Tracing Sister Connections: The Place of United States Latina Baptist Women in Ministry within the Overall Story of Baptist Women in Ministry

Abstract

The history of U.S. Baptist women in ministry with roots in or connections with the Southern Baptist Convention is incomplete without its sisters from the various races and ethnic groups that comprise Baptists. This article attempts to offer a beginning place to bring some completion by sharing some of the history and work by Latina Baptist women. My hopes for this article are: first, that it encourages Latina Baptist women to share their stories and complete what this article is beginning; second, that it encourages the stories from Asian, Native American, African American and other ethnic women with roots in the Southern Baptist denomination; and third, that the work of collecting these stores be done collaboratively with our Caucasian sisters so that we do not lost sight of how we influence each other's self-understanding and place in ministry. Working together, Baptist women in ministry have the opportunity to nurture the vision of the Baptist women's movement of the 1970s–80s—the vision for transformation of the patriarchal religious and economic institutions.