The mission of the Association of Adventist Women is to advocate for the participation of women in all leadership roles in Seventh-day Adventist organizations, congregations, and communities around the globe.

Goals

Enhancing the church’s effectiveness by fostering a grass roots movement to recognize women’s service as leadership and allow full partnership of women in the entirety of church life.

Promoting leadership skills among Adventist women of various ages and backgrounds

Establishing a network for Adventist women to inspire and support each other in leadership.

Working amicably with the church to create more significant opportunities for women in all levels of administration and ministry, including ordination.

Highlighting Adventist women’s contri-butions so their skills are fully valued.

Yearly Activities

An annual conference dealing head on with the difficult issues women face in the church, including domestic abuse, racism, sexual harassment and misogyny. By facing issues together we find practical solutions, spiritual growth and mutual encouragement.
Our yearly business meeting sets, streamlines and assesses the mission and goals of AAW.
A Woman-of-the-Year program at its annual conference which recognizes outstanding women throughout the SDA church.

Accomplishments

The Association of Adventist Women is a long term proponent of Women’s Ministries departments in all conferences, unions and divisions. We are pleased that all thirteen divisions now have a Women’s Ministry department.

AAW’s sexual abuse committe, lead by Peggy Harris, had a pivotal role in the sexual ethics committee of the NAD, which produced the NAD abuse policy: Sexual Misconduct in Church Relationships.

The AAW has spawned several separate entities:

Time for Equality in Adventist Ministry, providing more than 400 scholarships totaling $500,000 to help SDA women attend seminaries. Go TEAM!
CEASE! (Clergy and Educator Abuse Survivors Empowered!) cultivates healing and prevention of sexual, spiritual, physical and emotional abuse.
The Women’s Resource Center at La Sierra University shares the stories of Adventist leaders and teaches a clear Biblical understanding of women.

Initiatives

Recommendations to strengthen the church:

An increase in women in decision-making roles at every level of the church organization including hiring more qualified women pastors.
Pay equity throughout the world church, not just in the United States.
In agreement with counsel from E. G. White, appropriate remuneration for stay-at-home pastor’s spouses.
That the General Conference require each division to keep track of the gender of their church membership.
To highlight and track the many women pastors and administrators work in the church.
The world church to recognize that women’s ordination is an essential step in the growth and development of the SDA church.
That Religion Departments and SDA Theological Seminaries hire more female faculty to reflect the increasing number of female theology and religion majors.

Join us in

encouraging the Adventist Church to foster women leaders at every level

praying daily for women leaders in the Adventist Church worldwide

valuing and inspiring the involvement of our young women and girls

addressing difficult issues affecting women at yearly conferences

celebrating the stories of women in leadership around the world

appreciating the great worth of Godly parenting by mothers, fathers and grandparents

Looking Forward

AAW recognizes that women make up the majority of the church. We also make up the majority of children’s Sabbath School teachers and church school teachers who, along with mothers, make exceptional evangelists. Women also predominate in God’s ministry to feed the poor, clothe the naked and heal the sick.

Women have always held up half of the church. It’s time we started recognizing these missions as leadership. Therefore, We the majority Pray for Equality & Unity.