Christian Latina Leadership Blog

By Anna Rodriquez

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I first heard about the Latina Leadership Institute (LLI) through my workplace. The word Latina immediately caught my attention. I attended the first session at Camp Buckner, a place I knew and was eager to visit. During my first year, I met educated Latinas—and Latinas at heart—from many walks of life. Their stories inspired me to complete the three-year LLI program, earn a certification in Latina Studies, and complete a master’s degree in Public Administration–Leadership (MPA-L).

Through what is now the Christian Latina Leadership Institute (CLLI), I have gained a meaningful career and lasting friendships around the world.

CLLI became a place of discipleship for women seeking to grow in Christ. In my first year, Dr. Nora Lozano’s The Women and the Bible class shaped my faith and calling. Since then, I have served CLLI as a student, mentor, friend, and board member. This journey has blessed me. I continue sharing its lessons by empowering women in my community to walk with Jesus.

CLLI teaches the roles of women in the Bible and reminds us that women are more alike than different. Like the women of Scripture, most women desire what is best for their families. Through CLLI, sisterhood grows among students and faculty, forming healthy, lasting friendships.

This sisterhood helps women recognize their worth, build confidence, make wise decisions, grow in faith, and discover their purpose. It also highlights the importance of emotional wellness and healthy friendships. Although CLLI began as an academic initiative to equip women to serve their communities, it has become much more. When God enters a woman’s story, the world changes.

In my community, I serve with a women’s group called Daughters of Grace. I am inspired by the women who faithfully attend, each from a different walk of life and seeking her purpose as a daughter of the King. Together, we hold to this promise: “From today, I walk with you, and together we walk with God.” This sisterhood gives glory and honor to the Lord Almighty, who prepared this journey long before I knew I would be part of it. As sisters, we pray, encourage one another, and thank God for each life as we become the women, God created us to be.

Genesis, the first book of the Bible, introduces the lives of women whose faith, resilience, and covenant relationships shaped God’s redemptive story. These women were not background figures; they were active participants in God’s plan. Their choices, struggles, and faithfulness helped preserve the promised family line leading to Jesus Christ and shaped the identity of Israel. In Dr. Lozano’s class, we studied God’s faithfulness to God’s covenant promises and the complexity of human relationships within Divine redemptive work.

If you feel called to grow in faith and serve God’s people, I encourage you to consider CLLI. Guided by the Word of God, this program begins a transforming work on earth that continues through the faithful service of God’s followers. I challenge you to ask yourself, “What does God want to begin in me?”

If you are already part of a women’s group, I encourage you to pray for your sisters and remind them that where there is prayer, there is victory. Pray daily, reach out when someone is absent, remember birthdays, encourage one another, and walk together through the journey. Proverbs 31:30 states: Charm and beauty may attract attention, but faithfulness to God earns true respect and admiration. This verse is a reminder that a virtuous woman’s strength, wisdom, diligence, and compassion bless her family and community while honoring God.

The CLLI leadership training continues to teach that true worth is found in a woman’s reverence for God. I have been involved with CLLI since 2007 and continue to serve this organization because I strongly believe that when God enters a woman’s story… the world changes.

I am deeply grateful for my journey with CLLI. It has been an honor to work alongside God-fearing women whose lives and service have impacted the world.

In closing, I want you to consider: What is God inviting you to do?  Perhaps a great CLLI journey, just like mine, is in your near future.