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 Courtney’s story about how important the Mentoring Program has been for her, and join her in giving monthly to BWIM!
When I applied for the 2017 Baptist Women in Ministry’s “Out of the Box” Mentoring Cohort, my ministry was time-limited, and my vocational path seemed transitional. Truthfully, that could have been a lonely place, and isolation can be a poison for healthy ministry. I needed sisters to reflect with and provide some stability. Well past the cohort’s one-year intention, my group still meets. We meet less regularly, but we have stayed constant for each other in many transitory times.
One such transitionary time was my recent search and call process. In Baptist life, the process can be like dancing on a moving floor, while trying to bake a blue ribbon worthy pie. I was able to navigate my process with relative ease due to supports like my cohort. I knew they were praying for me and were invested in my journey. After an interview, or when I had trouble listening to my instincts, I knew I could call my mentor . . . and I did. There were times that I was afraid and confused, but I was not alone and isolated.
The hymn “The Servant Song” says, “I will hold the Christ-light for you. In the nighttime of your fear. I will hold my hand out to you; Speak the peace you long to hear.” That is what BWIM Cohorts do. We flourish in community, even in time limited and transitional ministries. In giving to BWIM, you hold out that Christ-light for another. Please consider giving to BWIM today.
Courtney Stamey (above right) is pastor of Northside Baptist Church in Clinton, Mississippi.