Post on MTS blog

Back in July on the MTS cricket blog site - Mikey placed a link to Fiona's thoughts on women in ministry. Fiona had written about how hard being in ministry is and that one should really consider it (more than a man anyway)
Anyway I don't disagree with how hard it is, but Mikey did ask for our thoughts, here's what I had to say:
I have been thinking a lot about the issue of Women’s ministry and how hard it is and Fiona and Emma’s comments back in July. (see MTS link 25th July )

Obviously I may be a little biased (I am employed by Kingborough Reformed Churches working in Women’s ministry) and I agree that women need to think really carefully about going into ministry (just as it is for men) but at the recent Challenge Conference I was really encouraged in my role as well thinking more broadly about women in ministry.

In our forum on women’s ministry we saw how important it is for women to be teaching women sound doctrine. Paul instructs Titus to ensure that women with spiritual experience were to be equipped to ‘teach what is good’ (Titus 2:3-5) That ‘good’ being sound doctrine.

Women are different to men. At times it can be as simple as that. We relate differently to each other.
When thinking pastorally about women there are just some issues that the male minister just should not be dealing with.
What better teachers to teach younger women in marriage than older women in marriage?

This does not make women’s ministry more important than any other ministry in the church, it is not a separate ‘cause’, in fact it is the opposite – in true womanly style it is a helpmate! At Kingston our aim as a team is to:
‘To work within our local churches to further assist it’s training by supporting women in their spiritual growth & encouraging them in prayer and bible study to prepare them for works of service’.

Having said that I completely hear Emma and Fiona’s points about how hard and emotionally draining being part of the ministry can be – here are three things that I have come up with that make women’s ministry almost impossible:

When women put an idea out there, they are putting themselves out there, so when the idea is rejected, women can take it as a personal rejection.

When women are not asked to do something (for very good reasons least they be that we are not worthy for the task) we also take that as a rejection. It’s not true but that’s how we feel.

Women understand women, I think this at times stops some action – “what will so and so think if we do it this way”


These (and I’m sure there are more) are the exact reasons why women’s ministry and teaching sound doctrine is vital. We need to hear God’s word in as many ways as we can, in the most helpful ways so that these issues can fade away in existence to the deeper issues – who we are in Christ and His promises that form our basis for daily living and the building of His Kingdom.
fade away in existence to the deeper issues – who we are in Christ and His
Next year at Challenge Conference, I hope to have more than the ‘one’ women’s ministry forum – there is so much need – how to set-up a women’s ministry would be good to look at, being the minister’s wife is an important issue, as well as thinking about Emma’s point, being the worker and your husband not in ministry. (That is our situation – but can be dealt with another time!)

This is what I think – whose with me?