BWIM Month of Advocacy
We’re inviting you to take the next step in affirming, valuing, and elevating women in ministry among Baptists every March!
In addition to inviting a woman to preach, we also encourage you to engage in one of the forms of advocacy listed below during March, which is also Women’s History Month. Both churches and individuals can participate.
As you participate, please use the form below to share your participation with us!
"It's time to do more"
Read Executive Director, Meredith Stone’s article on why BWIM Month of Preaching is now BWIM Month of Advocacy
BWIM Month of Preaching
Find Resources from BWIM Month of Preaching
2024 BWIM Month of Advocacy Wrap Up
How to Participate in BWIM Month of Advocacy
During BWIM Month of Advocacy in March:
CONGREGATIONS:
Invite a woman to preach (or encourage your church leadership to invite a woman preach) AND choose one of the following to further your advocacy.
INDIVIDUALS:
Choose one or more of the forms of advocacy below, or follow along with our 2024 BWIM Month of Advocacy Calendar for your participation.
Recommendations or Help
If you would like recommendations or help in implementing these or other avenues of advocacy for women in ministry, contact the BWIM staff for assistance or recommendations.
Ways to Advocate for Women in Ministry
- Lead your Sunday school class, small group, or various church committees through the updated version of A Baptist Reflection on the Bible and Women in Ministry and Leadership by Meredith Stone which now also includes discussion questions.
- Use BWIM social media graphics about women in ministry to create awareness in your network and community
- If you are part of a CBF affiliated congregation, lead your congregation or small group through Equally Called, a 4-session video and curriculum resource produced by BWIM and CBF for all ages to help your church articulate the biblical and theological basis for affirming the calling of women and nurture a culture that more fully welcomes their leadership. Available in age-graded formats for Adults, Youth and Children.
- Advocate for the ordination of women in your church
- Advocate for pay equity, paid paternity leave, and professional development opportunities for women in ministry in your church
- Evaluate ministerial titles for women in your church and advocate for equality with men’s titles
- Advocate for women to be elected to community and denominational boards and committees
- Give a scholarship to a college or seminary woman preparing for ministry
- Schedule sexual misconduct, harassment, and assault training for leaders in your congregation
- Donate to support a woman missionary whose work benefits women
- Find a tangible way to encourage the women who serve as chaplains in various fields such as the military, healthcare, and other settings
- Engage biblical support for women in ministry and women’s equality in Bible studies, sermons, and youth/children’s lessons
- Implement spiritual formation resources that are empowering to women and girls
- Start a book club with your church staff or Bible study group about the challenges that women face in the church
- Host an experienced woman in ministry to visit with younger women about discerning a call to ministry
- Evaluate the art in your church and add pieces which include women
- Evaluate the songs and liturgies used in your corporate worship and add pieces that have inclusive language for people and expansive language for God
- Evaluate and restructure lay leadership in your congregation to intentionally include women in all levels of leadership (deacon body, church council, committees, etc.)
- Utilize liturgical resources that highlight women in the liturgical texts like this one created for March 31st by Jann Aldredge-Clanton.
- If you are a male minister or leader, find one opportunity that you have been given which you might be able to share with a woman instead of accepting it yourself
- Partner in the ways Baptist Women in Ministry advocates for women in ministry by giving an individual or congregational donation or by becoming a Salome Community monthly donor
- Attend a screening near you of BWIM’s documentary Midwives of a Movement.