2 0 2 1 A N N U A L R E P O R T
Mentoring Program
page 3
Discernment Cohort & Book Clubs
page 4
Annual Gathering & Leadership Awards
page 5
BWIM Month of Preaching
page 6
Partnerships
page 7
State of Women in Baptist Life & Ministry Search Resources
page 8
Financial Report
page 9
Donor Appreciation
page 10
Leadership Team & Staff
page 11
Baptist Women in Ministry is honored to continue working toward the vision of every Baptist woman being able to fully live out her God-given calling, and every Baptist congregation being a place where that can happen.
As a part of our BWIM donor community, in 2021 you were able to encourage and connect women through BWIM's Mentoring Program, Discernment Cohort, Book Clubs, Annual Gathering, and our Leadership Awards. Further, you advocated for women in ministry through BWIM's Month of Preaching, our partnerships, ministry search resources, and the beginning research for a 2021 State of Women in Baptist Life Report.
Though much of BWIM's work happens behind the scenes, we are pleased to be able to share some highlights of our 2021 work with you in this report.
We are profoundly grateful for your commitment to affirming and elevating women in ministry and leadership among Baptists.
Baptist Women in Ministry will be a catalyst in Baptist life, drawing together women and men, in partnership with God, to illuminate, advocate, and nurture the gifts and graces of women.
The first cohort of BWIM's expanded Mentoring Program closed their two-year journey at the end of 2021. Starting just several weeks before the beginning of the pandemic, these groups formed bonds of growing together during a difficult season of ministry. Unfortunately, we were unable to gather for their closing retreat due to surges in the Covid pandemic, but we are finding other ways for them to close their time of development in the program.
We opened the second cohort (2021-23) in July 2021 with a retreat at the Sacred Heart Monastery in Cullman, Alabama. Five new groups met and spent time getting to know each other as they began their two years of ministry growth together.
Mentors for the 2021-23 cohort include Linda Bryan (Garner, NC), Bethany Rivera Molinar (El Paso, TX), Katrina Stipe Brooks (Lynchburg, VA), Sarah Shelton (Birmingham, AL), and Carrie Veal (Charlotte, NC).
the numbers
20 participants
5 mentors
6 Baptist denominations represented
10 states represented
3 pastors
12 associate pastors/staff ministers
2 chaplains
2 non-profit leaders
1 outside-of-the-box minister
"I feel stronger and more confident as a pastor because of what I have shared with our mentor and my peers."
"I have more confidence in my skills and abilities as a minister than I did two years ago."BWIM's Mentoring program is funded in part by a Thriving in Ministry Grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc.
Baptist Women in Ministry is committed to nurturing college and seminary women who are in the early stages of discerning a call toward ministry. In previous years, we have hosted Discernment Retreats utilizing Lauren Brewer Bass's book, Five Hundred Miles (Smyth & Helwys, 2015) as a guide.
Because gathering for an inperson retreat was not possible in Spring 2021, we transformed the content of the retreat into a five session virtual cohort which included large group gatherings and small group discussions with a mentor. 25 women from across the the country participated, and we awarded a $200 scholarship to each woman who completed the cohort.
Book clubs are virtual opportunities for women and men to gather and learn about topics affecting and related to women in ministry. BWIM hosted two book clubs in 2021 with over 40 women and men participating in at least one gathering.
A meeting of the book club with special guest, Rev. Dr. Yolanda Pierce, author of In My Grandmother's House (Broadleaf, 2021) pictured below.
“Thanks for offering the book club! It was wonderful to be with folks who share similar stories and see the need to work for the change that must come."
After a year off in 2020, BWIM's Annual Gathering returned in 2021, albeit virtually. Over 250 people registered for the virtual event, with many more watching via Facebook or YouTube.
Highlights of the Annual Gathering included a powerful spoken word piece written and performed by Sharlene Alice Provilus (pictured right), and 12 Zoom watch parties hosted by BWIM State Leadership, Leadership Team members, and partners.
Nataly Mora (top left), Truett Seminary
Addie Davis Award for Outstanding Pastoral Leadership
Brittany Darst Hermsen-Edwards (top right), Duke Divinity School
Addie Davis Award for Excellence in Preaching
Dorisanne Cooper (bottom left), Watts Street Baptist Church, Durham, NC Frankie Huff Granger Distinguished Mentor Award
Pintlala Baptist Church, Hope Hull, AL Church of Excellence Award
(Jerrie and Gary Burton, pastor, bottom right)
In 2019, BWIM's Leadership Team redreamed and renamed its Month of Preaching emphasis to honor, in additional to Martha Stearns Marshall, three exceptional women preachers who reflect the diversity of Baptists--Ella Pearson Mitchell, Edna Lee de Gutierrez, and Helen Barrett Montgomery
BWIM Month of Preaching 2021 continued this expansion by reaching more Baptist congregations of color than ever before.
The 2021 emphasis also featured new resources in the form of videos which could be played during worship services.
165 10
churches participated churches had women preachers every Sunday in February
Partnerships are essential to BWIM being able to advocate for women in ministry among Baptists. We continue to grow our partnerships with Baptist denominational groups, seminaries, and organizations. We are especially grateful for our close partnership with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship which provides BWIM annual funding, as well as opportunities for training, connecting, and expanded advocacy.
A prime example of the good our partnerships can create is Respite for Revs. BWIM worked with four partner organizations to create this initiative which encourages churches to give clergy
an extra week of vacation due to the taxing demands of the pandemic. In exchange, a representative from one of the partner organizations will preach at no cost to the church.
Also, filming for the third in a documentary series about Baptist women pastors took place in fall 2021. These documentaries are made possible by our partnership with Good Faith Media.
Other key partnerships for us are the various State BWIM groups. These groups are coordinated independently, but we work collaboratively toward the same goals.
11 State BWIM groups exist:
Alabama
Arkansas
Florida
Georgia
Heartland (KS/MO)
Kentucky
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
BWIM hired Project Manager, Laura Ellis, in fall 2021 to begin researching the 2021 State of Women in Baptist Life Report. The report will include statistics on women pastors, endorsed chaplains, and seminary students, as it has in the past. Also included will be results and analysis from a survey BWIM conducted on the experiences of women in ministry and congregational environments toward women in ministry. We were so pleased to receive 682 responses to the survey. The report, which will reflect statistics from 2021, will be released at the 2022 BWIM Annual Gathering.
BWIM walks alongside women who are engaging ministry search processes. We continue to provide resources to connect women with open positions, and equip them to engage in searches. We also seek to offer training and consultation to congregational search committees as they consider women for ministerial leadership positions.
27 women ministry search candidates assisted
39 positions explored and/or search committees contacted
Angela Lowe, by Molly Marshall
Carol Ann Hoard & Missy Smith, by Amy Jennings
Carolyn Blevins, Ellen Di Giosia & Christine Jones, by Nenette Measels
Carrie Nault, by Becky & Doug Jackson
Cheryl Moore Adamson, by Debbie Dantzler
Cheryl Moore Adamson & Katrina Reaves, by Deborah Haag
Donna Hopkins, by Jody Harrison
Doug & Pat Weaver, by Mandy McMichael
Faith Fitzgerald, by Larry & Gail Dickens
Jane Hull, by Emily Hull McGee
Jessica Asbell Oravec, by Barbara Wood
Joan Clark, by Paula Settle
Julie Pennington-Russell, Mary Alice Birdwhistell & Hannah
Coe, by Mallory Herridge
Lynn Brinkley, by Howard Herring
Lynn Brinkley, by Michael Cogdill
Lynn Brinkley, by Larry Dickens
Mandy McMichael, by Diane Dawson
Mary Alice Birdwhistell, by Ken Johnson
Mary Alice Birdwhistell, by Mark & Martha Birdwhistell
Meredith Stone, by Bob & Teresa Ellis
Meredith Stone, by Brent & Nancy Walker
Meredith Stone, by Janie & Rob Sellers
Meredith Stone, by Molly Marshall
Mothers of Talbot Park Baptist Church, by Andrew Brittain
Pam Durso, by Deniese & Jerry Dillon
Pam Durso, by Joe LaGuardia
Pam Durso, by Gala Van Eaton
Sheila Sholes-Ross, Jann Aldredge-Clanton, Kyndall Rothaus &
Paula Dempsey, by Craig Henry
Sue Murphy Jasper, by Kate Hanch
Twyla Hernandez, by Molly Marshall
Addie Davis, by Anthony Mark Roza
Cynthia Gayken Deaton, by Jackie Baugh Moore
Iva Lou Hill Flowers, by Elizabeth Flowers
Minnie Bingaman, by Nancy Brock
Miriam V. Jones, by Priscilla Tunnell
Nancy Hauser by Nancy Stanton McDaniel
Peggy Mitchell Griffin & Ann Mitchell Blackley, by Katherine Griffin
