Baptist World Alliance Women’s Department (BWA WD), retired on December 31, 2015, after working in that position for 17 years. “She has initiated many projects and the global Baptist Women’s Day of Prayer grew into a recognized ministry that connected Baptist women to each other both in prayer and practical support,” said Ksenija Magda, president of

P REFLECTION ON I

17 Years of Ministry By Patsy Davis

can only think of the many blessings that the Lord has given me as I reflect on 17 years of ministry in the Baptist World Alliance Women’s Department. They have been years of change, joy, struggle, growth, airplanes, mission trips, continental union meetings and the most wonderful Baptist women from around the world. I have worked with four of the most gifted and talented

Baptist women

presidents: Mercy Jeyaraja Rao from India, Audrey Morikawa from Canada, Dorothy Selebano from South Africa, and Raquel Contreras from Chile. treasurers completed

The secretary/ the administrative

team that worked hard to encourage, as well as celebrate, unity in Christ among Baptist women of the world and work toward peace, reconciliation, justice and development through prayer, witness and service.

During these 17 years there have been four Baptist Women’s Leadership Conferences. The conferences have grown from being by invitation only to an open conference that all Baptist women may attend. Each conference was better than

28 BAPTIST WORLD MAGAZINE

the BWA Women’s Department. “She has been appreciated by many women on all continents and under her leadership, the Women’s Department became an example of an effective global ministry within the Baptist World Alliance.”

“God called me many years ago to work with women, and he has blessed me these 17 years to be a part of the BWA WD,” Davis stated. “The Women’s Department of the BWA, and in particular the Executive Board of the WD, appreciate Patsy’s many years of faithful service to women globally,” Magda declared. The BWA Women’s president “wish[es] that God, our Lord and Father, may continue to bless her and her work in the future.” Prior to taking up her position at the BWA in 1998, Davis was a Southern

Baptist International Mission Board missionary for 21 years, serving as general secretary of the National Woman’s Missionary Union of Venezuela. She succeeded the late Willene Pierce, who died in March 2014.

BWA Women’s Director RETIRES

atsy Davis, executive director of the

Patsy Davis

“God called me many years ago to work with women, and he has blessed me these 17 years to be a part of the BWA Women’s Department.”

the one before, and the 2015 conference in South Africa was the best to date. Baptist women are still celebrating as they arise to shine for the Lord. Ksenija Magda from Croatia was elected president at the 2015 conference.

Planning and having a strategic plan has been important, and has helped the organization to grow. It also brought to light the need to do something related to violence, the importance of women, and update the organization’s history. Three books were published during these years, Free from Violence

in

the Family by Amparo Medina; I’m a Woman…Created in the Image of God by Joyce Cope Wyatt; and Coming Together: A History of the Women’s Department, BWA, by Esther Barnes. Baptist women have been attending

the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the United Nations for many years. The Women’s Department hosted two parallel events at the CSW in order to give a Christian point of view on the different issues. The heart of the Women’s Department

is the Baptist Women’s World Day of Prayer. It has been exciting to see how it has grown among the different generations. The program is sent out to 150 different translators making it possible for all Baptist women to participate. In the last few years

there has been a 24-hour Day of Pray vigil led by T. J. Wheeler. This year it reached more than 26,000 people.

There have been many mission trips where the Women’s Department Administrative Team, as well as some board members, have participated. These mission trips were a response to the needs of women, be it for training, meeting physical

needs or sharing God’s love

through small gifts. The Internet really came into existence during these years. It was a challenge to learn how to design and maintain a website, as well as how best to use Facebook. Today, I am pleased to say that these means of technology are being used to the fullest to get the Women’s Department’s message out to the world. The

Women’s Department has

struggled financially over the years, and it was special for me to see how God used a world pendent jewelry idea that I had, and made it into a way to help the Women’s Department.

Since helped financially.

I am retiring from the Women’s Department, but not from the Lord’s work. It is exciting to think about what He has in store for me next. Please pray for me as I start a new chapter in my life.

the world pendent,

there have been other jewelry ideas that have

the Women’s Department