Ministry to Women at Grace Bible Church

The Bible never speaks specifically about a formal "Women's Ministry" in the church. It does speak about ministry to women. We must not conclude from this that there should be no formal "Women's Ministry" in the church. What we should conclude is that the formal "Women's Ministry" in the church must be led, directed, corralled, and protected by what the Bible says about ministry to women. So what does the Bible say about ministry to women?

  1. Older women are to teach the younger women. Titus 2:3-5

    1. Who are the older women?

      1. Chronological age means something. After all, older people generally have more experience. If you want to teach women to love their husbands, look for women whose marriages are biblical and strong, not to women whose marriages no one should imitate. If you want to teach women how to raise children, look to women who have successfully done so, not merely to peers who are learning themselves. If you want to teach women how to be homemakers, look for women whose homes are in order.

      2. As important as age may be, age and experience by themselves do not necessarily qualify a women to be a teacher.

        Prov. 16:31 "A gray head is a crown of glory; if it is found in the way of righteousness."

        People who are younger, but who are anointed by the Lord are told (1 Tim. 4:12) not to let people despise their [chronological] youth, as long as they are godly examples in "word (how they speak), conduct (how they act), love (the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in their lives), faith (do they really live by faith?) and purity (the word is chastity, meaning modest and discrete)."

      3. What are the older women to be like? Paul gives a brief four-point description:

        1. Reverent in behavior
        2. Not malicious gossips.
        3. Not servants to alcohol.
        4. Teachers of good things.

      So then, who are the women who are to be the teachers? Preferably older experienced women, but most importantly, women of exemplary godly character. Teachers are supposed to be those, who although not perfect, can with Paul say, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ." (1 Cor. 11:1)

    2. What are they to teach? Here is Paul's seven-point list from Titus 2:4-5:

      1. Love your husband; have a godly marriage.
      2. Love your children: raise godly offspring. (This is God's design for marriage as per Malachi 2:15.)
      3. Be discrete; self-controlled, prudent, wise in avoiding errors or evil, not rash.
      4. Be chaste; modest, sexually pure.
      5. Be a homemaker; literally "a stayer at home," committed to home, domestically inclined.
      6. Be good; goodness based on God's priorities, not the world's.
      7. Be obedient to your husband; submissive to husband. Those who have no husbands are to be submissive to whatever male spiritual leadership they may have (e.g., fathers, brothers, or elders).

      This is not an exhaustive list, but it is the most comprehensive list found in scripture!

    3. Why are they to teach these things? Because if the older women are not teaching, and the younger women are not learning, and if both are not practicing these things, the Word of God is blasphemed! (Titus 2:5) The Word is blasphemed first by ignoring this apostolic command, and second because by not living this way, our testimony for the Lord and His Word is compromised.

  2. Women must be aware of their biblical roles and calling if they are to be successful in them.

    1. What are the biblical roles for women? Titus 2:3-5 communicates the importance of women being committed to marriage, children and home, and of being in submission to male spiritual leadership. 1 Corinthians 11:3 and 1 Timothy 2:9-11 both underscore this point.

      Women's roles in the church are an extension of their roles in general. In addition, 1 Timothy 2:11-15 instructs that women are not to be in positions of spiritual authority, or teachers over men. This does not mean women have no place in ministry. Truth be told, the greater load of ministry in most churches is carried by the women. This simply means that women cannot be elders and that they (like the men of the church) must be subject to the elders of the church.

      1 Corinthians 14:35 tells women that when they have questions of a spiritual nature they are to ask their husbands. This places a responsibility on husbands to be able to answer. Those who are not married should seek to have some form of male spiritual leadership in their lives, whether it be a father, a brother, or the elders of the church.

      Lest there be confusion on this, again, the only role not open to women in the church is that of elder. There are many places in the church in which women are needed to serve. Those who would say that because women are not elders, they are second-class members of the church are mistaken. Are the men in the church who are not elders second-class members? Of course not.

    2. How are women to be successful in their roles? First, by knowing and embracing their God-given roles. Second, they can exercise their gifts by loving and serving the body under the authority of the spiritual leaders of the church.

  3. Women must be aware of the exhortations in scripture which address them specifically.

    1. The Bible points out weaknesses to which specific groups within the church are most vulnerable. For instance, men are warned over and over again in Proverbs about being seduced and falling prey to sexual sin. Young people are warned in Proverbs that they are "simple" and need direction from their parents. Likewise, women are warned in scripture regarding the challenges, weaknesses, and sins to which they are most prone. A few examples follow:

      1. Genesis 3:16 says women, because of the Fall, want to rule over their husbands, but they must not.

      2. Proverbs 2, 6, 7, 9, 23, & 30 speak of the woman who is a seductress.

      3. Proverbs 21:9, 19, 25:24, 27:15 warn about being contentious.

      4. 1 Timothy 3:11, 5:13, Titus 2:3 warn women not to be gossips.

      5. 2 Timothy 3:6 speaks of some women as being gullible.

      This does not mean that men are not susceptible to these sins. They are; but the Bible draws godly women's attention to these things because women are by nature more inclined toward them. And remember, men have their list as well!

    2. Victory begins by admitting our weaknesses and continues as we do all that scripture teaches to rise above them. Failure to admit weakness is what keeps every believer from victory, no matter what the weakness may be.

      As ministry to men speaks to the weakness men have, and as ministry to youth addresses weaknesses common among youth, ministry to women must give attention to those weaknesses to which women are most inclined, offering biblical instruction and encouragement.

  4. "Women's Ministry" must place its emphasis on what the Bible has to say, not allowing itself to get side-tracked into other things, no matter how good they may be.

    1. "Let the dead bury the dead." When Jesus said this, He was not saying the dead are not to be buried. He was saying that believers have a commission to preach the gospel, and they should not, therefore get side tracked doing what non-believers can easily do.

      In missions, this means preaching the gospel instead of concentrating on humanitarian efforts. In youth ministry it means making disciples rather than focusing on entertainment. In men's ministry it means making disciples instead of getting side-tracked into sports or other hobbies.

    2. What does this mean in "Women's Ministries?" It means that the emphasis must be on discipleship and on building women up to be Titus 2 women, instead of on other things. Jesus said as much when He taught us to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness."

      For example, most women like nice things, decorations, etc. There is nothing wrong with decorating and making women's functions nice--they should be nice--as long as the attention to ornamentation does not eclipse the focus on the spiritual dimension of the ministry.

      Another example is that most women are naturally more relationship-oriented than are their male counterparts. Women want and need relationships. This is good and according to God's design, as long as personal relationships do not become more important than our relationship to Christ, to His Word, and to His Church.

      Simply stated, "Women's Ministries" must keep their emphasis on MINISTRY to women, rather than on WOMEN'S ministry.

  5. Leadership from the elders is essential even in "Women's Ministry."

    This is true for every other ministry and it is no less true for women's ministry. The nuts and bolts, hands-on aspects of women's activities are best coordinated by women. Those who provide spiritual leadership or who teach must be approved by the elders. This procedure applies to all ministries in the church.

Conclusion:

This is what "Women's Ministry" at Grace Bible Church is about. Note that there is no mention of what events we have and what events we do not have. What is important is that we understand and embrace these concepts concerning ministry to women. If we do that, then our events and activities will be biblical and Christ-honoring.

Godly women should not only be content with, but should celebrate what the Bible has to say about women and about ministry to women.

 

 

 

e:\ministry\women's ministry\philosophy.doc 1.0 1/2005