Awards
In the past, awardees were announced during BWIM’s Annual Gathering or event at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly. This year we are making a change to present the Church of Excellence award to the congregation itself and will present the Distinguished Mentor award in the person’s ministry context (at their church or organization). All awardees will be announced via email and on social media.
Distinguished Mentor Award
Each year, Baptist Women in Ministry honors a mentor who has supported and empowered women called to ministry to use their gifts in service of the church with the Frankie Huff Granger Distinguished Mentor Award.
Established in 2013, the award honors the legacy and ministry of Frankie Huff Granger who served at First Baptist Church, Berea, South Carolina for over 20 years. Frankie’s legacy includes leadership that extends beyond her congregation across the landscape of Baptist ministers in the 1970s and 1980s. However, her greatest gift was serving as a mentor to young women who were discerning their callings from God, and as an example and role model when few women ministers to fill that role could be found.
The work of Baptist Women in Ministry and the service of women ministers among Baptists would not be possible without mentors who walk alongside, listen, love, affirm, encourage, equip, and nudge women new to ministry to use their gifts for the beloved community of God.
2024 Frankie Huff Granger
Distinguished Mentor
Rev. Dr. Latonya Agard
Nominate A Mentor
Nominations for the 2024 Distinguished Mentor are now closed. Nominations for the 2025 Distinguished Mentor will open in the fall of 2025.
View List of Past Recipients
2023 Distinguished Mentor
Rev. Dr. Andrea Dellinger Jones
2022 Distinguished Mentor
Sophia Steibel
2021 Distinguished Mentor
Dorisanne Cooper
2019 Distinguished Mentor
Jay Kieve
2018 Distinguished Mentor
Sharlande Sledge
2017 Distinguished Mentor
Nora O. Lozano
2016 Distinguished Mentor
Ka’thy Gore Chappell
2015 Distinguished Mentor
Molly T. Marshall
2014 Distinguished Mentor
Sue Fitzgerald
2013 Distinguished Mentor
Anne Thomas Neill
Award Criteria & Eligibility
The Frankie Huff Granger Distinguished Mentor Award will recognize someone who:
- Demonstrates a commitment to nurturing the callings and giftedness of Baptist women called to ministry through their time, energy, and personal investment
- Displays dedication to advocacy for the affirmation and elevation of women in ministry and leadership among Baptists
- Is a seasoned minister or layperson who has several decades of participation and service in Baptist life, and is an active member of a congregation affiliated with Baptists
- Exhibits integrity and spiritual maturity in their personal and professional life
Nomination Guidelines
Persons wishing to nominate an individual for The Frankie Huff Granger Distinguished Mentor Award should:
- Make your nomination via the nominations form on the BWIM website.
- Include a formal letter of nomination with the submission. The letter should detail how the nominee exhibits the criteria for the award.
- Clarity, brevity, and specificity are key to helping the selection committee make their decision. Personal stories are encouraged.
- Letters of 2 pages or less are appreciated.
- Include contact information for at least two additional persons (preferably women ministers mentored by the nominee) who can attest to the nominee’s qualifications for the award. These persons will be contacted to submit support letters for nomination.
- Nominations and all accompanying support letters must be received by Ocotber 11, 2024.
Church of Excellence Award
Each year Baptist Women in Ministry recognizes a Church of Excellence who has gone above and beyond in its encouragement of women ministers and leaders.
Churches have always been at the center of the Baptist movement toward affirming women in ministry. As Christ followers who uphold the autonomy of the local church, no authoritative hierarchical body exists who can compel churches to make changes to their leadership structures so that women are included. Instead, furthering the cause of affirming and elevating women in
ministry has required brave actions to be taken by individual churches and their leaders, and these actions have, at times, involved great cost.
The Baptist Women in Ministry Church of Excellence Award was established in 2013 to honor churches who have taken bold, intentional, and consistent actions toward affirming, empowering, and providing opportunities for women ministers and leaders.
The work of Baptist Women in Ministry and the service of women ministers among Baptists would not be possible without churches who have nurtured the faith of women of all ages, affirmed women’s callings and giftedness, blessed and ordained women as ministers, called women to serve in their midst, commissioned and sent women out to serve in the world, and who have stood alongside this organization and encouraged our work with their prayers and contributions.
2024 BWIM Church of Excellence
Northside Baptist Church, Clinton, MS
Nominate A Church
Nominations for the 2024 Church of Excellence are now closed. Nominations for the 2025 Church of Excellence will open in Fall 2025.
View List of Past Recipients
2023 Church of Excellence
Calvary Baptist Church, Denver, CO
2022 Church of Excellence
Glendale Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee
2021 Church of Excellence
Pintlala Baptist Church, Hope Hull, Alabama
2019 Church of Excellence
Baptist Church of the Covenant, Birmingham, Alabama
2018 Church of Excellence
Calvary Baptist Church, Waco, Texas
2017 Church of Excellence
Beulah Baptist Church, Devereux, Georgia
2016 Church of Excellence
Hayes Barton Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina
2015 Church of Excellence
First Baptist Church of Austin, Texas
2014 Church of Excellence
Northminster Baptist Church, Jackson, MS
2013 Church of Excellence
Watts Street Baptist Church, Durham, NC
Award Criteria & Eligibility
The Baptist Women in Ministry Church of Excellence will be a congregation who:
- Affirms and ordains women for all expressions of ministry and leadership
- Demonstrates support of women in ministry by taking action to eliminate barriers for women in ministry and leadership in their congregation
- Nurtures and cultivates the callings of women of all ages, calls women to leadership positions, and intentionally creates a supportive environment for women ministers in their midst
- Advocates for women beyond their own congregational community
- Is affiliated with a Baptist denominational group
Nomination Guidelines
Persons wishing to nominate a church for the BWIM Church of Excellence Award should:
- Make your nomination via the nominations form on the BWIM website.
- Include a formal letter of nomination with the submission. The letter should detail how the nominated church exhibits the criteria for the award. Clarity, brevity, and specificity are key to helping the selection committee make their decision. Personal stories are encouraged.
- Letters of 2 pages or less are appreciated.
- Include contact information for at least two additional persons who can attest to the church’s qualifications for the award. These persons will be contacted to submit support letters for the nomination.
- Nominations and all accompanying support letters must be received by October 11, 2024.
The Addie Davis Awards
The Addie Davis Awards are now being given as Addie Davis Scholarships. You can find out more about the Addie Davis Scholarships here.
If you are looking for a list of past Addie Davis Award recipients, you can find the list here.