Awaken - BIC Network for Women in Ministry

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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]

06/16/2026

There’s a kind of leadership that starts before you speak.

Hand on the door.
That small pause before you walk in.

Many women in ministry know this moment.
Not as fear—but as awareness.

You can feel the room before you’re even in it.
And still, you lead.

Not by shrinking yourself to fit what’s there.
And not by forcing the room to become something else in an instant.
But by staying clear about what you carry.

Mutuality isn’t built in big moments.
It’s shaped in these everyday ones
where you choose to show up and speak anyway.

What helps you stay grounded when you step into spaces like this?

06/13/2026

What if the issue isn’t that you’re unqualified…
but that no one ever named what you’re already doing?

“I’m walking with people…
but I don’t actually feel qualified to be doing this.”

For many women in the Church, that tension is familiar.

You show up for people.
You listen. You carry conversations that matter.
You’re often the person others turn to.

And still, underneath it all, there’s a quiet question:
Am I actually equipped for this?

In many church contexts, mentorship is not clearly defined.
It’s assumed through proximity rather than formed through clarity.

So influence grows before language does.
And responsibility grows before confidence catches up.

But lack of language does not mean lack of calling.

What feels undefined is often already faithful.

You are not starting from nothing.

You may already be carrying presence, discernment, attention, and care in ways that are shaping people more than you’ve been told.

The invitation is not to become someone else.

It is to name what God has already entrusted to you—
and learn to walk in it with clarity instead of confusion.

And if this resonates, share it with a woman who’s already carrying more than she’s been given language for.

Where in your life have you been mentoring without realizing it?

06/12/2026

We often talk about mentorship as preparation.

And for many women in ministry, that language reflects real experience—spaces where leadership can feel just ahead of reach, and formation can feel tied to proving readiness.

But Kingdom mentorship tells a different story.

God is not waiting for mentorship to begin forming someone’s calling.

He is already at work long before it is named or recognized.
Mentorship, then, is not the starting point of leadership development.

It is participation in what God is already doing.

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” — 1 Corinthians 3:6

This reorders the weight of things.

God initiates.
We participate.

And mentorship becomes less about shaping people into something they are not yet…and more about discerning, strengthening, and affirming what God has already been forming.

Where might you already be stepping into what God has been growing in someone’s life—before it had language?

06/06/2026

For the woman in ministry afraid vulnerability will cost credibility…

It can feel like honesty about struggle needs to be managed carefully to maintain trust.

But Paul reminds us:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9)

Weakness is not disqualification. It is often where grace becomes visible.

Where are you still performing strength instead of practicing honest leadership?

06/04/2026

For the woman in ministry who wonders if there’s room for her voice…

Comparison rarely begins as competition—it begins as awareness, measurement, and quiet uncertainty about your place.

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.” (1 Cor. 12:4)

The body of Christ is not built on scarcity. It is built on shared calling.

What shifts when you believe there is enough room for your voice?

06/02/2026

For the woman in ministry who feels responsible for everyone’s growth…

It’s easy to believe that if someone isn’t growing, it must mean you’re not doing enough.

But Scripture reframes this:
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” (1 Cor. 3:6)

You are faithful with what you do. Growth belongs to God.

What outcome are you trying to carry that isn’t yours to hold?

05/31/2026

For the woman in ministry learning to set boundaries without guilt…

Saying yes to everything can feel like faithfulness—but over time it can blur clarity and exhaust your capacity to love well.

“Let your yes be yes and your no be no.” (Matt. 5:37)

Clarity is not unkind. It is integrity.

Where are you saying yes without clarity right now?

05/30/2026

Lydia is often reduced to hospitality, but Scripture tells a broader story.

She was a merchant of purple cloth—a businesswoman with influence, resources, and leadership in her city.

When she encountered the message of Jesus, she responded immediately. But she didn’t step away from her leadership. She stewarded it.

Her home became a gathering place for the church in Philippi. Not as an afterthought, but as part of how Christian community took root.

Too often, leadership is framed as visibility or platform. Lydia challenges that assumption.

She built space where people could gather, grow, and encounter God—and that kind of leadership helped shape the early Church.

This is not secondary leadership.

It is foundational.
Spirit-formed strength often builds what others will later stand on.

Name one place you are currently building space for others to flourish.

05/29/2026

For the woman in ministry learning to lead through tension…

Conflict doesn’t always mean something is wrong. Sometimes it’s the place where clarity needs to be formed.

Avoiding hard conversations can feel like keeping the peace, but over time it often creates confusion and distance.

“Speak the truth in love.” (Eph. 4:15)

Not harsh truth. Not silent peace. But grounded clarity.

Where have you been avoiding a conversation because it feels easier than naming what’s true?

05/28/2026

For many women in ministry, rest feels complicated.

There are people to care for. Messages waiting for replies. Leadership responsibilities that don’t shut off neatly at the end of the day. And even when there is space to pause, it can feel difficult to trust that stopping is allowed—or even useful.

But Sabbath was never meant to be about performing a perfect rhythm. It’s a practice of remembering, in real time, that you are not the one holding everything together.

Sometimes rest looks like a full day unplugged. Sometimes it looks like putting your phone down for an hour. Sometimes it’s choosing not to mentally carry every conversation, decision, or outcome into the evening.

It doesn’t have to look impressive to matter.

What matters is learning to stop long enough to remember that your worth—and your faithfulness—are not measured by constant availability.

Over time, these small pauses become places where trust grows.
And trust, not urgency, is what sustains a life in ministry.

Address

Carlisle, PA

Website

http://awakennetwork.org/

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