Awaken - BIC Network for Women in Ministry

Awaken - BIC Network for Women in Ministry We empower, equip, and engage women for leadership in ministry. Awaken Mentorships
What is a mentoring relationship with Awaken? Who is an Awaken mentor?

Awaken exists to encourage divinely gifted women to fulfill their call to ministry and leadership in local churches, global missionaries, denominational leadership, and para-church ministries. As a network, in which we find connection organically as we connect in our regional conferences, we accomplish this by sharing our personal stories with one another to encourage, empower, and equip one anoth

er for the ministry that God has called us to. Awaken is a catalyst for forming mentoring relationships for women in local churches, global workers, and denominational leaders in the Brethren in Christ Church, U.S. Examples of those who may benefit from a mentoring relationships are: pastors, directors, church planters, global workers, spouses of pastors, denominational workers, para-church leaders, and women of all ages who are discerning a call to ministry. Awaken mentorships are not limited to these paid or unpaid roles. Awaken mentorships begin with a three month commitment and can be renewed for additional three month commitments, based upon mutual agreement from the mentor and mentee. A typical mentoring relationship meets once a month for about an hour. This can be done in person or via Skype, over coffee or a meal, at an office or out in the community. Mentorships begin in September and can continue meeting through May. The mentor and mentee can take a break from meeting over the summer (June-August). An Awaken mentor is a woman who desires to provide guidance, attentive listening, and perspective, as another woman seeks to develop their own faith or skills. A mentor can be someone of any age, who can speak to having life experience or specific vocational maturity. Who is a mentee? An Awaken mentee is a woman of any age who desires to develop in their faith, leadership, and ministry skills. A mentee may seek guidance when navigating a new season in their vocation or relationships. Questions? Email [email protected]

Unconscious bias rarely feels like bias.That's part of what makes it so hard to recognize.It can sound like wisdom.It ca...
09/10/2026

Unconscious bias rarely feels like bias.

That's part of what makes it so hard to recognize.

It can sound like wisdom.
It can look like discernment.
It can even feel like just trying to be careful.

But when the same behavior is interpreted differently depending on who's doing it, then there might be something else shaping the response.

Women in ministry can find themselves repeatedly establishing credibility that has already been demonstrated—while others are given trust more freely.

This isn't always intentional. And that's exactly why it's worth paying attention to.

We all carry assumptions about what leadership looks like, what authority sounds like, and who seems “ready.”

The question is whether we're willing to notice those assumptions when they show up.

Sometimes the work isn't proving that women can lead.

It's learning to notice the assumptions that shape how we recognize leadership in the first place.

Sometimes we read things so often we stop really seeing them.I think Genesis 1-2 is one of those places.Both Adam and Ev...
09/08/2026

Sometimes we read things so often we
stop really seeing them.

I think Genesis 1-2 is one of those places.

Both Adam and Eve are made in the image of God.
Both receive God's blessing.
And both are given the work of tending the garden.

Then there's the word for Eve: Ezer

It's easy to read "helper" and just move on.

But we should slow down and look at how Scripture uses that word.

It isn't a word that places Eve on the edges. That same word is used for God as One who helps his people.

Then keep reading.

Because the women keep showing up.

It's not always in the same way or circumstances, but in participating in what God is doing.

The invitation isn't to force every passage into a modern framework.
It's to pay attention to the framework Scripture itself gives us.

What happens when we slow down enough to notice what we've been reading all along?

Sometimes the invitation isn't to read Scripture differently.

It's to slow down enough to actually see what's already there.

There’s a particular kind of exhaustion many women in ministry know well: constantly editing yourself.Wondering if you’r...
08/11/2026

There’s a particular kind of exhaustion many women in ministry know well: constantly editing yourself.

Wondering if you’re too much.

Too direct.
Too opinionated.
Too confident.
Not confident enough.

So you soften the thing you really wanted to say. You wait for someone else to say it first. You wonder whether staying quiet would be more faithful.

But what if being equipped for ministry includes your voice?

God has not called you into ministry empty-handed. Your perspective, wisdom, experience, discernment, and voice are part of the gift you bring to the Church.

You don’t have to become louder.
You don’t have to become someone else.

You’re invited to become faithful with what God has already entrusted to you.

Your voice is part of God’s gift to the Church.

If you’re a woman in ministry, maybe this is your reminder today: you belong in the conversation. Your voice has something to contribute.

And if you know a woman who needs to hear that today, send this her way. ❤️

There are moments in ministry when something settles in your spirit, and you think:Yes. This is where God has called me....
08/10/2026

There are moments in ministry when something settles in your spirit, and you think:

Yes. This is where God has called me.

Sometimes that confidence comes while you're teaching or leading.

Sometimes it comes while you're mentoring another woman or watching someone discover her own gifts.

Sometimes it comes in a quiet conversation, a difficult season, or an ordinary moment when you simply recognize that God has given you something to offer.

Confidence in your calling doesn't mean you never question yourself.

It doesn't mean you always feel equipped.

And it certainly doesn't mean you have everything figured out.

Sometimes it simply means recognizing God's faithfulness in the places where He has asked you to show up.

So let's learn from one another.

Complete this sentence:
👉 I feel most confident in my calling when…

Share your answer in the comments.

And then read through the responses. What gives one woman confidence may be exactly the encouragement another woman needs today.

This is part of what makes community so powerful: we don't have to discover everything about our calling alone. We can learn from the women walking alongside us. 💜

What if you stopped trying to prove you’re called?Maybe you've felt the pressure.To prove you're qualified.To prove you'...
08/09/2026

What if you stopped trying to prove you’re called?

Maybe you've felt the pressure.

To prove you're qualified.
To prove you're capable.
To prove you belong in the room.

For women in ministry, that pressure can be complicated. Sometimes we know God has called us, but still feel like we need to demonstrate that calling through how much we accomplish, how well we lead, or how much we can carry.

And somewhere along the way, faithfulness can quietly turn into performance.

But your calling isn't validated by perfection.

It isn't measured by productivity.

And it doesn't depend on everyone's approval.

You can be confident in your calling and still be growing.

You can receive correction without questioning whether you belong.

You can learn from another woman's leadership without comparing your calling to hers.

You can lead with humility without leading from insecurity.

Because the God who called you is still forming you.

“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion...”
Philippians 1:6

So let's talk about something many women in ministry experience but don't always say out loud:

Where do women in ministry feel the most pressure to prove themselves?

Maybe it's being taken seriously.
Maybe it's measuring success.
Maybe it's feeling like you have to know everything.
Maybe it's something else entirely.

Whatever it looks like, you aren't the only one carrying it.

Let's create space here for honest conversation—not comparison or competition, but women learning from women and reminding one another that we don't have to lead alone.

💜 What comes to mind for you?

There’s a ministry trap that’s easy to fall into because it often looks like faithfulness.You care deeply about the peop...
08/06/2026

There’s a ministry trap that’s easy to fall into because it often looks like faithfulness.
You care deeply about the people God has entrusted to you. You prepare well. You show up. You carry responsibility with integrity. Those are good and beautiful things.

But sometimes, without even realizing it, our motivation begins to shift.
Instead of serving from the security of God's love, we start striving to prove ourselves.

We wonder if we've done enough.

We compare ourselves to other leaders.

We measure our worth by outcomes instead of obedience.

For many women in ministry, that pressure can be especially familiar. We may feel the need to work a little harder, prepare a little longer, or carry a little more to quiet the question, "Am I enough?"

The good news of the gospel is this: God never asks us to prove what He has already declared.

Paul reminds Timothy that Scripture forms us so that we may be "equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16–17). Before God equips us for ministry, He is shaping our hearts. Before our assignment comes our identity.

So before you step into your next meeting, sermon, Bible study, or difficult conversation, pause and pray:

"Jesus, remind me who I am before You remind me what I need to do."
The healthiest leaders aren't the ones who carry the most. They're the ones who remain rooted in Christ.

💜 Have you ever found yourself confusing faithfulness with performance? What helps you return to the security of your identity in Christ?

Before God equips your hands, He forms your heart.When we think about being equipped for ministry, our minds often go to...
08/03/2026

Before God equips your hands, He forms your heart.

When we think about being equipped for ministry, our minds often go to what we need to learn or develop:

More knowledge.
More experience.
More skills.

And those things matter.

But God’s preparation has always gone deeper than what we can do for Him.
Before He works through our hands, He works within our hearts.

The ministry we offer flows from the person we are becoming in Christ. Our calling is not sustained by our gifting alone, but by the God who called us and continues to shape us.

Before you carry a title, a role, or a responsibility, you are already known and loved by God.

The question for the journey:
Who is God forming me to become as I serve Him?

May we be leaders who don’t just ask God to use our gifts, but who remain open to His ongoing work within us.

Comparison is sneaky.Maybe that’s what makes it so difficult to recognize.It doesn’t always look like jealousy or wantin...
07/21/2026

Comparison is sneaky.

Maybe that’s what makes it so difficult to recognize.

It doesn’t always look like jealousy or wanting what someone else has. Sometimes it slips in through good desires—the desire to grow, to lead well, to be faithful with what God has entrusted to us.

But somewhere along the way, we can begin looking around instead of looking to Jesus.

We start measuring our faithfulness by someone else’s fruit.

Their opportunities.
Their influence.
Their season.

And slowly, we lose sight of the unique ways God is already working in us.
The Kingdom of God was never meant to be built through comparison.

There is room for every gift.
Every story.
Every calling.

The invitation isn’t shame. It’s awareness.

To notice where comparison has quietly taken root and return to the One who knows us completely, calls us intentionally, and is faithfully forming us.

What helps you return to a place of trust when comparison starts creeping in?

Leadership is often shaped in the quiet, ordinary rhythms no one else sees.The practices that keep us rooted—whether it'...
07/17/2026

Leadership is often shaped in the quiet, ordinary rhythms no one else sees.

The practices that keep us rooted—whether it's prayer, Sabbath, movement, trusted friendships, time in Scripture, or simply creating margin—help sustain us for the work God has called us to.

As women in ministry, we have so much wisdom to share with one another.

What's one rhythm that's helping you stay healthy in this season?

Share it in the comments. Your experience may be exactly the encouragement someone else needs today. 💜

We often talk about the importance of rest.But sometimes the hardest part of rest isn’t finding the time.It’s believing ...
07/15/2026

We often talk about the importance of rest.

But sometimes the hardest part of rest isn’t finding the time.

It’s believing that rest is actually good, necessary, and faithful.

Many of us carry quiet assumptions about rest that shape the way we lead:

Rest is laziness.
If we aren’t producing, we’re falling behind.

Rest is something we earn.
We’ll slow down once the work is finished.

Rest can wait.
There will be a better time, a lighter season, a moment when everything settles down.

But what if Sabbath is not a reward for faithful leaders?

What if it is one of the ways God forms faithful leaders?

For those of us in ministry, this matters.
Because the way we practice rest reveals what we believe about God, ourselves, and our calling.

In this week’s Leadership Lab, we’re exploring “Sabbath as Strategy: Rest that Re-centers the Leader”—a reflection on why rest isn’t stepping away from leadership, but a way of leading from a place of trust and wholeness.

What’s one belief about rest you’ve had to unlearn?

Read the full reflection here: ⬇
https://awakennetwork.org/stories/sabbath-for-ministry-leaders-rest-that-re-centers-the-leader/

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