Ministries created by women, for women, are active and growing throughout the CMBA Family of Churches. Ralphetta Davis serves as the CMBA Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) and Sisters Who Care (SWC) director and says these ministries are critical to reaching a large part of the congregation, fundamental to the health of churches, and in the support of pastors.
“WMU is so important to our churches. It impacts the pastors’ ministry of missions, evangelism, and discipleship,” Davis explains, adding that believers have been “called to missions through Matthew 28. That’s the work that God has left us here to do, and if that’s not what we’re doing, then we’re not following the Great Commission.”
In her CMBA role, Davis is available to church groups to connect them with valuable women’s ministry resources and information through SC WMU, which offers eight levels of age-based materials. She assists church leaders in starting women’s ministries and educating churches on the value of having a WMU or SWC group in the local church and community. There are also community organizations Davis can introduce to churches if a group is looking to expand its reach.
“What’s amazing about WMU is that it keeps our eyes on missions. A church doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel because these resources are age-appropriate, so the understanding is there,” she says.
SC WMU Executive Director-Treasurer Jess Archer says her team focuses on making disciples of Jesus who live on mission by helping people learn about missions, pray for missions, support missions, and tell people about Jesus. “As we focus on these missional characteristics and help churches understand what ‘making disciples of Jesus who live on mission’ looks like, we desire to equip leaders and plan events that reflect this,” Archer says.
Davis wants CMBA churches currently without an active WMU group to know that “the main goals of today’s WMU is focused on evangelism, discipleship, and missions, and to come alongside the ministries of the church. Having a WMU group established within the church body will also make a pastor’s efforts toward missions work a lot easier. Today’s WMU is innovative, informative, and looking to strengthen the entire body of Christ.”
CMBA WMU and SWC groups will meet for the 2023 Baptist Women’s World Day of Prayer on November 6 at 6:30 p.m. at Zion Canaan Baptist on Farrow Road. CMBA joins with the Gethsemane Missionary Baptist Association Women’s Auxiliary to pray for specific work through Baptist women serving internationally, to celebrate ministry accomplishments, and to resource by providing financial support through the Baptist World Alliance.
Davis invites all women – involved in WMU or not – to attend the World Day of Prayer. “It’s amazing to see the work God is doing through these women all over the world, and at the same time,” she says.
Davis reports that she’s in regular contact with active CMBA WMU and SWC groups, recently met with a local CMBA church looking to reaffirm its WMU group, and assisted a church in the Lowcountry that has questions about WMU ministries and resources. She has built relationships with local schools and is focused on new ways to reach children missionally.
Davis is also working to collect an accurate list of women’s ministries throughout the CMBA Family of Churches. These ministries include WMU, SWC, or other missional groups for women. She asks that all CMBA churches contact her by email at RalphettaDavis@gmail.com with the church name, group, and the group leader’s name and contact information.
“I am working to organize SWC throughout South Carolina, which is not an easy task, but we are one of the states that doesn’t officially have that right now. I know groups are out there and women’s missions is being done, so it’s a matter of meeting with churches to let them know of CMBA’s support and that resources are available,” Davis says.
In related news, Davis was nominated by Archer and selected to receive the 2023 Candy P. Phillips WMU Leadership Endowment, which was created to honor Phillips’ service to WMU. It provides scholarships to women identified within their state as potential leaders by providing further training. CMBA congratulates Davis, who has been awarded access to nine Christian Women’s Leadership Center online leadership courses.