Women’s Ministry with Purpose: A Vibrant, Gospel-Centered Approach

By Gena B. McCown

What Does God Expect from Women’s Ministry?

While women’s ministry can easily get caught up in Bible study themes and Pinterest-worthy decor, God’s heart calls for a ministry that is rooted in him. In order to understand what women’s ministry should look like today, Gena explores Scripture to establish what this ministry was meant to be and how women are called minister to other women.

Every church needs a team of women who serve in God’s name. Women’s Ministry with Purpose will show you how to rediscover the true purpose of your women’s ministry and gain support from your church’s leadership. More importantly, it will breathe new life into leaders and volunteers, giving you practical advice for organizing, training, and supporting the women around you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Leafwood Publishers
• Release date: Sep 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9781684269648

Gena B. McCown

Gena B. McCown has served in a ministry leadership capacity for twenty years, including her current role as the women’s ministry educator at Christian Leaders Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has also spent the last five years mentoring and supporting future ministry leaders through the Women’s Ministry Council. A native of south Florida, Gena and her husband of twenty years, Justin, have three daughters: Casey, Shelby, and Naomi. Learn more about Gena at www.genamccown.wordpress.com.

Book preview

communities.

CHAPTER ONE

The Significance

OF WOMEN

In order to have a women’s ministry, leaders must be in place to guide that ministry. God called and appointed many men into leadership roles, and they would create leaders underneath them to share the load and burdens. If the Lord is going to establish a ministry among women, he will need leaders among them. If the Lord purposes to continue ministry among women, he will continue to call the kind of new leaders his works have needed all through the ages.

Who are these leaders? What purpose do they have? Are these leaders needed and present today? Let’s start in the beginning.

The Leading Ladies of the Old Testament

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, night and day, land and water, and all manner of creatures. It was the perfect environment, and in it he placed man. Man was given dominion and instructed on his duties. God walked with man and soon determined that it was not good for man to be alone. So God caused man to fall asleep, and from his rib God created woman and breathed life into her. The man was Adam, and the woman was Eve. They were given instructions to go forth and multiply, to fill the ends of the earth. In Genesis 3:15, God declared that the offspring of Eve would crush the serpent who had manipulated them into eating the forbidden fruit.

So, from the onset of Scripture, God established the significance of women. She was a helper (ezer) to her husband, a mother to children. Through generations rooted to Eve’s offspring, Christ would ultimately emerge to overcome sin and save man from himself. Into generations of children women have poured the message of the gospel. We bear them, teach them, and then send our sons and daughters into the world.

Despite Eve’s decision to listen to the serpent and violate God’s command, God still valued her and used her for his glory. Our churches are full of fallen women who have given in to temptation of one sort or another. God has a plan for these women, too, when they are redeemed to glorify him.

Jump forward in Scripture to meet Pharaoh’s daughter. She was bathing in the Nile when a basket caught her attention. She had no way of knowing what was in that basket, but she was drawn to it. Inside she found a baby, a Hebrew baby boy who, according to her father’s decree, should be dead. God softened her heart, and she raised the child as her own. She could not possibly have known the significance of this baby, but she followed her heart. In that decision, she became an instrument of God without even realizing it. The act of saving that baby and raising him in Egypt was the beginning of a ripple that would impact the future of all Hebrews for centuries to come.

Women are relational beings. We like community. We like to spend time with one another. In doing so, we also begin to influence each other in positive or negative ways. We have a ripple effect, like stones tossed into a lake. In ministry, we become the stone tossed into a sea of women. Sometimes, the work God calls us to will make us instruments for his purpose without our even realizing it. When we walk in our calling, the results of our ministry will ripple outward toward other women in the church, the community, and to the ends of the earth. These ripples will impact future generations.

In Judges 4, the wise judge, Deborah, was called by God to lead Israel. Since so much of Scripture highlights male leadership, we can’t afford to overlook the moment when God called a woman into a job that was usually led by men. Something about Deborah was special. She had a gift God had entrusted her with for his purposes. Judges 5:8 tells us she was chosen by God as a leader for this specific time.

I see a strong parallel to Deborah in several significant women who are leading and teaching in the church today. Even Esther, in her time, was said to have been chosen for such a time as this (Esther 4:14). God has always chosen and appointed leaders at his will, to meet his need. He still does today. Women are right now being called and equipped for leadership for our such a time as this. They are a voice that is needed, a perspective that is valued. Their wisdom is a gift of God for his glory.

The book of Ruth engages us in a beautiful story about the relationship between Naomi and her daughter-in-law, Ruth. Their bond was so tight that even when Ruth could have been released to return to her people (after the death of her Jewish husband), she opted to stay with her mother-in-law. Ruth trusted Naomi, and Naomi had a good reputation among her people as being wise. By following the advice of Naomi, Ruth found herself remarried to a good man who would provide not only for her but also for her mother-in-law.

Naomi and Ruth are great examples of women in a mentoring relationship where the younger and inexperienced is leaning on the older and wiser woman. When you look into the faces of the women at your church, you see either a Ruth or a Naomi. Women’s ministry connects these women so that they can minister to one another as part of their daily lives. We are called to minister to one another like this, not only in the Old Testament, but we see this calling repeated in the New Testament as well.

As familiar as most of us are with the book of Esther (a queen who would save her people through her bravery and faith in God), a name we may pass by too quickly is her predecessor, Queen Vashti. The book of Esther tells of the big dinner King Xerxes threw for his officials and officers. After many days of celebration and a lot of wine, King Xerxes called Queen Vashti to come to the party. He wanted to show her off because she was beautiful. When she said no to the king, he was furious. She was banished and lost her crown.

Why would Queen Vashti dare to refuse the king? Certainly she would have known the consequences. Examine the circumstances surrounding her refusal and you can see that the king wanted to show her off like a prize. Vashti’s refusal was protecting her dignity and possibly her modesty, just as some women today are fighting on the front lines in order to protect the dignity of others. God blesses us with women who stand up as examples of dignity and virtue to others in the church and community.

Just as Vashti chose to protect her dignity, at a cost, many women in the church have had to walk away from family members or friends because of abuse or toxicity. They stood up for Christ, and it cost them when they were banished by friends or family or fired from their jobs. In our churches, they find a new community to replace the ones they have lost.

Gomer, a woman known for her sexual promiscuity, married a godly man, and then left him to go back to her old lifestyle (see the book of Hosea). At God’s instruction, however, Hosea brought her back and redeemed their marriage. Using their story, we learn that God used the Hosea/Gomer mess to mirror the dysfunction in the relationship between Israel and himself. Do we not still experience this dysfunction in the world today? Yet, the Lord shows that he is still in the business of redeeming relationships that seem broken beyond repair: marriages repaired, restored, and redeemed, prodigals who return home, families that are mended. People who feel far from God find new life.

Like Gomer, there are women in the church with a past, perhaps kept in secret or, in other cases, pretty well known. The same love God had for Gomer extends to the women in our pews who are broken, tired, still trying to figure their lives out. God loved them so much that he pursued them and brought them back to himself. Scripture is full of redeemed liars, cheats, murderers, drunkards, and many other crude characters. They are the heroes, who overcome giants with a sling and a stone, who lead the rebuilding of the holy city, men who were after God’s own heart, loyal and faithful. There are also many stories about women, daughters of the King, whom he loves and calls as he pleases.

Whether it’s an unexpected heroine like Pharaoh’s daughter, a haughty villain like Potiphar’s wife, or—in the right time for the right moment—Queen Esther, women have had a significant role in the Old Testament. Similarly, women are part of the unfolding advancement of God’s redemptive plan in the New Testament. Through these leading ladies, we see that God is active in the hearts of men and women alike. By inviting all of us to see how God uses the sin, redemption, and faith of women, God reveals our value.

A Fresh Call for Women

The Old Testament brings to light women of various backgrounds who, each in her own way, impacted God’s greater story of redemption; in the New Testament we meet more significant women who explain what it means to follow God. These women were part of the history leading up to the birth of Christ, some of them walked with him during his ministry, and others followed him afterward and impacted the early church.

In Luke 8, we find a reference to the Twelve and the women. The Twelve refers to the first apostles, symbolic of the twelve tribes of Israel. The women refers to an unspecified number of female disciples who also followed Jesus, welcoming him into their homes, financing his ministry, and often teaching. The women remained by his side through his death, burial, and resurrection. They would also be active participants in advancing the Great Commission.

Although Jesus moved through a male-dominant society as he traveled the Jewish countryside, we know that several women accompanied him during his ministry. Others, while they did not travel with him, still served him directly in the establishing of his church. These were women of influence, significance, and purpose.

In the book of Luke, we meet Elizabeth, wife of Zechariah—a woman who could not have children of her own. Elizabeth didn’t allow this disappointment to change her relationship with God. She was faithful, obedient, and committed. Because of her age, Elizabeth had accepted that her time for having children had passed. However, due to her devotion to God, he rewarded her righteousness with a child. Not just a child, but the forerunner of the Messiah, John the Baptist.

Churches and communities are filled with people whose prayers have seemingly gone unanswered, yet they continue to be faithful servants, committed to God. We minister to these women during their times of trial, and they in turn minister to others out of compassion and empathy. They are the women we celebrate with over miracles that go beyond our explanation—women who share their testimonies of faithfulness during the trials and praise during the blessing. As they share with our communities how God is working in their lives, or how they are faithful as they wait, many eyes are opened to a way of living and believing they previously didn’t know.

Luke 24 reveals to us Joanna, a woman of influence and financial means. Joanna became an entirely devoted follower of Christ with her resources, time, and energy. She provided for Jesus and the disciples when they traveled, and she traveled with them. Her dedication didn’t end at the crucifixion. She hurried to the tomb early on Sunday to prepare his body for burial and thus became one of the first witnesses to the resurrection. No doubt Joanna continued to be a blessing to the ministry for years to come.

Christ changed the lives of women he encountered not just through feeding them or healing them but also through exposing their sinfulness and turning them away from it. We see this when he met the Samaritan woman at the well or the woman who was charged with adultery and about to be stoned. Jesus stepped in, intervening in their lives, saving them, and redirecting them. He had compassion and mercy for women, and their testimonies brought many to be saved. In John 4, after the Samaritan woman’s encounter with Christ, she returned to the town and shared her testimony, and verses 39–42 tell us that many were saved because of this woman’s enthusiasm for Jesus.

Women in the New Testament were not sitting at home, tending to the flocks and children while the men were about the business of the kingdom. They were active in the ministry of Christ. They were students at his feet, and they provided financially to support the ministry. They followed him, were healed by him, listened to him, served him and the disciples, and were the first witnesses to the resurrection. Within the walls of our churches, sitting on the pews of our sanctuaries, are women who are very much like these New Testament leaders—women who have been healed and loved by God, and who in return teach and serve.

Before Jesus would ascend to prepare his Father’s house, he left us with the command of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16–20). The women who were part of the ministry of Christ continued to serve the early church and fulfill his command to evangelize worldwide.

Several times, Paul refers to a couple named Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18). This couple had the opportunity to learn directly from Paul; then they found themselves teachers of the Word. The couple is mentioned six times in Scripture; in four of those places, Priscilla’s name is mentioned first. While Scripture does not explain this, it would be out of character for the culture of that period. This fact has led many to assume that of the couple, Priscilla may have been the stronger student, the more influential teacher. Just as Deborah was called to lead Israel in the Old Testament for God’s purposes, Priscilla was called to teach. Paul counted her as a valued friend and asset in the forward movement of the gospel. Just like Paul, she and her husband would travel to spread the Word, living the Great Commission.

In Acts 9, as the story of Tabitha (also known as Dorcas) unfolds, we learn about a woman who greatly cared for the poor and the widows in her community. She was so well known that when she died, Peter came to her home himself to pray for a miracle. God agreed that Tabitha was important, and she was raised from the dead. In Romans 16, Paul refers to his fellow-prisoner Junia as being notable among the apostles. Some contend she was considered an apostle, others that she was held in high regard by the apostles. Either way, this was a woman of significance whose faith landed her in prison with Paul.

These New Testament examples show that women have stepped out in faith to live as missionaries spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth, as the Great Commission commands. Women teach, responsibly handling the Word of God. Women mentor, guide, and counsel. They did then. They do now.

Phoebe was a benefactor of the early church, and she was significant in the role of directing home churches in her city. She is identified in Scripture as a deaconess. Phoebe was viewed as an asset to the ministry and called to an important position in the church. Whether through their financial contributions or gifts of administration, many women have been called, equipped, and appointed.

God calls, and he equips those he calls, according to his purposes. Tabitha/Dorcas was a disciple, Phoebe was a deaconess, Priscilla was a teacher, and Deborah was a judge (leader) over all of Israel. God called and elevated women in Scripture, and he still is today. If God is calling women to leadership and equipping them for that call, if he has gifted them with gifts, skills, and talents to use in various capacities within the church, we must ask: What is the purpose of women’s ministry as we see it today?

Author Gloria Furman explains it best when she says that women’s ministry is any occasion where women minister to other women. This ministry may be in the form of mentorship, Bible study, speaker events, hospitality, or service. This ministry may be financial, emotional, or prayerful. God designed women as bearers of his image but with a uniqueness to our gender, and we have