Mentoring Program

Connecting new ministers with a seasoned Baptist woman in ministry for mentorship!

Baptist Women in Ministry’s Mentoring Program offers new ministers an opportunity to participate in 18 months of intentional mentoring with a seasoned Baptist minister and a group of peers.

These mentoring groups serve as communities of support, encouragement, and guidance. The BWIM Mentoring program is open to Baptist women who have served in their current area of ministry for less than three years and are ministering in churches, chaplaincy, non-profit work, and other “outside-the-box” ministry settings.

The 2025-2026 program includes:

Participation in an opening retreat in January 2025 at St. Francis Prayer Center, Stoneville, NC (Near Greensboro, NC).
Additional small group retreat and/or resources provided.
Monthly video conversations via digital media

Participants can click this link to read the 2025-2026 BWIM Mentoring Cohort Covenant. Participants must read this form and acknowledge they read it on their application in order to be considered for the program.

Sisters of Solidarity Covenant.

The 2025-2026 cohort has four mentoring groups.

The four groups will include one for pastors, one for associate pastors, one for chaplains (or non-congregational ministers), and one group for women of color. Each group includes one mentor and four participants. The four mentors will be announced in the near future.

A mentee in the pastor’s group wrote this, “This cohort has helped me think through hard decisions, transitions, and the workings of daily ministry life. There is a uniqueness to being a female minister that few can understand. The fact that we got to walk through these difficult days together- by way of wisdom sharing, dreaming, or even venting when necessary- I feel like a strong pastor because of these women.”

Meet the 2025-2026 Cohort:

These participants represent 5 ministry contexts including chaplaincy, congregational ministry, missionary, higher education, and nonprofits. This cohort’s participants are part of 8 different Baptist denominations, and represent 12 states.

From left to right: Kamilah Jones, Chaplain Intern at WellStar Healthcare System; Madison McClendon, Assistant Director of Development at University of Chicago Divinity School; Caroline Moore, Interim Youth Minister at Central Baptist Church, Newnan, GA; Karen Hardaway, Pastoral Assistant at Trinity Baptist Church; Maggie Andrews, Coordinator for Seminary Relations at Columbia Theological School; Jill Knight, Minister of Music at Ridge Road Baptist Church, Malika Rahman, Associate Pastor of Family at St. Paul Chapel Baptist Church; Caroline Taminger, Associate Pastor for Families at FBC Martinsville and Chatham Heights Baptist Church; Kristina LaGuardia, Minister of Children, Youth, and Families at FBC Vero Beach; Beth Bailey, Minister with Youth and Young Adults at Fredericksburg Baptist Church.

From left to right: Rochelle DuPlain, Chaplain at Self Regional Healthcare; Dana Ijames, Assistant Pastor at St. James Missionary Baptist Church; Meagan Holleman, Chaplain for Students and Multifaith Coordinator at Guilford College; Brittany Ramirez, Global Migration Partner-Field Personnel, CBF/Philippines Baptist Theological Seminary; Christina Jones, Chaplain at UNC REX Hospital; Amber Kearney, Pastor for Justice and Outreach at Riverside Church at Park and King; Morgan Fritz, PRN Chaplain at Salina Regional Hospital; Sara Robb-Scott, Director of Spiritual Care at Eaton Senior Communities and Pastor at West Alameda Community Baptist Church; Shunjie Durham, Chaplain Resident at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Learn More About the Program

To learn more about the program, the expectations, and the benefits, read the Mentoring Program Cohort Covenant