Continue to pray for the planners of the June 2022 event “Celebrating Ministering Women: Radical. Redeemed. Ready.” The conference will meet at the Green Lake Conference Center in Green Lake, Wisconsin. The conference will highlight inspiring women in ministry, and will bring together men, women, lay and ordained to celebrate and recognize the positive history and future of American Baptist women ministering throughout the world.

Hear from Rev. Dr. Zina Jacque, is a member of the pastoral staff of the historic Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandra, Va. We connected with Zina for an interview to learn a bit more about her. Check it out, below!

Question: What glass ceilings have you broken?
Answer: I was the first Black Dean of Admission at a Women’s college – Mills College (1986). I was the first Black female pastor at Community Church of Barrington. I was the first Black person to be the President of the Board of the Samaritan Institute of the Northwest Suburbs. I was the first Executive Director of two not for profits in Boston, one I founded (The Trinity Boston Counseling Center) and one that hired me (Boston Ten Point Coalition).

Question: What about failures? Anything notable/any learning experiences?
Answer: One of the not for profits I served had a culture of fierce and debilitating competition. I did not know how to navigate this environment. I was the leader, in name only. The board was engaged in a deep and destructive level. I failed at identifying the challenges early on and so never set about on a wise program of improvement. I lasted 18 months and then left.

Question: What have you had to overcome?
Answer: I am an African American, 1st generation, woman. BUT my parents poured into me my worth and value and God has ordered my steps in a way that the world has responded, mostly. So, what I have had to overcome is the day to day challenges of life but nothing that was out of the ordinary.

Question: How daring are we as American Baptist ministering women? What do we dare to do?
Answer: I think it takes courage just to go out into world. But we dare greatly as people of faith. In the face of lies, we dare to offer the gospel. We dare to be hopeful when our churches are shrinking. We dare to not give up. We dare to speak truth when it is not convenient. We dare to get up each morning even when it is hard. And we dare to do the corporate things ABCUSA does. We dare to believe in a real future.

Learn more about Rev. Dr. Zina Jacque

Rev. Dr. Zina Jacque is a member of the pastoral staff of the historic Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandra, Va. and will be responsible for the Villages Ministry, a small group program serving over 4,000 men and women across the country. Dr. Jacque has served on the staffs of white, black, multicultural, urban, and suburban churches and has done extensive work in the areas of education, counseling, and support programs. Jacque most recently served as the lead pastor of the Community Church of Barrington, Ill. Previously, she served as Executive Director and Founder of the Pastoral Counseling Center of Trinity Church (Episcopal) in Boston and was the Interim Director of Christian Education at the Melrose Church in Massachusetts. Prior to entering ministry, Rev. Jacque completed a 20+ year career in higher education serving in senior positions at Northwestern (Chicago, Ill.), the University of Chicago (Chicago, Ill.), Mills College (Oakland, Ca.), and the University of California (both Santa Cruz and the Office of the President).