Kylie Butler knows the weight of leadership. She has spent decades walking alongside Christian leaders, listening, challenging, coaching, praying, and cheering them on. But long before she became the CEO of Arrow Leadership Australia, Kylie sat in a very different seat: as a participant in the Arrow Leadership Program herself.
Leading from the inside out
“It really was two of the most formative years of my leadership and faith journey,” Kylie says. “And I’ve said that long before I was CEO. Even before I was a trainer or staff member. It changed me.”
Before all that, Kylie was building a career in banking and finance. But a deeper calling began to stir, one that would eventually lead her into ministry, and later, into Arrow’s orbit.
She first heard about Arrow through Julian Dunham, a friend and mentor who had been involved with the program, and through conversations with her husband Adam who had also done Arrow and saw how Arrow might give her the kind of input and investment she was regularly offering others in her role as the Youth & Young Adults Pastor at New Peninsula Baptist Church.
“Back then, I was pouring myself out for young leaders, but not always taking the time to reflect on my own growth,” Kylie shares. “Arrow offered a space to do that.”
During her Arrow years, change came quietly, then all at once. In the final residential, which focused on mission and outward-looking leadership, Kylie found herself without a role; she had just finished up after nearly ten years in church ministry. It had been a painful decision, full of uncertainty.
“I remember sitting in that room thinking, ‘Have I lost my calling?’ It felt like the ground had shifted.”
But through the process, through mentors, conversations, leadership partners, and quiet moments with God, something deeper began to settle.
“I realised I’d confused my calling with my assignment,” Kylie says. “I thought because my role had ended, maybe my purpose had too. But Arrow helped me untangle that. My calling hadn’t changed. I’ve always been about helping Christian leaders take the next step. That was still true.”
That insight was more than comforting, it was foundational. “Arrow taught me what it means to lead out of being, not doing,” she reflects. “It reshaped how I lead, how I rest, how I listen to God. That’s shaped everything since.”
Developing lifelong rhythms
As an Enneagram 3 and an achiever-maximizer by temperament, Kylie is the kind of leader who can run fast and hard for a long time. But Arrow slowed her down, in the best way.
“I started building new spiritual practices: quarterly prayer days, scheduling solitude, prioritising time with Jesus as part of my leadership, not separate from it. And I still do that today. The cost of that time never outweighs the benefit.”
Arrow also introduced Kylie to the importance of intentional leadership development, whole-life discipleship that forms resilient, emotionally intelligent leaders who lead like Jesus. That experience would become the foundation of her future roles.
Coaching, supervision, and the heart of formation
Over the next decade, Kylie’s influence in Christian leadership deepened through coaching, mentoring, and leadership development. In 2010, she began working with the Christian Coaching Institute (CCI), an organisation dedicated to helping leaders grow through biblically grounded, transformational coaching. Through CCI, Kylie coached hundreds of leaders across denominations and helped shape a growing network of Christian coaches.
In 2020, she joined Arrow as Executive Leaders Program Director, and two years later, CCI merged with Arrow to form Arrow Coaching.
Arrow now offers high-quality coaching to churches, organisations, and individuals, through an expanding team of trained coaches. Coaching also forms a key part of Arrow’s leadership programs, supporting participants in real-time as they grow and lead.
“Every leader needs someone who can help them pause, ask the deeper questions, and reconnect with their purpose,” Kylie says. “Coaching and supervision create the space for that. It’s a gift.”
Kylie’s passion for coaching flows from her own journey. She’s experienced the highs and lows of leadership and knows how easy it is to lose sight of your “why.” For her, coaching isn’t just about skills, it’s about sustainability, identity, and faithful formation over the long haul.
Becoming CEO
With decades of experience in coaching, formation, and program leadership, Kylie brought deep relational trust and strategic insight to the team. Still, she never imagined herself leading the organisation.
In 2024, Kylie stepped into the role of CEO of Arrow Leadership Australia.
At the time, she was already part of the Arrow team, serving as the Program Director for the Executive Leaders Program and Coaching Director. But the idea of leading the whole organisation? That was something she hadn’t anticipated.
“I honestly said no at first,” Kylie admits. “It just didn’t occur to me that I would be the one to step into that role. I wasn’t looking for it, and I wasn’t convinced it was the right fit.”
But as she prayed and discerned with trusted people around her over a 12 month period, she slowly began to sense a different possibility.
“Eventually it became clear that God was inviting me to say yes, not because I had all the answers, but because I knew how to listen, how to lead from the inside out, and how to build teams that multiply impact.”
Today, Kylie leads with a blend of strategic clarity and deep pastoral insight, navigating a rapidly changing culture while staying dedicated to Arrow’s core commitment to leader formation. She has helped shape a refreshed leadership team, deepen Arrow’s coaching ministry, and expand the organisation’s reach, while keeping the focus on shaping and equipping Christian leaders across the Church, schools, not-for-profits, businesses, and broader society.
“I get to lead a team I love, doing work that matters, in a season when the Church desperately needs wise, godly, courageous leaders,” Kylie reflects. “It’s a joy. It’s also weighty. But more than anything, it’s a privilege.”
Looking ahead
As Arrow celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2025, Kylie finds herself both grateful and expectant.
“30 years. 1000 stories. That’s what we’re celebrating. But I also believe we’re just getting started.”
Arrow’s legacy, Kylie believes, is ultimately not about an organisation, but a legacy of leaders shaped by Jesus, for the sake of others.
“That’s what I see when I look back, and what I pray for as we look forward.”
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