ABOUT NSP

Founded in Waco, Texas in 2017 during a critical time in women’s history, Nevertheless She Preached originally began as an effort to combat the lack of female and queer representation in Baptist seminaries and churches, but rapidly grew to become an international ecumenical movement that centers and celebrates the perspectives of those on the margins. The idea for NSP was conceived by two clergywomen who knew firsthand how isolated women in religious life often feel, how many obstacles we face, and how common it is to face harassment in the workplace.

Rev. Natalie Webb and Rev. Kyndall Rothaus dreamt up a conference that brought women, women of color, and queer folks experiencing isolation and discouragement in the church together to be held in sacred community so that they might be inspired and renewed to continue their important work as faith leaders and activists. Rev. Rothaus and Rev. Webb began with little more than a dream and a prayer—no money, no institutional backing, no guarantees—but within five short weeks, their idea had spread across the United States raising $20,000 from small donations, none of which exceeded $500, and catching the attention of outlets like the Washington Post.

NSP now exists as a full-fledged nonprofit that regularly works to center and elevate wisdom from the margins, hosting an annual conference every year as well as several smaller educational opportunities. The mission of Nevertheless She Preached is to elevate and center female, queer, and BIPOC voices in religious life in order to pursue freedom from the toxic power of patriarchy, colonization, racism, and heteronormativity. We give a platform to voices from the margins who offer transformative theologies of liberation and critical reflection of our social and religious contexts. We create brave space through our annual conference, smaller events, and online presence for faith leaders and justice seekers to be valued in community as their authentic selves and to experience healing.