Why Women in Ministry Month of Advocacy?
March is Baptist Women in Ministry (BWIM) month of Advocacy, a month where congregations are invited to take the next step in affirming, valuing, and elevating women in ministry among Baptists.
You might be wondering why this month is needed, or why it matters. After all, at Benson Baptist we have had women deacons since the 1980s, have ordained multiple women to the gospel ministry, and heard many women preach from our pulpit over the years. Why have a month that we focus on this?
For me personally, it's Kennedy. Even churches that welcome and advocate for women in ministry can't stop recognizing it because the reality is, in the Baptist world, there are many churches that would tell my daughter (and any woman) that there are limits to God's call in their lives. Even among previous staff members of our congregation we've had gifted and called women who grew up in churches where they were told that they were wrong about their call to ministry. I heard many say they "didn't know minister was a vocational possibility for them because their church didn't advocate or they never saw a woman in leadership roles in any church."
According the the BWIM State of Women in Baptist Life (2021), 86% of women have experienced obstacles in relation to their gender. 59% of women in ministry say they have been overlooked and silenced in their ministry settings. 63% of women in ministry have said they have had to fight for a place at the leadership table. More statistics in the report include:
You might be wondering why this month is needed, or why it matters. After all, at Benson Baptist we have had women deacons since the 1980s, have ordained multiple women to the gospel ministry, and heard many women preach from our pulpit over the years. Why have a month that we focus on this?
For me personally, it's Kennedy. Even churches that welcome and advocate for women in ministry can't stop recognizing it because the reality is, in the Baptist world, there are many churches that would tell my daughter (and any woman) that there are limits to God's call in their lives. Even among previous staff members of our congregation we've had gifted and called women who grew up in churches where they were told that they were wrong about their call to ministry. I heard many say they "didn't know minister was a vocational possibility for them because their church didn't advocate or they never saw a woman in leadership roles in any church."
According the the BWIM State of Women in Baptist Life (2021), 86% of women have experienced obstacles in relation to their gender. 59% of women in ministry say they have been overlooked and silenced in their ministry settings. 63% of women in ministry have said they have had to fight for a place at the leadership table. More statistics in the report include:
These reasons, and so many more, are why Baptist congregations must continue to affirm and advocate for women in ministry. It is why we can't stop hearing from the voices of women in all areas of our leadership–– including the pulpit.
This month, I hope you'll take the opportunity to do more than just sit in a pew and hear the great preachers we'll have share with us for BWIM Month of Advocacy. I hope that you'll find ways to go to the next level by sharing your support for women in ministry and by empowering the girls and women in our congregations that there is no limit to their calling from God.
In Christ,
This month, I hope you'll take the opportunity to do more than just sit in a pew and hear the great preachers we'll have share with us for BWIM Month of Advocacy. I hope that you'll find ways to go to the next level by sharing your support for women in ministry and by empowering the girls and women in our congregations that there is no limit to their calling from God.
In Christ,
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