By Loretta Fulton

Among the highlights at Abilene Christian University’s Summit will be the renaming of a center on campus to honor Jeanene Reese, associate professor emerita at ACU.

During the Community of Women Ministers dinner on Wednesday evening, Oct. 8, the Center for Women in Christian Ministry will be named in honor of Reese. 

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“I want to express my extreme gratitude for the honor of having the center named after me,” Reese said. “What a blessing that I could never imagine receiving.”

Reese is a longtime figure in Abilene as well as at ACU. She is a member of Highland Church of Christ where she serves on the Curriculum Development Committee for Bible classes. She is a frequent Bible class teacher and led 10 to 15 workshops, retreats, and seminars per year while serving as director of the Center for Women in Christian Ministry.

She also serves on the advisory team of Come Before Winter, an organization which “exists to renew, equip, honor, and unite women in ministry around the world.” As a member of the organization, Reese has served on the leadership team, as a lead equipper and curriculum developer. 

“I have served on 42 in-person renewals around the world and two virtual ones during the pandemic,” she said. 

BIO
Hometown: Pleasanton, Texas
Family: Three adult children. Daughter Jessica married to Jonathan Goudeau. They have 3 daughters: Simone, 18; Gabriella, 16; and Etta, 14. They live in Round Rock.
My second daughter is Jocelyn married to Mark Wiebe. They also have 3 children, 2 daughters—Margot, 11 and Isla, 9—plus a son Benjamine, 5. They live in Lubbock.
My son, Jay Reese, and his wife, Mary Kate McMullen, live in New York City.
Current position: Spiritual Director, Associate Professor, emerita, Abilene Christian University
Achievements and Honors: 

• Recognition in 2009 by board of Come before Winter for partnership with the Center for Women in Christian Service in carrying out the mission to renew, equip, honor and unite women worldwide since 2001.
• “Distinguished Christian Service Award” to Jack and Jeanene Reese, Pepperdine University, May 2008.
• Nominated nationally for “Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate”, Feb. 2005.
• “Outstanding Faculty Member,” College of Biblical Studies, ACU, 2003-04.
• “U100 Teacher of the Year Award,” First Year Program, ACU, 2002-03
• Doctor of Ministry certificate of recognition for “Excellence in DMin Project Thesis”, 2001
• Doctor of Ministry certificate of recognition for “Outstanding Academic Performance” 2001
• “Distinguished Christian Service Award” to Jeanene Reese, Pepperdine University, May 1997
• ACU Faculty Development Committee award, “Outstanding Part-Time Faculty of the Year”, 1997
• Student Association “Extra Mile Award”, 1994-95.
• W-Club “Role Model of the Year Award”, 1994.“Distinguished Christian Service Award” to Jack and Jeanene Reese, Pepperdine University, May 2008.

Community involvement
Member of Highland Church of Christ
Serve on Curriculum Development Committee for Highland’s Bible classes
Frequent Bible class teacher
Former member of PTA and officer in it at various schools my children attended
Classical Chorus of Abilene

Q What services and opportunities does the Center for Women in Christian Ministry offer?
A The center is continuing its original focus on how to best support women who hope to serve in ministry (whether formal service or informal service). These efforts are for our current students through a few different ways—small group gatherings such as a twice monthly chapel, larger gatherings that include guest speakers and panel lectures to dive into conversations that are relevant for these women, and then opportunities for relationship building and mentorship through coffees and gatherings in homes.

 The center offers financial support to help women attend various ministry conferences. The center also works with churches, church leaders, and female ministers as they strive to create healthy systems that welcome the giftedness of women serving in ministry. “Building on all that has previously been put in place, beginning with the invaluable work of Dr. Reese, the center is currently in the process of developing a vision that creates a mechanism for support that spans more than just the student’s time on campus.”

In the past the Center was instrumental in helping establish yearly retreats for women serving in ministry in Churches of Christ as well as serving churches in consultations on issues related to women in ministry. As director, I also frequently spoke at special events focusing on issues related to women in ministry frequently and conducted 4-6 mentoring groups on the campus.

Q Are you often invited to lead workshops, retreats, etc., on women in Christian ministry?
A During my tenure as director of the Center for Women in Christian Service (it later became the Center for Women in Christian Ministry) I led workshops, retreats and seminars generally 10-15 times a year. The average was about one a month until I became a part of Come before Winter in 2001 when I participated in conducting renewals for Christian missionaries and national leaders around the world. Because those involved longer stints of international travel, I curtailed the number of events where I spoke in the US to more like 6-8.

Q Does your interest in mentoring women in the church stem from a particular experience in your life?
A Although I cannot point to a specific incident that spurred me into mentoring women, I have been taught and encouraged by women of all ages throughout my life. They generally would not have called themselves mentors, but they were exactly that. I think mentoring is natural to women and their relationships.

Early in my own career I encountered women serving in ministry who often felt, and still feel, isolated and alone. They carry a great deal of pressure to prove themselves competent and capable to serve in their designated roles. Those experiences have led me to mentor women over the years.

Q Did you ever feel compelled to preach? If so, how did you reconcile that calling in the Church of Christ?
A Of course, I felt compelled to preach from an early age, and I did preach but didn’t call it that. I called it speaking, teaching, sharing, etc. so that I could actually do it.  In the process I learned that there are many pulpits in the world far beyond the one at the front of the sanctuary. That understanding gave me the “right” to preach wherever and whenever I could, and I never missed an opportunity. I have preached in the states and around the world. Through the years, I have come to an even greater understanding of preaching. I now know that the greatest sermon that I will ever preach is the life that I live before others, the words that I speak daily, and the love that I extend to those who I find in my path.

Q How many books have you written? Are you working on another one?
A I published Bound and Determined: Christian Men and Women in Partnership through Abilene Christian University Publishing & Leafwood Press, 2010.  I also contributed a sermon to “Finding Their Voices: Sermons by Women in Churches of Christ, Abilene Christian University Publishing & Leafwood Press, 2014. I am currently working on a memoir.

Anything you wish to add: First, I want to express my extreme gratitude for the honor of having the Center named after me. What a blessing that I could never imagine receiving. Also, I want to emphasize the ministry that I did and continue to do through Come before Winter since 2001. I have served on the leadership team, as a lead equipper and curriculum developer. I have served on 42 in-person renewals around the world and two virtual ones during the pandemic.

Loretta Fulton is creator and editor of Spirit of Abilene