. However, in 2014, she transitioned out of her consulting practice to become a full-time student at DTS.
God had called her to be better equipped to handle His Word with care, but the new season began without many details of the end game. Perhaps because the Lord knew her propensity to run down the field ahead of His plays, Jesus only shared one step at a time. However, halfway through her master’s program, Joy encountered the ‘theology of work’ and her whole trajectory changed.
In 2017, Joy embarked on the next phase of seminary training through doctoral studies focused on the integration of faith and work. She never imagined that within three years she would have the opportunity to lead Polished Network. Every aspect of this organization seemed to align with her DNA. Polished embodied a purpose-driven mission: They gathered women to navigate the workplace and explore faith together in authentic community.
Polished served as a bridge between the church and the workplace in cross-cultural missions. Through national and local chapters, Polished engaged and equipped working women to live out their faith through the whole of life, including work. They introduced women to Jesus and walked the journey of life together as sisters in Christ and empowered women with the Gospel message and biblical truths. They prepared women in positions of influence to impact and lead organizations forward with a Christ-focused perspective, connecting women with the body of Christ through churches in their community.
Over the last few years as Joy continued mining the truths of theology of work, God increasingly impressed on her heart that there are no faith and work conferences specifically for women. In the United States, 45 million working women identify as Christian, yet less than 30% actively connect in faith community. As she began praying through planning a conference, Joy felt God say: This is the year. On October 8, 2021, Polished Network will launch the BOLDLY Conference.
Joy’s time at DTS prepared her to lead this outreach initiative to working women through Polished and through BOLDLY. She is grateful for the amazing connections with colleagues and friends that she made during her DTS journey. With great expectation, Joy stands ready to invite working women to join Christ’s mission in the world.