Baptist Women in Ministry currently has 117 individuals, churches, and organizations that give monthly to our work. We would love to have 140 monthly supporters, and this week we hope to add at twenty-three donors to our giving list! Monthly gifts provide dependable income for Mentoring Program! Small monthly gifts of $10 or $20 or larger monthly gifts of $50 or $75 make a significant difference! Read Mary Alice’s story about how important the Mentoring Program has been for her, and join her in giving monthly to BWIM!
I have been part of a network of young Baptist pastors in my state over the past year. It’s a great group of pastors, colleagues, and friends. However, out of the eighty-three pastors who are in the group, guess how many of us are women? One.
That’s just one of the reasons why my Baptist Women in Ministry mentoring group has been such a breath of fresh air. We desperately need each other! We need a place to ask all the questions that arise our first year as pastor: “How did you respond when the church needed to cut the budget?” “How are you feeling about your first Easter sermon?” “What did you do in your first significant moment of conflict?” “How is your family doing in the midst of your first year?” or “How is it being single and in ministry?” And we all need to hear those reassuring words, “Me too,” that let us know we’re not alone in this odd and wondrous calling.
We also need to hear the words of experience and wisdom from a mentor who is a few years ahead of us, and there is none finer than Carol McEntyre. She has shared such valuable tools and resources with our group about how she structures her week, plans a sermon, approaches conflict, leads her staff, cares for herself, and pastors her church. One day, she said, “I felt like I was drowning for at least my first six months as a pastor, but after awhile, I began to be able to keep my head above water.” She offers grace upon grace for where we are, but she also gives us courage and great hope for where we are going.
In this group, I’m not the token woman. I’m Mary Alice. And it is such a gift to be seen, to be heard, to be affirmed, to be loved, to be challenged, to be cared for, and to be inspired–for many years of pastoring to come.
I give to BWIM monthly so that other women will have opportunity to be part of the mentoring program.
Mary Alice Birdwhistell (above right) is pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, Waco, Texas.