Offering opportunities for women and girls to develop their God-given gifts for leadership is a critical part of American Baptist Women's Ministries. Additionally, having leadership that is truly representative of the women and girls engaged in our ministries helps us stay engaged and relevant, developing ministry initiatives that follow God's vision for healing and hope in a hurting world.
Too often, finding leadership for our ministries involves finding the first person who says "yes" rather than helping new women find entry points into leadership and offering them opportunities for development and growth and, especially, listening to the new ideas they bring to the table. If you're having difficulty filling positions on your leadership team, perhaps its time to look at those positions and ascertain if they still meet the needs of the ministry today. Find ways to involve women in shorter-term leadership opportunities or giving space and support to women who want to engage in ministry initiatives they feel God has called them to.
Finally, leadership is not just about getting a job done. It's about asking God to continue to work in us, to help us find our "growing edges" and to cultivate in us new perspectives, new commitments, and new passions for ministry. In this section, you will find ideas for cultivating and developing leadership in others and in yourself.
A critical piece of Beloved Community is growing leadership.
Ideas and Resources
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Leadership Mentoring
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Involving girls in leadership is an excellent way to help develop their spiritual gifts for leadership as well as bringing new life and vitality to your women's ministry!
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Invite volunteers to bring in a newspaper clipping or an article printed from a reliable internet news source such as AP News. Have a list of questions prepared to discuss about that article, such as: "What is the main issue addressed in the article? Do we have this same problem in our community? What scriptures does this bring to mind? How might this have an impact on our ministry?" A significant part of leadership is to stay attuned to what people are experiencing in their daily lives, and helping them explore how their faith may call them to react.
Watch this insightful TedTalk by Sheryl Sandberg on women in leadership: