By Lindsey Carraway
Writing Specialist
This year, the Baptist Nursing Fellowship (BNF) formally recognizes Mississippi as an official state chapter, opening doors to more local missions.
“Mississippi has had members in BNF since it was first formed in 1983, many of whom helped to start the ministry,” said Libby Mahaffey, current BNF president-elect and a Mississippian. “I’m very proud of what they’ve done.”
What began as a compassion ministry of the Woman’s Missionary Union expanded into the national organization that it is today. It started out of the personal experiences and observations of its founders: that nurses are expected to neglect a part of themselves, the faith that made a career into a calling, before entering their clinical settings.
The mission of BNF is “to empower, educate, and encourage nurses and healthcare professionals to fulfill Christ’s mission through their healing skills.” BNF connects a community of believers who support one another through the physically taxing, emotionally exhausting, and spiritually draining day-to-day dedication to healthcare. Fellowship happens not only at a national level, but with global connections to nurses at work around the world.
Fellowship
“As a Christian in healthcare, to be in BNF is to be around like-minded people,” Mahaffey said. “I have been active in many professional organizations, locally, nationally, and internationally, for a long time. But they are not always fellow believers. The community of faith within BNF is one of the best benefits of joining.”
Despite the name, the Baptist Nursing Fellowship accepts members from other denominations, as well as health professions outside of nursing. “We have a physician who has been active in our Mississippi chapter for many years. We have also had other healthcare professionals such as social workers and dieticians,” Mahaffey said.
BNF members have access to many virtual connections, including monthly “prayergrams”, bi-monthly newsletters, quarterly prayer experiences, and a quarterly book club.
Education
Members also receive seven to eight free credit-bearing webinar courses each year through BNF’s continuing education program. These webinars cover applicable topics related to both professional and personal growth and are taught by experienced, faith-driven clinicians. The continuing education promotes members seeking licensure renewal and offers wisdom and support for the mission field at the bedside.
Along with Mahaffey, Kaye Bender, the BNF education team leader, is also a Mississippian currently serving on the executive team.
“Kaye and I knew each other professionally before we ended up at the same church and taught GA’s together,” Mahaffey said. “With a heart for missions, Kaye has been very active in making sure we have quality education programs.”
Missions
At the heart of it all, BNF offers medical mission trips, and scholarships to help members seeking those opportunities, for those who feel led to serve where healthcare and the Good News are scarce. In addition, with missions at the local level, BNF has missional opportunities to offer for any faith-led medical professional.
Every year, the BNF gathers for a National Summit in which a local mission activity is planned for participating practitioners. “The last time we held our national meeting in Mississippi, we hosted a health fair and worked with Scott Fortenberry and Soul City Church in downtown Jackson. We want to be a part of our Mississippi missions as much as we do missions elsewhere.”
As an official state chapter of BNF, Mississippi missions will serve as “a great supplement” to the missional activities already happening through BNF on a national level.
Although the next BNF National Summit will meet Oct. 16-18, 2026, in Huntsville, Ala., members and interested parties are encouraged to also attend the Equipping Leaders event this August 21-22, at Brandon Baptist Church in Brandon.
Equipping Leaders is co-sponsored by the Women’s Ministries/WMU and Multicultural Ministries of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board. The conference serves as a comprehensive, resourceful fellowship and training for a variety of ministries for vocational ministers and layman volunteers.
At the invitation of Tammy Anderson, interim executive director-treasurer of Women’s Ministries/WMU, Mississippi BNF members take Equipping Leaders as a convenient opportunity to meet together every year.
“This will be our first meeting as a fully authorized state chapter,” Mahaffey commented. “We will also be serving as nurses on call for Equipping Leaders, something we have done for several years as a volunteer service. Although we will meet briefly, we will be talking about opportunities for this next year and have a booth set up, so we encourage you to come and find out more about the Baptist Nursing Fellowship.”
For more information on the Baptist Nursing Fellowship, visit their homepage at https://www.baptistnursingfellowship.org/.
For more information on the Equipping Leaders conference, visit https://mbcb.org/event/equipping-leaders/.
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