Brittany Stillwell, Associate Pastor with Students and Families
It’s one of my favorite times of year: Baptist Women in Ministry’s Month of Preaching! But this isn’t an obligatory celebration so we can submit our name to Baptist Women in Ministry and give a noncommittal nod toward female preachers. Nor is it a celebration pushed by your staff with the hope that we can convince the congregation to be more accepting of a female in the pulpit. In fact, it isn’t even solely about preaching.
For us, this annual initiative is a chance to highlight and celebrate what happens year-round at 2BC. It’s a chance to be reminded of a commitment that has been around so long we forget that it’s “different.” It is an opportunity to be intentional about naming the importance of women in leadership in every aspect of church life—not just in the pulpit or on staff.
It is this last opportunity that makes me so excited about this month. 2BC has so many women leading and guiding our congregation. Women who have spent years paving the way for me and for so many others, young leaders who inspire us all to use our gifts for God’s glory, and children who are finding their voice in this place.
So we will celebrate…for a whole week! This week you will find blog posts on our website and social media written by various 2BC folks about why women in ministry is important. On Sunday, January 30 we will celebrate Women’s Month of Preaching in worship and will get to hear from Starlett Thomas. Starlett is an author, activist, visual artist and race abolitionist. She is an associate editor and the director of The Raceless Gospel Initiative at Good Faith Media. I am confident you will hear the Word of God from a prophetic voice!
I am so excited about the chance to hear from all of you as we pause to name aloud one of our church’s core convictions. Thank you for celebrating with me all year and especially this week!
**Image copyright Jan Richardson, www.paintedprayerbook.com.