Is Biblical Women’s Ministry in the Church Still Important?
By Cyndee Ownbey
Why women’s ministry? Is it really necessary? Could you make a case for women’s ministry in your church if you had to? If I’m honest, for many years I knew the need, but I wasn’t able to concisely articulate why women’s ministry in the church is so vital.
Church Resistance to Women’s Ministry
I know I’m not alone in my experience. Over the years, I’ve had a handful of women reach out for advice on what to do when their church staff has said no to a women’s ministry program. A friend reported with great sadness that of the forty-four churches in her church association, only eight had a women’s ministry program. While that statistic grieved my heart, I was not all that surprised.
I understand why some churches don’t have or even want a women’s ministry program. As you likely know, women’s ministry has a reputation for offering shallow, overly feminine events and activities. Women’s ministry in many churches is more about potlucks and parties than it is about equipping and encouraging women to live for Christ.
There may be many reasons a church staff or pastor doesn’t want or see the need for a women’s ministry program. Some argue that a structured program isn’t needed—the teaching of younger women by older women should be an organic outpouring of the relationships between women in the church. However, it often doesn’t happen that way. People sit with the same circle of friends in worship and in their small group. Younger women who dare to venture outside of their close-knit community to ask an older woman to disciple them are often discouraged when the older woman declines.
Can Small Groups Fulfill the Need for Women’s Ministry?
Some churches have discarded ministry programs to focus on a small group or community group model. Many have well-meaning church staff who believe that the purpose of small groups eliminates the need for a women’s ministry program. Not true. The need remains.
Small groups cannot function as women’s ministry can because:
- Their size usually is around 10-12 people
- They are typically co-ed, so the number of women is even smaller
- They are often grouped by age
- They are often focused on fellowship, not deep Bible study
I love my small group, but it’s not a place where there’s a lot of cross-generational teaching between women. Small groups are good and valuable, but they cannot take the place of a healthy, vibrant women’s ministry that fulfills the scriptural directive that older women teach younger women (as seen in Titus 2:3-5).
Women’s Ministry’s Role in Encouraging Biblical Literacy
There is great value and importance in women studying and sharing the accounts in Scripture with one another, proclaiming and praising God for the great things He has done.
Sadly, this is often not happening. Women aren’t reading, studying, or sharing God’s Word. Many proclaim they believe the Bible but aren’t necessarily reading it. A casual poll on social media asking women what they are reading in their quiet time reveals more devotional books than books of the Bible. Even women who have been attending Bible studies for years struggle to read and study the Bible on their own.
We are facing a Bible literacy crisis in the church. As the culture shifts further away from biblical principles, we need our sisters in Christ to remind us of the great things God has done and to encourage us to walk in truth.
Women’s Ministry and the Call to Make Disciples
In comparison to the early church community described in Acts 2:42, our weekly church activities fall short. We aren’t gathering together with regular, daily devotion to teaching, fellowship, prayer, and breaking bread. A Christ-focused women’s ministry program can bridge the gap by providing and encouraging spiritual growth. All believers, men and women, are to make disciples (Matt. 28:19-20). Part of the core function of women’s ministry programs should be making disciples—both teaching and encouraging the women in our congregation, and welcoming women who do not know Christ and those who do not have a church home.
Biblical women’s ministry events and activities, created with prayer and preparation, can lead women to Christ and allow them to taste and see that the Lord is good.
This article has been adapted from Cyndee Ownbey’s book Women’s Ministry Essentials: How to Build and Sustain a Thriving Christian Community, published by Baker Books. In it she outlines how to build biblically sound encouragement and spiritually driven growth opportunities for all women.
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Cyndee Ownbey mentors thousands of women’s ministry leaders through her Women’s Ministry Toolbox website, Facebook group, and podcast. Pulling from over a quarter century of experience ministering to women (from serving in five women’s ministry programs), Cyndee offers a relatable and helpful perspective. She shares tried-and-true tips and ideas while always pointing leaders toward God and the Bible. Cyndee is nearing completion on her MA in ministry to women at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and currently serves on the women’s ministry team at her local church in Concord, North Carolina.
