Who We Are

Our Mission

The Mission of Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina is to:

  • Provide a network of support, fellowship, worship, advocacy, and education for Baptist women and men who seek to honor God’s call to ministry.

  • To encourage that call in all areas of mission and ministry, lay or ordained.

  • To dialogue and share information with North Carolina Baptists concerning women in missions and ministry.

  • To increase understanding and awareness of the call of women and men to serve as ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We seek to carry out our mission through connection, affirmation, discernment, support, networking, and empowerment.

Telling Stories

Opening Doors

Building Community

Our Impact

As women called by God, we seek professional opportunities to serve in vocational ministry. In all ways that God might guide our paths, Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina encourages and empowers gifted and God-called women in ministry to lead with a creative spirit. 

We seek to build strong relationships resulting in bold communities.

Our work includes:

  • Providing scholarships each year to women seeking Master of Divinity degrees in four seminary programs in North Carolina: Campbell University, Duke University, Gardner-Webb University, and Wake Forest University.

  • Support state and denominational gatherings with workshops and exhibits.

  • Participating in the installation and ministerial ordinations of women in churches in North Carolina.

  • Demonstrate leadership roles of women in ministry for youth, college students, and church leaders at your camps, in Bible studies and in worship.

  • Host an annual statewide symposium with worship, workshop, and plenary sessions that encourage, support, educate, and affirm God’s call for women in ministry.

Our History and Our Future

In 1983, a group of 25 women and men met at College Park Baptist Church in Greensboro, NC, to consider forming an organization to support North Carolina women who felt a call to ministry. The group present at that meeting voted unanimously to establish a task force to work toward a formal organization. In 1984, a statement of purpose was adopted, and Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina was born. 

Since that time, BWIM NC has grown. Women and men across the state gave their time, talent, and resources to form an organization dedicated to our mission of supporting and encouraging women answering their call to ministry. 

Through the dedicated service of our board and volunteers, along with support from partner organizations, BWIM NC made the leap to employ our first executive director.   The Rev. Dr. Ka’thy Gore Chappell became our executive director in 2018, allowing us to expand our ability to serve Baptist women across the state. 

When Ka’thy announced her intent to retire, the board of directors set to work on finding our next executive director. In April 2025, the board voted to call Rev. Leslie Park to serve as our second executive director, beginning her work in September 2025. 

We have been and will continue to be committed to working for the day when both women and men have the opportunity to follow God’s call to ministry. We look forward to the next steps on the path we are invited to follow, with continued emphasis on our mission.

BWIM NC
Leadership Team

STAFF

Rev. Lynnette Sills

INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Ex Officio

Rev. Esther Soud Parker

TREASURER

Ex Officio

Rev. Virginia Ross Taylor

PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Compelling Preaching Initiative (Lilly Funded)

Board of Directors

— CLASS OF 2025 —

Rev. Shannon Stewart Hall

Rev. Will Raybon

Rev. Karen Metcalf-Eickoff

— CLASS OF 2026 —

Rev. Liz Britt Johnson

Rev. Regina Johnson

Rev. Sarah Wilson

— CLASS OF 2027 —

Tarsha Banister

Alicia Davis Porterfield

Rebecca Hewitt-Newson

Claire Dillashaw

Katrina Tatum

Breana Van Velzen

Covener

Meet Our New Executive Director

Rev. Leslie Park

Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina is happy to announce our next Executive Director, Rev. Leslie Park. Rev. Park has more than 20 years of ministry experience, most recently serving as the pastor of Warsaw Baptist Church in Warsaw, VA. In addition, she has been the moderator of Virginia Baptist Women in Ministry since 2022 and Minister to the Latino and Immigrant Community of the Rappahannock Baptist Association. She is a graduate of Baptist Theological Seminary of Richmond and James Madison University. She is married and the mother to three adult children. 

Rev. Park is widely respected for her role as a pastor to other pastors, creating strong relationships across denominational and cultural lines. Rev. Dr. Meredith Stone, Executive Director of Baptist Women in Ministry offered these words of support for Leslie, “Rev. Leslie Park is the kind of pastor who you feel truly sees you and cares deeply about your wellbeing. This authentic pastoral presence combined with Leslie’s leadership and passion for supporting women in ministry will an incredible gift to BWIMNC. We look forward to collaborating with Leslie and BWIMNC in the years ahead!”

In her own words, Rev. Park writes, “I feel most truly myself when I am in conversation with other women and can use my gifts to encourage and inspire those whom God has called to serve.”

We are grateful that God has chosen for Leslie Park to share her gifts with Baptist women in NC.  She and her family will move to North Carolina this  summer and she will begin her role as Executive Director on September 1, 2025.