Mentoring and Supporting First Ladies, Associate Ministers' Wives, and Widows

HISTORY

The Maryland Covenant of Ministers’ Wives was created out of a need for the wives of ministers and pastors to receive Godly wisdom, mentoring, and find creative and effective ways to serve the community. In 2013, soon-to-be First Lady Tawanda Holmes noticed a need amongst fellow ministers’ wives to be mentored in the role of being a minister’s wife. Lady Holmes opened the doors of her home to a group of ministers’ wives for a meeting to discuss their greatest concerns and needs in their roles as ministers’ wives. In 2014, Lady Holmes with the help of some extraordinary sisters, formed the Maryland Covenant of Ministers’ Wives (MCMW). The primary purposes of the organization are to mentor ministers’ wives and to serve through community service. The vision of MCMW is to inspire and equip pastors’ and ministers’ wives to reach their divine potential and purpose. It wasn’t long before the organization acquired its 501c (3) tax exempt status.

In the summer of 2014, the Maryland Covenant of Ministers’ Wives held its official launch with a free prayer breakfast. The event was attended by over 100 women across the Baltimore Metropolitan Region. This was the first of many events that MCMW would host.

Since its inception, MCMW has faithfully served the community by awarding scholarships to students who exhibit academic excellence while serving in their local churches, providing bedding to the Mattie B. Uzzle Outreach Center, donating water to Flint, Michigan, serving meals at the Helping Up Mission and Our Daily Bread and so much more. MCMW also established a relationship with My Sister’s Place in which we share the Gospel. The MCMW has hosted many development classes for its members with topics ranging from resolving church conflict, developing an effective prayer life, studying the Bible, etc. In 2015, MCMW hosted a ministers’ wives conference and in 2018, we held our first spiritual retreat. The worship was high, the workshops were powerful, and the fellowship was intimate. In addition to serving and developing, we have some fun as well. Every year the MCMW hosts Sisterhood Day. This is a time for ministers’ wives to put aside the cares of ministry and home life and strengthen our bond with one another. We also honor our husbands with an annual luncheon in which the men of God can also unwind and fellowship with each other. No one has more fun than the saints!

To ensure we stay connected, we have a quarterly newsletter and a bi-weekly update email is sent to the sisterhood. To support each other, we participate on a monthly conference call known as Table Talk Thursdays in which we discuss various topics such as how to minister to hurting women, etc. and host various Bible studies via Facebook. To facilitate in establishing more intimate relationships, we revamped our monthly prayer call and implemented three small groups for pastors’ wives, ministers’ wives, and wives under the age of 45.
The MCMW has evolved into much more than an organization. It is a sisterhood of women who share the love of God through life experiences, godly wisdom, and support during life’s biggest moments. The sisterhood consists of approximately 30 sisters from different denominations, ages from late 20s to late 60s, who have been in ministry from less than 5 years to over 25 years. These sisters serve in various roles in ministry (e.g. co-pastors, deaconess, women’s ministry leaders, etc.) and have various professional backgrounds (e.g. educators, health care providers, accountants, Information Technology, etc.).

The organization is currently led by Founder and President, First Lady Tawanda Holmes of Bibleway Missionary Baptist Church, Secretary Lady Denise McCormick of Morning Star Baptist Church, and Treasurer Lady Michele Ingram of Greater Liberty Baptist Church. Also, late 2020 a MCMW survey was deployed to members to obtain feedback to improve the ministry. As a result, the officer revamped the ministry, also known as #MCMWRevamp21 by revising the vision and mission statements and creating committees. Specifically, the Outreach, Marketing, Empowerment, Sunshine, Marriage, and Membership Committees were created, and leaders were appointed.

The initial executive board members: Founder and President, First Lady Tawanda Holmes of Bibleway Missionary Baptist Church, Vice President Co-Pastor Phyllis Burgess of Caesarea Christian Community Chapel; Secretary Lady Adrienne Allen of Israel Baptist Church of Baltimore City; Treasurer First Lady Beverly Mason of Elohim Full Gospel House of Prayer; Outreach Coordinator First Lady Jill Johnson of Jerusalem Baptist Church and Mentorship Coordinator Minister Nia Speaks of Connexion Point Church, and First Lady Nichole Adams, St John Full Gospel Baptist Church.

Maryland Covenant of Ministers' Wives, Inc.

Mentoring and Supporting First Ladies, Associate Ministers' Wives, and Widows