The subversive power of calling: The Girls’ Auxiliary and Baptist women in ministry

Abstract

In the second half of the twentieth century, a group called the Girls’ Auxiliary (GA) became influential in the lives of many Southern Baptist girls and women. Through weekly meetings, annual camps, fund-raising, and individual mission activities, girls learned about how they could make a difference in the world through missions. In Baptist life, mission was the central work of the church. Alongside the Women’s Missionary Union (WMU), which sponsored and led the girls, the GAs brought attention to the mission cause and helped in collecting funds to support it. In annual “coronations,” girls were honored and crowned as mission queens in the Baptist kingdom. They often even spoke in these church-wide gatherings. This article explores the impact of the GA program on women who ultimately became Baptist ministers. Based on a survey of over 200 contemporary women ministers, the program did clearly impact a significant number of women who reported that the GA program gave them a greater sense of purpose, helped them to understand their vocational calling, and helped them see themselves as church leaders. Ultimately, the GA program became less influential and has now disappeared in many congregations.