Our mission is to support women who pursue ministry and leadership with sustaining resources and community, and to advocate for the full affirmation of women in ministry and leadership in Baptist life.

Our desire is that all we do within our mission will help move toward a world where our vision is a reality. How we believe that will happen is reflected in our theory of change below.

Our organization is committed to working with any individual who identifies as a Baptist or who once identified as a Baptist. We are also committed to working with congregations, denominational groups, and organizations which identify with Baptists. Additionally, we work with groups which once identified with Baptists, or which include individuals who identify as a Baptist.

The denominational groups with which individuals and congregations among our community are connected, include,* but are not limited to: Alliance of Baptists, American Baptist Churches USA, Baptist General Association of Virginia, Baptist General Convention of Texas, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, General Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, National Baptist Convention, USA, National Missionary Baptist Convention, Progressive National Baptist Convention, and Southern Baptist Convention.

*This list is updated regularly based on the denominational groups with which current program participants and donors identify themselves.

Our organization is committed to supporting and advocating for any individual who identifies as a woman. This includes women of every race, ethnicity, age, generation, ability, sexuality, gender identification or expression, and social-economic background.

We specifically name two commitments in this regard.

First, we are committed to highlighting racial justice as a critical intersection of our work, recognizing that women of global majority experience compounding oppressions which affect their ability to thrive in ministry.

Second, we are committed to celebrating and supporting LGBTQ+ women and open and affirming congregations, while also working with individuals and congregations who are not affirming and those who are still discerning.

As we put these commitments into practice, we pledge that we will make the hard decisions necessary to prioritize the safety and wellbeing of women of global majority and LGBTQ+ persons.

While our organization exists to support and advocate for women, we recognize that advocacy also includes education, equipping, and encouraging all people—men, women, and non-binary persons—to be effective allies for gender equality.

Our organization was specifically created to support women in ministry and leadership within Baptist communities. This includes women who express a calling and identity as a minister, and those who serve in all forms of congregational and non-congregational ministry leadership.

We affirm that all believers in Christ are called to be ministers—to live a life that shares the grace, redemption, hope, and justice of Jesus.

However, women experience unique obstacles when entering and serving in ministry-related professional fields which have been male-dominant spaces for generations. Our organization’s unique mission is to support and advocate for women who minister and lead in these ministry-related professional fields.

The work of advocating for the affirmation of women in ministry includes educating, equipping, and encouraging broader work in gender equity among all people, laity and clergy alike, but the specific aim of all our work is for creating environments in which women thrive as they minister and lead within Baptist communities.

— Affirmed by the BWIM Board of Directors