Hawkins is the wife of O.S. Hawkins, president of GuideStone Financial Resources and a former pastor's wife in Oklahoma, Florida and Texas.
In presenting the award June 14 in Phoenix, Donna Gaines praised Hawkins' service on the Baptist Faith and Message Committee "that presented us with our 2000 statement of faith."
"Ministers' wives who know Hawkins say she is a woman of great vision, passion and action," said Gaines, wife of Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn. Gaines added that the "Great Commission Christian" leaves God's aroma everywhere she goes.
The mother of two married daughters and grandmother of six, Hawkins lives in Dallas and has been actively involved in women's ministry as a frequent conference and retreat speaker, Bible study teacher and missions volunteer.
She also has contributed to several periodicals and was one of the authors of the "Women's Evangelical Library Old Testament Commentary" and the author of "From One Ministry Wife to Another -- Honest Conversation on Connections in Ministry."
Hawkins is a past president of the Ministers' Wives Conference and serves on its executive committee and on the board of the pastors' wives session of the SBC Pastors' Conference.
Hawkins, who formerly served as the director of women's ministry at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, holds a master of arts degree in Christian leadership and a master of arts degree in theology from Criswell College in Dallas.
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She accepted the award on behalf of all retired pastors' wives who serve through GuideStone's Widow's Might program, a ministry of widowed women across the country who pray daily for the ministry of Southern Baptists around the world.
Honoring those who worked faithfully alongside their husbands for decades with little recognition, Hawkins said, "These are women who never get to come to the Southern Baptist Convention and to wonderful luncheons like this."
Each year, the Dawson Award recognizes a minister's wife for making a distinct denominational contribution beyond the local church and for her Christian character and service to others.
It was established in 1963 when the ministers' wives group posthumously honored Willie Turner Dawson, wife of J.M. Dawson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Waco, Texas. Willie Turner Dawson was a teacher and lecturer who in 1930 successfully challenged the Southern Baptist Convention to give more to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.
Shannon Baker is a national correspondent for BaptistLIFE (www.baptistlife.com), newsjournal of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware.
Copyright (c) 2011 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press www.BPNews.net
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