Native American LINK Celebrates 25 Years of Women’s Ministry

Twenty-five years!  It has gone by so fast! Many people think that our ministry is all Native Praise Choir because we are invited to sing in so many church and tribal events. Our ministry expands far beyond singing our tribal hymns. We have conducted VBS each summer, hosted retreats, provided Christian training events, assisted women & men who are seminary students, provided backpacks and school supplies to our Native school children, provided clothing or needed items for men and women shelters, pregnancy centers, hosted celebrations honoring Pastors Wives for several years, and MORE! Best of all is the camaraderie, sisterhood, and friendships created through Christian women working together.


Early in the LINK ministry, Willene Pierce, founding Executive Director/Treasurer, worked with Bill Barnett and began serving as LINK representative on the Indian Falls Creek Board. From that point on, women’s class sessions have been provided yearly at Indian Falls Creek to meet the needs of our Native women attending Indian Falls Creek. We continue to support Woman’s Missionary Union as foundational in our ministry, while implementing the annual theme of Indian Falls Creek. Our Native Praise Choir is invited to sing annually in the Wednesday evening service. We also honor our Pastors’ Wives yearly at IFC with a special celebration time during the week.


During Indian Falls Creek this year, we were able to host a LINK celebration held on Wednesday, August 2 at the Ada Lodge. We shared displays of some of the history, pictures, memorabilia of our ministry. We shared a commemorative gift for our attendees, as well as refreshments. Special guests included Dr. Todd Fisher, Executive Director/Treasurer of OK Baptists, Dr. Emerson Falls, OK Baptists Native American Partner, Sandy Wisdom-Martin, National WMU Director, Amy Cordova, OK Women’s Ministry/Missions Partner, and Julie Busler, OK WMU President. We look forward to our next 25 years of ministry.  It has been a joy to work with so many wonderful volunteers and supporters of the Native American LINK ministry.
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Augusta Smith (Gus)
Executive Director
The Native American LINK