By Ken Camp
With the formation of Texas Baptist Women in Ministry, Texas joins nine other states in creating an organization to encourage women who serve in Baptist churches and advocate for expanded ministry opportunities for women.
More than two dozen Texas Baptists participated in the group’s organizational meeting at First Baptist Church in Abilene, held prior to the annual Texas Baptist Women in Ministry Conference at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon Seminary.
The group elected Ellen Di Giosia, associate pastor of faith formation at Woodland Baptist Church in San Antonio, as chair of the interim steering committee.
“We talked about our hopes and dreams. One of the main things that emerged was the desire to continue the Women in Ministry Conference,” Di Giosia said.
“It is important for women who serve in Baptist churches to have a place to get together, encourage each other and share our stories. We also want to be able to help students as they discern a call to ministry.”
The group that met in Abilene agreed to form a volunteer-led nonprofit that would work in cooperation with the national Baptist Women in Ministry organization but function as an autonomous entity, Di Giosia said.
“We recognize there is wide diversity among Texas Baptists in terms of how they feel about women in ministry — from churches where women serve as senior pastors, to churches where women don’t pray in public, to everything in between,” she said.
“We want to be a strong voice of advocacy for women in ministry. We believe in the fullness of God’s plan, men and women are equally gifted. We want to encourage churches to recognize that and do something about it.”
Pam Durso, executive director of national Baptist Women in Ministry, spoke to the organizational meeting of the Texas group. The national organization estimates about 2,200 ordained women in churches affiliated at one time with the Southern Baptist Convention, but most serve in a role other than pastor.
Five years ago, the group identified 135 women serving as pastor or co-pastor of a church affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Baptist General Association of Virginia, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship or Alliance of Baptists.
— With additional reporting by Cheryl Sawyers of Hardin-Simmons University.