Each year, First Baptist Greensboro invites a special offering at our Christmas Eve service. The recipient is thoughtfully and prayerfully selected by our Missions Committee. This year, our Christmas Eve Offering will support the work of Baptist Women In Ministry (BWIM).
A longtime partner of First Baptist Greensboro, BWIM’s 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.” As a Baptist church who fully affirms women in all positions of leadership and ministry, First Baptist Greensboro is grateful for a longstanding partnership with BWIM. At a time when many Baptist churches continue to preclude women from pastoral and leadership roles, BWIM’s work only grows in importance. As the organization celebrates its 40th anniversary, it has also embarked on a three-year campaign to expand its work in supporting women and lowering the barriers they experience in ministry. Gifts to BWIM support advocacy and educational efforts, fund scholarships for women pursuing theological education, provide opportunities for mentoring and solidarity, and encourage churches and congregants to grow in a biblical understanding and affirmation of women as ordained leaders.
As we collect this offering on Christmas Eve, we remember again the essential role that women have 
alwaysheld in proclaiming and embodying the good news. In a recent Children’s Sermon, Associate Pastor for Children & Families, Rev. Amy Starr Russell, asked the children to reflect on God’s call to Mary to bear and birth Jesus into the world. “What does that say to you about God?” she asked. One young girl answered, “It seems like God had a lot of confidence in Mary.” We believe God has confidence in us — all of us — to join fully and without limitation in the work of love. Thank you for considering a special gift to BWIM as they further this work.
Learn more about Baptist Women In Ministry at bwim.info
