Why Women in Ministry Matters

A few weeks ago, delegates to the Southern Baptist Convention overwhelming passed a proposal to ban churches that have women pastors or let women preach on Sunday mornings. Opinions about the ban rippled through my social media feed and, in response to this news, I shared my grief about this via social media.

I’m not a fan of adding opinions for the sake of adding opinions. My philosophy about repeating information or perspectives that are already easily accessible online is that I should only do so if I think that a significant portion of my readers will access that information or perspective only through my writing it.

So I was reticent to engage in the conversation of women in ministry myself. A Presiding Elder in my conference reached out asking if I’d share publicly my thoughts about a couple important matters in our denomination, including women in ministry. I wanted to decline because both matters had been discussed thoroughly. But when it came to women in ministry, I found a hole in the discussion that I haven’t heard shared: Why women in all areas of ministry matters.

I’ve read and heard takes on whether women can (and can’t) be in all areas of ministry. I’ve read and heard takes on how women can lead in the church. And while I’m sure many others have discussed it, I’ve personally yet to read or hear someone articulate why women in all areas of ministry matters.

I’m a Global Methodist pastor. The Global Methodist Church believes and affirms the call of God on women (and men) to serve in every area of leadership. I’m grateful and blessed that I’ve called a woman my pastor. I’m grateful and blessed to have served under female pastors in the past, to currently serve under a female presiding elder, and to call multiple women “Bishop” in my denomination.

To be as clear as possible: The Global Methodist Church believes that God calls women and men to serve the church as committee members, Sunday School teachers, lay leaders, deacons, elders, pastors, presiding elders, conference superintendents, and bishops. There is no role in the Global Methodist Church that a man is allowed to have that a woman is prohibited from.

With that being said, we’re not where we need to be as a denomination. Yes, our elected denominational delegates have elected women as bishops. But many of the people in the pews of Global Methodist Churches don’t know or believe that women are called by God for all areas of leadership. Churches impose policies that are more prohibitive for women in leadership than men in leadership. Even the best churches struggle to offer equal opportunities to men and women who are equally called by God.

So if we as Global Methodists believe that women are called by God for all areas of leadership—and if we do have some things that need to be addressed in living that out—why should I care if another denomination I’m not affiliated with prevents women from preaching the gospel and leading the church? Why weigh in?

Because women in ministry matters for the whole Church.

First, let me clarify that I believe that the topic of women in ministry isn’t of salvific importance. In other words, whether you believe in women in all areas of ministry or not doesn’t determine whether you spend an eternity with Jesus or not.

Scholars talk about (and debate) what is of “first-order importance” and of “second-order importance.” First-order doctrines are things like the full divinity and full humanity of Jesus, the Trinity, and salvation by grace through faith in Jesus. In other words, first-order doctrines are basically the things affirmed in the ancient Church creeds. They articulate the bounds of historic, orthodox Christianity.

Second-order importance doctrines are things like the meaning and mode of baptism, church governance, gifts of the Spirit, and the meaning of the Lord’s Supper. In other words second-order doctrines are basically the things that distinguish denominations and traditions from each other. These are very important in the life of churches and denominations—they affect everything we do in the church—but they don’t determine whether we can consider ourselves part of the Church.

Women in ministry is of second-order importance. I strongly believe that I will spend an eternity worshipping Jesus alongside people who believed women cannot serve in all areas of ministry. Despite our agreement that women in ministry is of second-order importance, I’ve heard those who disagree with me use a slippery slope fallacy to tell me that believing differently than them on this second-order doctrine means that I believe differently than them on doctrines of first-order importance. The fallacy usually goes something like this: “If you believe women can be pastors and preach, you don’t believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and therefore, all the things the Bible affirms are things you might not affirm.” As the Church, we’ve got to stop that kind of rhetoric.

But I’ve heard many use the point that women in ministry is of second-order importance to claim that it doesn’t matter whether women are in ministry or not. Essentially, in their logic, there is first-order importance and unimportance. In their view, women in ministry falls into the latter category.

Many men in ministry just write off women in ministry as a superfluous issue, one that doesn’t affect the church in any significant way. Easy for us to say! Imagine sensing God calling you to pastor, preach, or lead in the church and someone brush it off as an unimportant disagreement amongst denominations. For many women, this isn’t an imaginary situation; it’s how they’re treated when they try to bring up God’s calling on their life.

Which is why we need to talk about why women in all areas of leadership matters for the Church:

1. Because it’s Biblical.

Why do we talk about how Jesus Christ died for all and that He invites everyone to profess Him as Savior and Lord? Why do we talk about how lying is wrong? Why do we talk about how Jesus can empathize with every human struggle we have?

Quite simply, because those are Biblical.

The Bible—the inspired Word of God, true in all that it affirms—is such an important document (even calling it a “document” feels too dismissive) that whatever it teaches is important because it is in the Bible.

Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” ALL Scripture. So if something is Scriptural, it matters.

This isn’t the place to find the argument for women in all areas of ministry (I’ll link some below). But in just a few sentences:

In the beginning, God created man and woman in His image and gave both of them the command to be fruitful, multiply, fill, subdue, and rule (Gen. 1:28). In the curse of the Fall (Gen. 3:16)—which God is actively reversing and welcoming us to join Him in—man and woman went from ruling (a God-honoring task, as we see in Gen. 1:28) side-by-side to the man ruling over the woman (in other words, man ruling over woman is a curse, not God-honoring). Throughout the Old Testament (in the midst of overwhelmingly male-dominant cultures), women lead: Miriam the prophetess (Ex. 15:20); Deborah the prophet, judge, and military leader (Jud. 4:4-10); and Huldah the prophet and the king’s chosen spiritual authority (2 Kings 22:14-20), just to name a few. In Joel 2:28-29, God promises that the Holy Spirit will be poured out on men and women and that both will prophesy (which is fulfilled at Pentecost). In the Gospels, Jesus is constantly seen affirming women’s roles in His ministry—as evangelists (John 4:28-30, 39-42), disciples (Luke 10:39 – sitting at the feet of a rabbi was the posture of a disciple), and benefactors (Luke 8:1-3). In the rest of the New Testament, women are affirmed in positions of leadership—as those prophesying and praying in church worship (1 Cor. 11:5), deacons (Rom. 16:1), benefactors (Rom. 16:1-2) apostles (Rom. 16:7), co-workers with Paul (Phil. 4:2-3), and other various unnamed leadership positions (Rom. 16:1-15).

Again, this isn’t the place to find robust explanation about the handful of passages used to argue against women in all areas of ministry, but in a few sentences:

In 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, Paul clearly isn’t saying that women at all times and in all places should remain silent in the church; otherwise, he wouldn’t have given instructions for how women should prophesy (an act that involves speaking) 3 chapters earlier. In 1 Timothy 2:11-12, it’s highly likely that Paul is addressing cultural issues within the Ephesian church. Many English translations minimize the significance of the Greek word αὐθεντεῖν in 1 Tim. 2:12 by translating it “assume authority” or “have authority.” Rather than using more typical words for leading, Paul uses αὐθεντεῖν (used in this verse in the NT), which I think the KJV’s translation of “usurp authority” is most appropriate. Clearly, Paul is addressing a specific issue and isn’t telling all women in the church to “remain silent” (see 1 Cor. 11:5 again). In 1 Timothy 3:2-4 and Titus 1:5, when Paul says an overseer should be the “husband of one wife” (literally translated) and (in the 1 Timothy passage) that his children should obey him, he’s not barring single men, childless married men, and women from being overseers (if so, he’d be disqualifying himself). He’s teaching that overseers should be faithful to their spouses and manage their families well. To this point, Paul says in 1 Timothy 3:12 that a deacon must be the “husband of one wife,” yet calls Phoebe a deacon in Romans 16:1.

*A photo my friend took of me while visiting the suspected site of Lydia’s baptism in Philippi.*

Women in ministry matters because it’s Biblical. And because it’s Biblical, it’s important for how we live our lives and order our churches.

2. Because it helps spread the gospel.

Going into 2026, I felt like God gave me a verse to reflect on for the year (actually the same words are found in two different places in the Gospels)—Luke 10:2: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

In both Luke and in Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus says this within the context of sending out his disciples to participate in His ministry (in Luke, it’s just after He sends out the 72 and in Matthew, it’s just before He sends out the 12). I don’t want to read into the text too much, but what Jesus was saying then—and what I wonder if He’s saying now—is that the issue with reaping the fruit of the Kingdom of God is not that there’s not enough fruit, but that there’s not enough workers to harvest the fruit.

I believe that God calls both women and men to lead in all levels of ministry. I don’t know if God calls men and women in a 50/50 split or what that breakdown looks like. But about half (if not more) of Christians in the United States are associated with a denomination of Christianity that does not affirm women in all areas of ministry. This means that, very roughly speaking, for all the women that God calls into ministry, half are in churches that tell them they cannot follow that calling God has on their life. Worse, most are told that it is unbiblical—and even sinful—to follow the calling God has on their life.

Take that in for a minute. Many women—thousands upon thousands of them—are having to choose whether to follow God’s calling on their life or follow their church’s teaching on women in ministry. As someone who discerned his own call to ministry, I cannot imagine what it must feel like to be stuck in that tension. From the women I hear who reflect on their callings while in churches that don’t affirm God’s calling on their lives to preach and lead, it sounds like a living hell.

This is why the women in all areas of ministry issue is important.

Throughout this whole Southern Baptist Convention debacle, one thought has continued to persist in my head: if Satan were going to try to limit the spread of the gospel, an effective strategy for him to use would be to convince as many Christians as possible that half of those called called to preach or lead would be disobeying God if they did so. I think he’s been very effective in his strategy.

Imagine how much more the gospel would spread in the United States and around the world if we had roughly 25% more pastors, preachers, and leaders who were following God’s call on their life to lead the Church!

And, maybe I’m just hedging my bets before eternity, but I would rather stand before Jesus and apologize for being wrong in letting more people preach His gospel and lead in His Church than stand before Jesus and apologize for standing in the way of the calling He gave to thousands of women and preventing them from living lives faithful to Him.

Women in all areas of ministry matters because affirming God’s call on women’s lives increases the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

3. Because women in ministry make men in ministry better.

I am a better pastor because of women in ministry.

While preparing for ministry, I served under four different ordained women—two as internship supervisors and two as bosses. I believe that God has made men and women different (though these differences aren’t the cultural stereotypes Christians sometimes claim are Biblical). These natural gifts that God has given to men and women both collectively and individually are not to be used in subservience to one or the other, but rather in mutual submission to God for the sake of the Church.

When I think of the best preachers I have heard, I think of both men and women. When I think of the best church leaders I know, I think of both men and women. When I think of how I have been shaped as a pastor, a preacher, and a leader, I thank God that I had both men and women influencing me.

Female pastors make male pastors better and male pastors make female pastors better. Female pastors make churches better and male pastors make churches better.

When I think of why women in all areas of ministry matters, I think of the phrase, “A rising tide lifts all boats.” When all those who are called by God to preach and lead the Church are affirmed, encouraged, and equipped for that ministry, we are all better for it. Individuals are better for it. Pastors are better for it. Churches are better for it. Communities and societies and entire nations are better for it.

I believe that if denominations like the Southern Baptist Convention and the Catholic Church and the Presbyterian Church of America affirmed women in all areas of ministry, the whole Church would be better for it. Not only because it’s Biblical. But because, as Scripture says, “Iron sharpens iron.” When we live for the glory of God following the way of God, we make each other better.

Women in all areas of ministry matters because it makes all of us better.

Growing up attending a school run by a church in the Southern Baptist Convention, I have great appreciation for the SBC’s desire to teach Scripture as God’s living and active Word, which is true and trustworthy. I appreciate their evangelistic zeal and desire for all to profess Jesus as Savior and Lord. But I grieve that they—and many other denominations and Christians around the world—do not believe that God has called women to participate fully in that mission.

This is not just a denominational problem that affects the largest Protestant denomination in the American Church. This is a Church-wide problem that—though not of first-order importance—is still important.

This is why women in ministry matters. This is why we should support the women and men called by God to preach and lead as they live faithfully to the One who called them.

My own journey to recognizing women in all areas of ministry has been one that has developed over time. I’m grateful to so many people who have helped me develop a more robust theology of calling and ministry. Thank you to Amy, Christina, Jessica, Cam, Allyce, Hannah, Sarah, Carolyn, Janet, Logan, Rebecca, and many others for modeling what ministry and leadership looks like. Thank you especially to Hannah Hutchinson for offering insights and edits. Thank you to Jagger Eastman for sharing his thoughts and exegetical analysis on several key passages.

If you’re interested in reading more about a Biblical understanding of women in ministry and leadership, I’d recommend the following books and articles:

From Genesis to Junia by Preston Sprinkle
Paul, Women, and Wives by Craig Keener
When Women Lead by Carolyn Moore
“10 Scriptural Truths about Women” in Leadership by Suzanne Nicholson
“Leaders in the Bible (Who Happened to Be Women)” by Suzanne Nicholson

If you’re interested in checking out some of my other posts, check them out below!