Shared Learning Experiences
Women need opportunities to learn and engage in continuing education experiences that are created by women to meet the unique needs of women.
Baptist Women in Ministry seeks to facilitate shared learning experiences to meet these needs.
Currently these opportunities take the form of Book Clubs and Lunch and Learn sessions. In the coming months, we are working to create more opportunities for women to grow their leadership, ministry skills, and theological perspectives in community with one another.
Book Clubs
Every spring and summer, BWIM hosts book clubs featuring different books written by women authors and engaging subjects related to women in ministry, leadership, and theology.
Book clubs normally meet once a week for 3-4 weeks, and often include a session with the author! Book clubs are also open to men who are supporters of women in ministry to learn more.
Spring 2025 Book Club
March 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st
6:30 PM ET / 5:30 PM CT
Join Baptist Women in Ministry for our Spring Book Club! We will be reading Cole Arthur Riley’s This Here Flesh. As women in ministry, we often find that our lived experiences inform our experiences with the Holy. Riley offers a path to validating that truth through this powerful book.
“In these deeply transporting pages, Arthur Riley reflects on the stories of her grandmother and father, and how they revealed to her an embodied, dignity-affirming spirituality, not only in what they believed but in the act of living itself.”
We invite you on this 4 week long experience with Riley as we reflect on the embodied ways our spirit speaks today.
Books we have previously discussed include:
Sacred Self-Care: Daily Practices for Nurturing Our Whole Selves
(HarperOne, 2023).
Nice Churchy Patriarchy: Reclaiming Women’s Humanity from Evangelicalism (Apocryphile Press, 2023).
When God Whispered My Name: Stories of Journey by Baptist Women Called to Ministry (Smyth & Hewys, 2022).
Aurelia Pratt, A Brown Girl’s Epiphany: Reclaim Your Intuition and Step Into Your Power (Broadleaf Books, 2022).
Candace Marie Benbow, Red Lip Theology: For Church Girls Who’ve Considered Tithing to the Beauty Supply Store When Sunday Morning Isn’t Enough (Convergent Books, 2022).
Yolanda Pierce, In My Grandmother’s House: Black Women, Faith and the Stories We Inherit (Broadleaf Books, 2021).
Joanne Lipman, That’s What She Said: What Men Need to Know (and Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Together (William Morrow, 2018).
Lunch & Learn Sessions
Each year BWIM offers 2-4 Lunch and Learn sessions for current and former participants of our mentoring program.
These sessions feature guest speakers who share about resources, ministry tools, or experiences of value to women in ministry and leadership. Topics have included financial literacy, using the enneagram in ministry, and self-care.
Lunch and Learns: The Leadership Series
January- May 2025
Every First Tuesday
11:00 AM CT/ 12:00 PM ET
January 7th at 11AM CT/ 12 PM EST
Discernment in the Job Search Process
Are you gearing up for a ministerial job search? Discernment is an important first step in the job search process to help you approach it with clarity and confidence. This January, BWIM invites Rev. Dr. Nancy Penton to guide us through the essential questions of discernment as you consider where you are being called to next vocationally:
- Where are the places in your life when you stood at a crossroads and wondered which way to go?
- What questions can we learn to ask ourselves before making significant decisions?
- What is the art of discernment, and can it be developed?
February 4th at 11AM CT/ 12 PM EST
Preparing for the Job Search
Join us for a Lunch and Learn to discover a new resource specifically designed to empower women in their ministerial job search. This session will address common challenges women face, including navigating bias and discussing career breaks for caregiving responsibilities. We’ll delve into essential aspects of the search process, including crafting compelling resumes and cover letters, adapting your professional experience for ministry, and acing your interviews. This session is your opportunity to gain valuable insights and connect with a supportive community.
March 4th at 11AM CT/ 12 PM EST
Negotiating the Offer
Lunch and Learn Description Coming Soon!
April 1st at 11AM CT/ 12 PM EST
Leadership Development through Family Systems
Lunch and Learn Description Coming Soon!
May 6th at 11AM CT/ 12 PM EST
Sermon Development
Lunch and Learn Description Coming Soon!
December 2024 Lunch and Learn
Tuesday, December 3rd at 12 pm EST
‘Tis the Season…for Grief: Holding Space for Grief and Loss During the Holidays
How do you navigate the season of joyful songs, colorful lights, and festive gatherings when you are grieving? How do you minister to those who have suffered loss while tending to your own grief? During this workshop, attendees will not only learn about spiritual practices that can create sacred space for coping with grief and loss during the holidays – we’ll also practice them together. Please have pens, pencils, colored pencils or markers and paper on hand for this workshop experience.
Facilitator: Rev. Tambi Swiney
October 2024 Lunch and Learn
Training Leaders with
Rev. Dr. Gabby Cudjoe Wilkes
It is so critical to ensure that we take the time to train those who work with us.
What does the heart of leadership feel like within your congregation?
What ways of knowing are synonymous with your leadership style? As a woman in ministry and leadership, what does authority look and sound like among those your serve?
Join us for a workshop on training leaders as we explore the importance of internionality and infrastructure within your teams.
Thursday, October 3rd
12pm EST / 11AM CST
September 2024 Lunch and Learn
📅 Tuesday, September 3, 2024 12 pm EST
👩🏿💻Presenter: Rev. LaThelma Yenn-Batah, Executive Director of American Baptist Women’s Ministries
Design Thinking and Innovation for Ministry Growth
Are you ready to transform your ministry with fresh ideas and innovative approaches? Join Baptist Women in Ministry for an engaging workshop on Design Thinking and Innovation, specifically tailored for women leaders dedicated to strengthening and growing their ministries. In this interactive session, we will explore the principles of design thinking—a human-centered approach to problem-solving that fosters creativity and collaboration.