Dear BJM community,

What a joy it has been leading BJM the last 13 years! Today is my last day in the role of Executive Director. As I close out this special season, I would like to thank all of you who have stood by my side, believed in the vision, and invested so sacrificially to build a brighter future for women and girls in San Francisco. Your encouragement and presence have fueled my leadership, and your partnership has strengthened me through the years.

As I think about the beginnings of BJM, I remember Kara, a young mom who I met shortly after moving to the Tenderloin. I was 18 years old, and she wasn’t much older. I recall sitting with her on the street, her two small children next to her on the cold cement, listening to her struggle and the desperation in her voice. I spent weeks getting to know Kara, celebrated Thanksgiving with her, and helped her family find short-term housing. I didn’t know then how God would use this one relationship to spark something so significant many years later—Because Justice Matters.

This is what the last 13 years of BJM have been about: one relationship at a time. Every single relationship reminds me that God has designed each of us for a brighter future, and that we only get there together. We have a call to one another: to journey together, to fight for one another, and to give what we have to see each other become who God designed us each to be. Sometimes that looks like signing a petition or fighting unjust policies. Sometimes it’s leading a dance or theatre class, unlocking voices that will shape the future of our city. Sometimes it’s gift bags, given caringly in the dressing rooms of strip clubs. This call to one another looks like so many things at BJM, but it always looks like love. Love spurs us on to invest in women and girls, courageously imagine a different future, and cheer them on with everything we have.

Church leaders, I encourage you to invest in women, platform their voices, and call them into greater leadership. We as Christ-followers must lead in being champions of women. Friends and supporters, I ask that you continue to generously pour your love and support on the tremendous BJM team, and on the women and girls that they serve. Every single donation, every minute volunteered, and every prayer uttered—they all make a strong, prophetic declaration that women and girls matter.

And to every woman and girl reading this—remember who you are. You are made in the image of God, crowned with glory and splendor, anointed for greatness, and containing a voice that terrifies the darkness. Like the many women of the Bible who have gone before you—Rahab, Deborah, Mary and Priscilla—you too have a part to play in the grand story of God. You matter. Your presence here, on this planet, at this time, cannot be overstated. Don’t hold back. Run the race God has set before you. Your future is bright, and you are not alone. A great cloud of witnesses is cheering you on, and so am I.

I look forward to seeing you all at future BJM events. I’ll be the one getting loud, standing on my feet, cheering and celebrating the work of God among women and girls in San Francisco!

With love and gratitude,

Ruthie Kim
Founder Because Justice Matters

Farewell Letter from Ruthie