About Five Smooth Stones
Heather Card
President
Heather Card is passionate about empowering board leaders in churches and Christian ministries to lead with clarity, purpose, and alignment to their mission.
Drawing on over 20 years of board experience, Heather brings a unique combination of theological insight and operational expertise to the table. She has served in various leadership roles, including as a board chair, and has worked alongside boards to integrate biblical theology with sound governance practices. Heather's extensive experience as the former Chief Operating Officer at the Canadian Center for Christian Charities, combined with her background in non-profit finance, provides a deep understanding of both ministry leadership and organizational effectiveness.
Heather holds a Doctorate in Practical Theology and a Master of Theological Studies from McMaster Divinity College, along with a Bachelor of Business Administration from Laurier University. She is also a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA). With a heart for ministry and a focus on mission-driven governance, Heather equips churches and Christian organizations to thrive by empowering leaders to govern effectively.
Why Five Smooth Stones?
At Five Smooth Stones Consulting, we are inspired by the story of David and Goliath. It is a familiar account about a little guy taking down the big guy. David had tremendous faith that God would be with him—against seemingly insurmountable odds. We know the end of the story—David defeated Goliath in an epic battle and Israel was saved from slavery to the Philistines.
But when we look a little closer, there is another important lesson to be learned.
Before David headed out to battle Goliath, King Saul tried to persuade David to use his royal coat of armour, bronze helmet, and sword (1 Sam 17: 38–40). After all, these were probably the best protection available. When David strapped everything on, he soon realized he could barely walk around! This would never do. He would have to fight Goliath in his own way using his familiar slingshot and five smooth stones he collected from a nearby streambed.
In the same way, whenever we are looking to make changes and improvements in our churches or ministries, we need to avoid the temptation to use tools and processes that may not fit our circumstances. It is good to look at what others are doing. It is good to think about what methods we can import from non-profit and business. But we also need to critically evaluate these methods to make sure they align with biblical principles and the culture we are trying to create in our ministries and churches.