‘Against All Odds, God's Call Is Irrevocable’: the Ordination of Baptist Women in Mexico
Adriana Reyes Salazar was ordained to the pastoral ministry in the city of Tijuana, Baja, California, Mexico, on October 2, 2022. Her ministry spans more than 25 years in the church Camino de Salvación, which she shares with her husband, José Altamirano, who died in 2021 from COVID. Together they founded a shelter for migrants that has accompanied hundreds of people, especially those from Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, and, recently, Venezuela.
Many ministers and peacemakers do similar work, but for Adriana, it’s historic. She is only the third woman in Mexico ordained by a Baptist church. Her ordination caused a commotion for the Regional Alliance of Pastors, which tried to "convince" Adriana and her community to give up "for going against what the Bible says" and threatening "denominational unity." An organized campaign of insults against Adriana and the Camino de Salvación flowed in on social networks. Despite the controversy, a good number of pastors and congregants from other churches were present at the ordination service. It was a privilege to accompany Adriana and her church on this memorable day!
I was the first woman ordained by a Baptist church in Mexico. My pastoral ordination took place in March 2000 at the Shalom Baptist Church in Mexico City. It also caused a stir. In an unprecedented sui generis ordination, everything took place in complete freedom and joy. Due to my experience in theological and ecumenical spaces, many other women and men from many denominations shared our historic moment.
After my ordination, I expected many more would come, but it has not been like that. The second ordinand was Dalia Juárez Fernández, whose ministry was affirmed in April 2015 at the Baptist Church El Buen Samaritano, a Tzeltal indigenous community of Zapatistas in Yajalón, Chiapas. She was endorsed by churches and pastors of the Evangelical Peasant Indigenous Council of Mexico or CICEM. Two young girls gave Dalia a beautiful stole embroidered by the Tzeltal sisters.
In Mexico, the ordination of women is still unfinished business. It is an issue of power in a patriarchal structure, which is shown in the unconsciousness of recognizing the right of their fellow sisters to see themselves as equals in the pastoral ministry, with equal opportunities and co-responsible participation in the congregations. Because of the Baptist principle of local church autonomy as well as the individual’s freedom of conscience, each congregation decides how it organizes and how it exercises its mission. How, then, can other churches interfere and coerce those that recognize the pastoral ministry of women?
We must celebrate progress in spite of persistent patriarchy in Baptist institutions. It gives us hope. In Mexico, there are more and more Baptist churches where women exercise pastoral ministry and receive training in biblical studies, theology, psychology, and pedagogy. Although ordinations have not yet been celebrated on a wider scale, women are recognized as pastors in the congregations. These women are changing the present and future vision of congregations and individuals in the current generation as well as those to come.
Girls, young people, women who feel God's call to the pastorate: let nothing and no one stop you. Live your calling with freedom and joy!
Given the realities of violence and terror in Mexico, it is absurd and outrageous that the energies of patriarchal powers and authorities subtract, exclude, and deny women the right to follow their vocation. No one is left out in our prayer and commitment to the Kingdom for the conquest of Jesus’ dream. Against all odds, God's call is irrevocable.
