We’ve looked at our identity as image bearers of God and took a journey through the Bible looking at some of the women that God has used throughout the ages to advance his kingdom. So, the question now is: What do we do with this?  Perhaps you’re wondering why we’re discussing women’s ministry after speaking about the necessity of men and women working side by side in the Church to advance God’s Kingdom. However, women’s ministry is a place where we can thrive in roles of leadership, using the gifts we’ve been given by God, for the benefit and well being of the entire Church. Our calling is to go deeper in relationship with our God. And we can do this together as women.

I think it might be helpful to define what women’s ministry is.  There are a lot of different thoughts out there.

Our friendly Google AI prompt says this: “Women’s ministry is a faith-based, church supported initiative designed to meet the spiritual, emotional, and social needs of women through study, service, and fellowship. It focuses on discipling women in their faith, fostering intergenerational relationships, and empowering them to serve God and their community while aligning with the broader mission of the church.”  Not bad!

Kathleen Nielson, in her article “What is Word-Based Women’s Ministry?” writes, “Women’s ministry is not simply ministry programs but also an ongoing flow of ministry happening in diverse ways among women in local church congregations.”

The PCA’s (Presbyterian Church of America) women’s ministry has this as their purpose statement on their website: The purpose of PCA’s Women Ministry is that every woman knows Christ personally and be committed to extending His Kingdom in her life, home, church, community, and throughout the world. (women.pcacdm.org/what-does-pwm-do/)

In her book, No Little Women, Aimee Byrd has a chapter entitled “How the Church Ministers to Every Member”. (ch.4) In it, she actually pushes back against “women’s ministry”. She maintains that we may have lost sight of the value of ‘the ministry’. “The ministry of the Word and sacrament, administered by particular people who are ordained in the office of ministry, is the gift from God by which we are all blessed.” (92) She cites Michael Horton as saying, “While every member and every gift is needed in order for the body to be fully operative, the very life of the body depends on the faithful maintenance of the ministry of the Word and sacrament.”  She carries on with, “We downplay the value of this amazing gift, and our need for it, when we call all our less formal programs and services ministries.” (93) We can argue over words and such, and maybe it’s not a big deal. I do like when she suggests that instead of ministry we could use “women’s initiatives.” That way, the ministry of Word and sacrament is distinguished.  Women’s initiatives would be an outflow of the ministry of the church.  Initiatives imply a purpose of growth towards a certain goal.

Byrd isn’t arguing that there is no need for any type of women’s programs. She does however argue that women’s ministry of whatever type should be under the oversight of the elders. After all, it’s their job to watch over the sheep of the flock. She also says that in the same way, elders are responsible to invest in the women of the church so that they are equipped to teach what is good. (Which is what Paul tells the young pastor Titus in Titus 2:2) The Bible is full of warnings regarding false teaching, heresy and the like. And the office of elder is to keep guard. I agree with her on this. Satan snuck in and attacked Eve, not Adam, with false theology. Adam – as the head of his wife (a biblical headship) – should have stepped in and guarded against the teaching of Satan. Any heresy starts with the truth, and heretics come from within the church. We need to be on guard and watchful. I wonder how many pastors and elders actively encourage the women in their congregations to pursue more education in theology. Are there funds set aside for women who would like to take seminary classes? Do pastors and elders want their ezer-warriors to be equipped to teach what is good?

Elders having oversight may make some women uncomfortable or even defensive. But this doesn’t mean that women cannot function on their own. Far from it. Oversight is oversight, not overtaking. As women in the church, we must also do whatever is necessary to ensure that any material that is promoted or taught in an official capacity be above reproach. Many popular women teachers of today do not reflect Biblical discernment. Most of them have charisma, a strong story-telling approach. They appeal to empathy and humor. They seem trustworthy and friendly – and we let down our guard. We need critical discernment. As I wrote about in the first blog post in this series “Better With or Without?”, their teaching often centers around personal fulfilment. They often teach extra-biblical revelation, claiming they’ve received a word from the Lord. Some promote the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. Some just have plain old bad exposition. They are not harmless!  How do we discern if what they’re teaching is biblical? We need to know God’s Word. We need to understand Christian doctrine.  We need to immerse ourselves in God’s Word and in proper theology. And yes, the appointed pastors and elders do have a responsibility here.

Carolyn Custis James tells us that women and girls are a “rich and largely untapped goldmine – a powerhouse of blessing and gifts for the church, of strength and wisdom for our brothers, and of enormous good for the world.” (Half the Church,159-160) Isn’t that a beautiful statement? She talks about women and men in the church as the Blessed Alliance. The side-by-side togetherness of brothers and sisters working in God’s Kingdom is what makes the body of Christ stronger. The Blessed Alliance fuels the kingdom!

In any church, the focus for women’s ministry of any kind should be on calling us to go deeper in our relationship with Jesus Christ. That’s what matters. All members of the church are called to develop and use the gifts we’ve been blessed with, that the Holy Spirit has entrusted us with. We may not hold back our gifts or know less (or pretend we know less) just so men can lead. When we hold back, the men are overburdened – and we are held responsible for squandering our gifts. How can we do that?  “We must not forget that it is still ‘not good for the man to be alone’. Men are impoverished and hampered in fulfilling their God-given callings without the honest, full collaboration of their ezer-sisters.” (James, 164)

In 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 and Romans 12:3-8, the apostle Paul provides lists of various gifts and talents that we receive from the Holy Spirit for the benefit of the church. Since our identity is more than our roles or gender, then those lists are for all God’s people. God places gifted men and gifted women in each church. And no one can say they don’t have any gift – spiritual or otherwise. God gives to all his children the gifts needed! Thus, we can argue that both men and women should be given training or opportunities – whether formal or not – to teach, serve, exhort, help, lead, encourage, give, and more, in line with their gifts AND within our Biblical roles.  But, too often, half the church is overlooked by leadership as they look only to men for work in the church. If a catechism teacher is needed, or someone to help teach any newcomer class for instance, leadership usually only looks at capable men. And that’s all well and good, but women are capable of doing things that do not involve the duties of the office of elders/pastor as biblically given in 1 Timothy 3 and elsewhere.

In this way, women’s ministry IS important. It should be mentioned that we do not live in a patriarchal culture. We live in an “egalitarian” culture where women have the same freedoms, rights, education, careers, and potential for success as men. The culture in which people in the Bible lived – both Old and New Testaments, was patriarchal. And when we speak of patriarchy, it is simply the Greek word meaning “father rule”. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob were patriarchs in the Old Testament. Patriarchy does not = abuse. It can, but it does not have to. Unfortunately, most definitions of patriarchy include words like dominate, dominance, exploitation, and oppression. And that’s not necessarily how the ancient near-east cultures patriarchal society existed as. Women and children were considered “less than”, and in many places as commodities and objects to be owned. There was no equality. Yet, throughout the Bible, God lifts women up to positions of leadership and teaching.

Jesus threw everything upside down in this matter! He associated with people in lowly positions, those on the fringes of society.  Jesus interrupted patriarchal standards in his interactions with others – and with women. Who did Jesus associate with? Here’s a list of scandalous and shocking associations: prostitutes, adulteresses, a shunned Samaritan, insignificant widows and children, a ceremonially unclean woman, and demon possessed women. What did he do? He didn’t shun them or look down on them. No, he gave them respect, his undivided attention, and engaged them in theological discussions. This in a culture where men didn’t necessarily speak with other women in public! He had female disciples, female friends (Mary and Martha!), was supported by women, and gave them work to do in his kingdom. His actions and words often shocked the disciples, let alone any other men in the vicinity.

So then. What should we consider as women’s ‘ministry’? There are the commonly understood “pink” areas – fellowship planning, hospitality services such as bringing meals to those in need, babysitting, throwing bridal and baby showers, serving coffee etc. at church meetings and more. (Although, we could get into a discussion about the “gender” split, and the command to be hospitable also having been given to men.) These acts of service are beautiful and necessary. But women’s ministry or women’s initiatives can be much, much more! Teaching and leading other women in all aspects of our lives. According to Titus 2 (the pink passage!) mature women are to be teaching the younger women of the faith ‘what is good’.  Showing one another that life and doctrine go hand in hand.  Older women need to model godly life and doctrine and teach it to younger women.  “This isn’t a mere appearance of godliness but an embracing of sound doctrine and of its fruit.” (Byrd, 97)

What this looks like will be different in each individual church. Demographics, size, education, finances will all play a part in how women’s initiatives are run. A large church membership of over 600 members will have more opportunities than a small congregation of 100. Is the church largely a young congregation? Or an older one? Are there lots of children or only a few? Are there classes available or not?  Do multiple Bible studies, small groups and the like exist? Where do the women in your church get their education apart from the preaching of the Word? Are they being encouraged and given opportunities to learn theology?  Are there opportunities for women to teach women in formal settings? Are there women’s retreats or conferences available in the surrounding areas that women can be encouraged to attend? Women’s ministry is a large, full of potential possibility for every church. Every church should take the opportunity to build up a women’s ministry program. Something that helps women to be part of a collaborative, interdependent relationship between brothers and sisters in Christ, making the Body of Christ stronger.

A few words on doctrine and theology.

Benjamin B. Warfield said that if you are indifferent to Christian doctrine, you are indifferent to Christianity.  Fred Zaspel says, “The character of our theology will shape the character of our religion, and any defective view of God’s character will be reflected in the soul and the peace of conscience we are meant to enjoy. If we have no doctrine, we have no Christianity. If we have scanty doctrine, we have scanty Christianity. If we have profoundly informed convictions, we will have a solid and substantial Christianity.” (Warfield on the Christian Life, 48)

We should desire to be women of the Word. We are all theologians – the question is: are you a good one or a bad one?  Women can be and should be competent and discerning theologians. Our doctrine matters and affects how we live our lives, how we witness, how we grow in knowledge.  It’s important to not let our emotions and feelings drive our studying – either on our own or in a group Bible study.  We need to be careful to not let ourselves be led by sentimentality, opinions, and feelings to the detriment of our competency in God’s Word. Theology is important for women. According to Aimee Byrd there are very good reasons that we should make theology a priority for women in the church. (Taken from “No Little Women”)

1. Theology is confessional – it unites, or it separates.

What “believers’ in America believe to be true is bleak – the percentage of people who don’t believe that Christ is the Son of God, or those who believe there are more ways to heaven than just through Jesus is too high. (according to the Ligonier and Lifeway Research surveys conducted in 2014 and 2022). Our confessions that churches have used for thousands of years as a way to remain faithful to the truths of Scripture are underutilized in the Evangelical world. We need to know what we believe and why. “A Christian without conviction should be an oxymoron.”

• Theology is essential for discipleship

The Great Commission that Jesus gave the disciples in Matthew 28:18-20 is for every single person in the Church. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  How can we disciple others – our children, our fellow believers, unbelievers if we do not know what the Bible says?

• Theology requires fitness

Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” Holding fast to something requires health, stamina, and conditioning. Just ask any athlete. In our spiritual lives, Satan wants nothing more than to distract us, pull us in another direction, and tempt us with easier things. To hold fast implies that we put in the effort – our utmost strength – in the defense of what we profess and believe, and perseverance to run the race.  Be in the Word!

• Theology is practical and necessary in our Christian walk

What we think about God is the most important thing about us. What we know about God shapes everything in our lives. As Christians, we are being transformed into Christ’s image day by day – as his Image Bearers. We have the Bible – all that’s necessary for doctrine and life – and God’s Word is sufficient. The study of who God is will direct our lives and our hearts to praise him, worship him, love him, and serve him with faithfulness and obedience.

• Theology is covenantal

While it is important that we study and learn and grow in our faith, we are not called to be lone wolves.  We belong to the body of Christ. The Church. We have community – the way God designed it. The writer of Hebrews exhorts us in 10:24, 25, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Women play a major role in the body of Christ as I’ve tried to show in these last few posts. We are image bearers and reflect Christ to this world. So, we need to be well equipped with God’s truth in our own lives. Being part of the covenant community of faith also means understanding the way God has designed the Church – with elders, bishops, overseers – called to watch over the flock and be the authority of Christ over all. As women – indeed, the entire church – we need to respect those in authority. We want our brothers to see that the Blessed Alliance is for the good of the entire church. “As women learn together, we need to be intentional about coming to the knowledge of the truth…. We also need to learn from godly men. It is a blessing to be joined together in worship every Sunday and sit under the preached Word as a covenant community. It is here, receiving this means of grace, that God promises to bless us in Christ. Let us not neglect that!” (63)

I hope this has been edifying for understanding women’s ministry or women’s initiatives, and the important roles we do have within the Body of Christ – both within our homes, and within the broader community of the church.

The last blog post in this series will unpack the debate: Complementarian or Egalitarian?

Grace and Peace