Partnerships

A key form of Baptist Women in Ministry’s advocacy for women in ministry and leadership is through partnerships with denominational groups and organizations that have influence within the broader Baptist landscape.

We define a partnership as intentional engagement between a denominational group and BWIM to create and execute a defined initiative or specific product/resource. At this time, BWIM has partnerships with Baptist News Global, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and Good Faith Media. You can find information about each of these below.

If an organization or denominational group you lead would like to consider potential initiatives or resources on which BWIM can partner with you, please reach out to Meredith Stone, Executive Director, meredithstone@bwim.info.

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Baptist News Global

Baptist Women in Ministry is partnering with Baptist News Global (BNG) to encourage and support women’s writing by increasing the number of female writers on the BNG platform.

Women’s voices belong in all spaces of leadership and influence. BWIM advocates for women’s equal representation in every position of congregational and non-congregational ministry. Through this partnership with Baptist News Global, BWIM is also advocating for women’s equal representation in Baptist media by uplifting the strong writing voices of women and encouraging women’s increased participation in shaping Baptist life, culture, and theology.

When women are heard, seen, and READ, the beloved community of God can grow into a more complete reflection of the image of God.

Support for women in ministry among Baptists has been growing for the past 40 years. However, the continued low numbers of women in leadership throughout congregations and institutions indicate that we have not yet seen this support put into practice fully. We are hopeful that through exposure to more women’s voices, ideas, and perspectives, we can continue to move the needle from theoretical support to actual embrace and elevation of women in ministry and leadership.

Meredith Stone

Executive Director, Baptist Women in Ministry

VIew Recent Articles Written By Women

Write for BNG

Women are invited to join this partnership and write an opinion article for Baptist News Global. Whether you are a veteran writer or a novice to this kind of writing, we would love to hear your voice. BWIM is providing one-on-one support for women in the process of writing. From brainstorming article topics to editing your final draft, we would love to work with you!
If you are interested in becoming a writer for BNG and being published on their platform, contact Laura Ellis at lauraellis@bwim.info for more information.

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Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) is a network of individuals and churches working together to spread the hope of Christ.

Its community includes partners all over the globe, and our fellowship supports a wide range of missions and ministries that give people meaningful opportunities to put their faith into action.

Baptist Women in Ministry’s partnership with CBF includes the following:

A new curriculum entitled, Equally Called: Celebrating Women’s Leadership in the Church, was created in partnership between BWIM and CBF. As the question of whether women can serve as pastors and in any role in Baptist churches continues to be a question both in theory and in practice, this curriculum addresses biblical foundations for affirming women’s roles in ministry without limitation and places those scriptural interpretations in dialogue with the current experiences of women in ministry among CBF congregations. The 4-week curriculum includes written study guides, teaching plans, video elements, and adapted materials for youth and children.

BWIM and CBF also partnered to create the Clergy Sexual Misconduct Task Force in 2016. You can find more information about the Clergy Sexual Misconduct Task Force here.

Good Faith Media

Baptist Women in Ministry partners with Good Faith Media in order to produce a short film series featuring documentaries about the lives of women serving as pastors of Baptist churches.

Being able to see women minister and lead among Baptists is a powerful tool in expanding people’s imaginations toward a deeper embrace of women in ministry. We hope you will use these films as tools for further conversation in your congregation. Each of the three films produced to-date as a part of this series are available to view below at no cost.

NO. 3: Danielle

“No. 3: “Danielle” is the third installment in a short-film series highlighting female Baptist pastors. This film features Danielle L. Bridgeforth, senior pastor of The Church at Clarendon, Arlington, Virginia. Others appearing in the film include Danielle’s parents Mary Wilson and Colin Cain, friend Wayne Holmes, and friend and church member, Rachel Coates.

The film premiered Nov. 13, 2022 at the Church at Clarendon in Arlington.

NO. 2: Tonya

“No. 2: Tonya” is the second installment in a short-film series highlighting female Baptist pastors. This film features Tonya Vickery, co-pastor of Cullowhee Baptist Church in Cullowhee, North Carolina.

The film premiered Nov. 8, 2019, on the Western Carolina University.

NO. 1: Mary Alice

“No. 1: Mary Alice” is the first installment in a short-film series highlighting female Baptist pastors. This film features Mary Alice Birdwhistell, senior pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Waco, Texas. Others appearing in the film include Mary Alice’s parents, Martha and Mark Birdwhistell, and Calvary members Carolyn Cole, Jon Singletary and Doug Weaver.

The film premiered Nov. 16, 2018, at the Mayborn Museum on the Baylor University campus.