HSU Insider

God's Word Spread by Two Genders: Workshop to Help Women Called to Ministry

• By Janlyn Echols Thaxton
• Posted April 7, 2009 5:14 PM
• 0 Comments

When Sheryll Ellis-Harris of Duncanville came to the Women in Ministry Conference at Hardin-Simmons University, she hoped to go home with some new ideas on how to minister better to residents living in two assisted-living communities served by her church.

Ellis-Harris is an Associate Minister of the Community Mission Baptist Church in DeSoto. Every Saturday she visits the senior citizens who live in two facilities in DeSoto and Cedar Hill, taking gifts and leading them in Bible study and prayer.

But she doesn't do it alone. Part of her job as an Associate Minister is to organize groups of adults and children from the church to go each weekend to pray, study, and sing with the residents. She even takes her clarinet-playing nieces, 7th grader Jackie, and Sandra, who will be a high school senior.

Sheryll's full-time job is with the housing Authority in Dallas where she has worked with people living in low-income and subsidized housing for 14 years. With that responsibility, she brings plenty of experience to the table on how to help others in her ministry job, but still feels like she is in need of new ideas and resources.

Ellis-Harris is one of about 150 people attending the "Women in Ministry Conference" at Hardin-Simmons' Logsdon Seminary. The conference is co-sponsored by Logsdon and the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

The conference includes speakers from churches, counseling centers, day cares, and outreach ministries from all across the state. Breakout sessions help participants gain a greater understanding of issues facing some of their peers and gives opportunity to connect with other people in varying ministries.

Meredith Stone, one of the Logsdon Seminary coordinators of the fledgling meeting, says, "The purpose of the conference is to provide support for the many women who minister in hundreds of Baptist churches around the state."

Stone, an teaching pastor herself, says, "Traditionally, there have not been a lot of opportunities for women in leadership roles in Baptist life. This is a way to encourage, support, and connect those who are doing it."

Lillian Hinds, Head Pastor for Meadow Oaks Baptist Church in Temple, leader of one of the general sessions at the conference, tells participants about her journey from divorce to becoming a pastor.

Hinds told the group that God started calling her when she was a teenager. The 56-year old said, "Then, a woman could only be involved in ministry by being a missionary or a preacher's wife. I chose to marry a preacher. When we divorced, I could see nothing beyond that terrible event in my life, and I was left feeling like I had no way to meet God's calling."

She continued, "But God kept calling, 'I want you to preach,' He said. But God, don't you know I'm a woman, I'm divorced, and... I'm a Baptist?" she argued. "'It's all under my grace,' He said to me."

So, she enrolled in Truett Seminary in Waco and drove two and a half hours each week to classes. "God began to work in me, He said 'it's not about you, it's about hearing my call,'" she said to the crowd.

Then, after many years of working in other jobs, Hinds got a call from a church. "August 31, 2008, the church members in Temple called me to be their pastor. From that, I've learned that there is nothing that can happen to you that God can't turn into good."

Meredith Stone says of the conference, "It is an example of how Hardin-Simmons can do its part in furthering the Kingdom of God by affirming God's call to all people."

Megan Donahue is a third-year student in the Master of Divinity program at Logsdon. The Stephenville native says she has no desire to be a lead pastor at a church, but she can use her HSU theology degree to fulfill other roles in a church.

As for Sheryll Ellis-Harris, "I have a lot of resources now that I didn't have before the conference" she says. "Also, my 17-year-old niece, who helps me out, is trying to decide where to go to college." She is the clarinet player from Duncanville High School who plays at the assisted living centers the DeSoto church serves. "Now, that I've seen Hardin-Simmons, I think HSU should go on Sandra's list of potential colleges," says Harris.

The Women in Ministry Conference will rotate to Baylor Truett Seminary next spring. This is the second time it has been on the HSU campus.

Photos:
Sheryll Ellis-Harris, Assoc. Pastor of Community Missionary Baptist Church, DeSoto, TX; Lillian Hinds, Head Paster of Meadow Oaks Baptist Church, Temple, TX