PONCE, Puerto Rico (BP) — In its first–ever women’s evangelism event in Puerto Rico, the North American Mission Board (NAMB) partnered with the Puerto Rico Baptist Convention to welcome over 300 women to a one-day women’s evangelism conference on Saturday, January 10, 2026, in Ponce. A pre-conference gathering was also held on Friday night, January 9, on the north side of the island in San Juan, drawing 50 women. The events were designed to equip women to leverage their lives for the Gospel and create a culture of evangelism in their lives and ministry contexts.
“When Jesus gave the command to go and make disciples of all nations, He was speaking to 11 of the disciples, but He intended this command to be for every person who would be His disciple, which includes us,” said Catherine Renfro, national director of women’s evangelism at NAMB. “God has placed the ladies of Puerto Rico in specific places and around specific people for the purpose of making Jesus known.”
The Friday evening gathering included two main sessions led by Renfro and Carolina Santander, women’s evangelism consultant at NAMB. Renfro encouraged the women from 2 Corinthians 5 to step into their calling as ambassadors for Christ. Santander then trained attendees with practical approaches to share the Gospel through their testimonies and other tools such as 3 Circles.
The Saturday conference featured Renfro and Santander in three main sessions and a panel discussion that included three Puerto Rican ministry leaders: Vivian Alberdeston, Director of Christian Education at Iglesia Bautista de Glenview; Enid Castro, Coordinator of the Crisis Support Line at Iglesia Bautista de Glenview; and Karina Couto, who also serves at Iglesia Bautista de Glenview. The event also allowed time for attendees to connect and network with one another.
Participants at the conference were inspired to imagine the eternal impact their lives could have if they were willing to engage in an unbeliever’s faith journey, from praying for those who are spiritually lost, to extending an invitation to know Christ, or sharing the Gospel in the places where they have been given influence.
“God doesn’t need us, and yet He chooses to use us. What a privilege we have to be part of what Jesus is doing as He changes lives and eternities,” Renfro shared in her message.
Carolina Santander’s main session message centered on John 20:21: “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.’”
She shared, “God is a missionary God—He has given us a message and a mission. He sent Jesus, who accomplished the work of redemption, and now He has given us, His church, a glorious message to proclaim. His church is a missionary church, and we, His daughters, are missionaries in our everyday lives, sent to announce the Good News of salvation.”
On her heart for the Puerto Rican women, Renfro shared, “Our prayer is that these ladies leave the conference with a burden for the spiritually lost, a passion to share the hope of the Gospel, and an urgency to step into the calling God has placed on their lives to know Jesus and make Him known.”
Renfro expressed gratitude for the privilege of working alongside Dr. Luis Soto, State Executive Director for the Convention of Southern Baptist Churches in Puerto Rico, and his entire team to see women in Puerto Rico spread the Gospel on their home island and beyond for the sake of Jesus.
Regarding the weekend’s events, Soto said, “The Women’s Evangelism Conference was a tremendous blessing for our churches. It was deeply encouraging to see women from across the entire island of Puerto Rico gather with a genuine hunger to grow in their love for Christ and their commitment to sharing the Gospel. We are thankful to the Lord for the partnership with NAMB and for the way He used this conference to renew hearts, strengthen faith, and inspire boldness in evangelism throughout Puerto Rico.”
NAMB will hold two more women’s evangelism conferences in 2026: the first one on April 25 in Ontario, California, and the second on September 26 in Columbus, Ohio.
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