VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 12/11/12)—American Baptist Women’s Ministries is accepting nominations now for the 2013 Shine the Light Award. The annual Shine the Light Award, established by AB Women’s Ministries in 2011, recognizes a woman or a women’s ministry group that serves as an outstanding light-bearer for Christ. The award highlights a specific ministry project or projects that best demonstrate how the individual or group receiving the award have spread the light of Christ through their congregation, their community, or the world.
In 2011, the women of the First Baptist Church in Selma, California, were recognized for work they did on behalf of victims and survivors of sex trafficking through the American Baptist Women’s Ministries-sponsored national mission project, Break the Chains: Slavery in the 21st Century. In 2012, co-recipients Mrs. Elizabeth Gooden and Mrs. Sybil Jones of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, were recognized for their devoted commitment to the Open Door Fellowship, a ministry to incarcerated and previously incarcerated individuals, as well as the many other ways they serve in ministry.
“This award is one tangible way to recognize local church women that are leading or doing extraordinary mission and ministry outreach. The national recognition of one woman or group of women is symbolic of the recognition deserved by so many American Baptist women that quietly serve as the hands and feet of Christ, reflecting the light of Christ to the world around them,” said Virginia Holmstrom, executive director of AB Women’s Ministries. “This is an opportunity to share nationally what women are doing; their moving stories inspire the imaginations of others to carry the light of Christ into the shadows of human need.”
The deadline for nominations for the 2013 Shine the Light Award is January 31, 2013. For more information, criteria, and to submit a nomination, visit the AB Women’s Ministries website at www.abwministries.org, or contact the AB Women’s Ministries office at (610) 768-2288 or info@abwministries.org.
American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with over 5,200 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.