Ministry women equipped

There is one conversation that is repeated often; it is the one about what women can’t do in ministry.

Media hostility has increased towards those who believe the Bible teaches comple-mentarianism, because restricting church leadership to men is considered unjust. The underlying implication is that women who teach women are inferior and succumbing to the second best option. With this in mind, the North West Gospel Partnership decided that the time had come to encourage women in the ministries that they can do.

Complementarian launch

Complementarian women’s ministry has a very low profile in the North of England — not many women are in full-time paid ministry jobs, but there are many women who have a heart to serve others and to teach the gospel. They are working hard in lots of different ways, often in quite isolated settings. So the ‘Equipped’ conference for women in ministry was launched.

On June 26, 70 women from around the North West met together at St. Andrew’s Leyland for a day of Bible teaching. Justin Mote pointed the participants to Christ, the victorious lion who is also the lamb, teaching that it is vital in ministry to have a correct view of Jesus. Susie Leafe exhorted the women to beware of the deceitfulness of sin and to be engaged in the task of encouraging one another to persevere. Karen Soole called everyone to be women of the word and to heed J.I. Packer’s call from June’s Evangelicals Now to re-establish in people’s minds the truth and wisdom of the biblical message in our post-Christian age.

One woman said that she had been nervous coming to a ‘women’s event’, fearing that it might be ‘fluffy’, but had been thrilled to find it was a day full of serious Bible teaching. Only a handful of the women who came were in paid ministry jobs, the vast majority being ’tentmakers’ who are doing as much ministry as possible around their secular jobs, or using their stage of life as mothers or newly retired to serve Christ. Many were encouraged to meet, share ideas and pray together. One group has already begun to plan some new ministry initiatives working with those who have additional learning needs.

This is hoped to be the beginning of providing ongoing training and support for women in the region.