Almost 1,500 women gathered at the Ministers Wives Luncheon held June 14 in conjunction with the 2022 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting.
“With all that we have been through in the past two and a half years, we need courage more than ever to rebuild and move forward,” said Ann Iorg, president of the luncheon and wife of Gateway Seminary President Jeff Iorg.
“Take Courage,” based on Psalm 31:24, was the theme for this year’s gathering.
Guest speaker Jennifer Rothschild said, “Take courage from the word of God and from those who inspire you.”
As someone who lost her eyesight at the age of 15, Rothschild knows something about courage. The last book she read before losing her sight was Joni Eareckson Tada’s autobiography, “Joni,” Rothschild said.
“You may feel invisible or think that your work is not enough. I guarantee you that you are a Joni to someone,” she said.
She encouraged the women present to “stay in the battle.”
“A hero is not the one who fixes things. A hero is the one who stays in the battle,” Rothschild said. “And, warrior women, you are the ones who stay in the battle. What makes you a hero is faithfulness. Stay in the battle because you build more than you see.”
At the luncheon the Willie Turner Dawson Award was presented to Kem Jackson, wife of Al Jackson, recently retired pastor of Lakeview Baptist Church in Auburn, Alabama. (Jessica Ingram, Debbie Campbell)
For more stories from the 2022 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting, visit thebaptistpaper.org/sbc2022.
