Diana Ventura

Director of Women's Ministry, Diana Ventura HPBC 2021 Annual Meeting Report for November 2020 – November 2021

As I come upon my two years of serving as the Women’s Ministry Director, I am thankful to the Lord for the amazing opportunity He has given to me. I am grateful for the support, encouragement, and prayers I have felt and received from the HPBC staff and Executive Board. Thank you for allowing me to serve alongside you.

In the past two years, I have grown as an individual and as a leader. Coming into this role, Covid hit, which allowed me to assess current ministry while adapting to a new way of doing things. Today I am looking at Women’s Ministry with a new lens. The goal remains the same; however, how I go about ministry is defined by the current needs.

The goal of Women’s Ministry continues to be to build up the ministry to and through women to work together as our churches, ministries, and families serve their communities. Women’s Ministry remains committed to working in unity and partnership with HPBC staff, churches, and the SBC network, all for God’s kingdom.

In addition to seeing women strengthened and empowered in Christ to live out their calling. There are three main areas that I believe make up Women’s Ministry. They are: • Personal spiritual growth • Leadership Development • Discipleship

Within these three areas, there are specific areas of focus. Which are: • Wives in Ministry • WMU • Women’s Ministry Gatherings

Over the past few months, I have been praying and seeking the Lord’s guidance as I continue to move forward. May the Lord guide and direct all that goes into serving women throughout Hawaii, the Pacific, and Asia.

Wives in Ministry (WIM) Wives in Ministry is one of the focus areas for women’s ministry. Wives play an integral part in supporting their husbands in their pastoral calling and their families while supporting the church body. In the past year, our Wives in Ministry team hosted several virtual online gatherings for wives. They have been well attended, reflecting the desire and need for women in ministry to be in community with other like-minded women.

Our May online gathering for wives in ministry was a blessing to all the women. Patti Webb shared a beautiful testimony of God’s grace, mercy, and direction in her life, and it was a message that resonated with all of the wives in ministry.

In June, HPBC sponsored two tables at the SBC Annual Meeting Wives Luncheon. It was a time to be refreshed, enjoy a meal, and be together in person.

Our team continues to reach out to wives regularly as we encourage and pray for one another.

WMU Our focus is on missions training and awareness. We are working directly with the WMU Council and National WMU to continue to press forward while bringing a new awareness to Hawaii. WMU has been developing and updating its strategy and overall focus.

In November, HPBC will be the focus for the WMU Missions Focus. This project was a way to share about our convention, how ministry is done in Hawaii, and how culture plays an integral part in how we serve our community.

Women in Leadership The focus is to support women who serve on staff in their local church. Women throughout HPBC are seeking ways to grow and deepen their relationship with Christ. We want to support them in discipleship, resources, training, and connecting with women is essential.

As we focus on inspiring women to love and serve the Lord, recognizing that it begins on a personal level, the small in-person gatherings are happening throughout Hawaii from October 21 through 23. Our team will be hosting small gatherings on Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island. We will hear from Kelly King from Lifeway how God is calling women today to be part of building leaders and disciples. We will end our gathering with a Zoom on October 29, where we are hosting our Asia Baptist Network churches.

In ministry, there is a delicate balance between being focused on numbers. However, recently someone shared with me that we need to look at it as “hearts.” It reminded me that each lady represents a heart for God.

Currently, we have 183 hearts gathering through our events. I am excited to see what God has planned for each woman as they personally seek the Lord, grow as a leader with the opportunities that come their way, and move forward in making disciples.

Waianae Women’s Job Corps (WWJC) I continue to work with the board members to provide an online Bible study with women who are part of the Women’s Job Corps.

IMB Prayer Adoption Initiative I have been part of the team that is working on the IMB missionary and church adoption program. It has been an excellent team effort to seek God’s guidance on how our HPBC churches can come alongside missionary units.

In July, IMB’s prayer coordinator, Eleanor Witcher, came to Hawaii to train our team and church leaders on the importance of praying proactively for our missionaries. I had the opportunity and blessing to host Eleanor. Our team learned a great deal, and it will assist us as this program is shared throughout our convention.

I remain committed to maintaining a strong relationship with our SBC ministry friends, continuing my training, and finding resources grounded in the Baptist Faith and Message. Women’s Ministry will continue to be strengthened, and new ways of reaching women will be put in place. I believe that as we assess what is happening around us, we can be flexible and shift with the shifting ways of the world. However, the power of Christ remains the same, and we will continue to share the message of Jesus being our solid rock.

Thank you again for all that you do to support me personally. May the Lord bless you! Please reach out and let me know if you have a question, ideas, and insight that would be helpful to my own growth and leadership.