Baptist Women in Ministry (BWIM) recently announced that Northside Baptist Church in Clinton, Mississippi has received the organization’s Church of Excellence award. The annual award celebrates a church that has “broken barriers and set new standards for empowering ministers and leaders,” according to its website.
Founded in 1969, Northside quickly set itself apart as a congregation willing to cross dividing lines of race and gender.
In a BWIM press release announcing the award, Northside member Martha Hutson shared that the church’s founding documents are “replete with names of women as teachers, music and youth directors, musicians, committee members and chairs, liturgists, and church officers.” In 1980, a little over a decade after its founding, Northside amended its constitution to allow women to serve as deacons.
Rev. Courtney Stamey is currently serving as the church’s senior pastor and, according to its website, the vast majority of Northside’s staff and leadership are women. In the BWIM release, church member Buddy Wagner said, “Northside does an excellent job of teaching in word and deed that women are equal to men in the sight of God.”
“As we honor their example of boldly leading the way as a pioneer for women in ministry among Baptists,” the BWIM statement said, “we hope other churches might learn from their faithful witness to the all-encompassing and limitless love of Christ.”
Baptist Women in Ministry has its roots in the struggle for full inclusion of women in all leadership positions within Southern Baptist churches. Since its inception, its work has expanded to include the broader Baptist community.
BWIM highlighted the continued journey toward gender equality in Baptist churches in its documentary, “Midwives of a Movement,” which won Best Documentary at the Louisville Festival of Film this year.
More information about Northside and the Church of Excellence Award can be found here.
Senior Editor at Good Faith Media.