What can pastors and leaders of churches of any size, location, or scope of ministry do to elevate ministry ministry to women more?
By Chip Luter
If all the women at my local church stopped attending, we would most likely be closing the doors of the church soon after. Historically, women have not only made up a large portion of the membership, but many have also been ministry leaders. Even now, the parking lot ministry at our church is struggling to recruit more men to help with the crowds on high attendance Sundays. Yes, that’s right. There are more women than men serving even in the parking lot ministry.
Suffice it to say my local church isn’t the only one with this story. No matter the church’s denomination, ethnic makeup, age range, or geographic location, the typical church includes more women than men. As one who has been in full-time ministry for close to 20 years, I can say with confidence that it’s been a lot harder to reach and retain men in ministry than women.
Ministry to women
Ministry to women at the local church is critical and essential to the growth and health of the church. Women are most influential when it comes to their marriages, families, and friendship circles. Women’s gatherings and conferences typically do better than men’s events because women are looking for community in ways men aren’t.
“Ministry to women at the local church is critical and essential to the growth and health of the church.” — @chipandjasmine Share on XMen can come together for sporting and entertainment events, and the event is just another experience to enjoy with one another. That’s it. When the event is over, men will leave and possibly not talk again until the next event.
Women look forward to events for a deeper reason. They want to connect and build community that will last beyond the end of the event. In other words, for men, the event is just that, an event. But with women, the event is a vast encompassing experience.
I’ve seen my wife return from a women’s gathering at the church so excited about what happened at the conference and the people she got to experience it with. Then over the next few weeks and months, she’ll get lunch dates and play dates planned out with the people she connected with at the event.
If this is what’s happening when women get together, then what can we do as pastors and leaders of churches to uplift this valuable ministry even more? I’ll suggest four possibilities that should be applicable for every church no matter the location, size, or scope of the ministry.
1. Educate
We must educate the church to the needs and realities of women in their ministry context. There are some aspects of women’s ministry that are universal. But most of the ministry to women in the local church is based on the immediate context of that church. A church in rural America will have different approaches to ministry than the church in an urban center.
Pastors and leaders must get educated about the local context and train and develop the leaders of their church to be innovative in doing ministry that fits their context.
2. Elevate
We should elevate women’s ministry in the church to reach women of all life stages. Ministering to women in the local church can bring challenges. One of those significant challenges is ministering to every woman regardless of age and life stage. There are women who are younger, older, single, married, single with kids, married with kids, entrepreneurs, employers, military workers, caretakers, and the list goes on.
According to Lifeway Research’s State of Ministry to Women report, most women who participate in women’s ministry are between the ages of 26-70. Taking a deeper look at groups of women represented in the church, women’s ministry leaders believe their ministry is best designed to meet the needs of retired women, moms, working moms, and stay-at-home moms. However, fewer believe their ministries are well-designed to meet the needs of women going to school, single moms, single women, and professional women. To meet the challenge of ministering to women in every life stage, the whole church must be involved in ministering to women in all categories, not just a few.
“To meet the challenge of ministering to women in every life stage, the whole church must be involved in ministering to women in all categories, not just a few.” — @chipandjasmine Share on X3. Advocate
Advocating for ministry to women inside and outside of the local church is essential. The temptation to focus on the members within the church rather than the people outside the church is common. We should approach ministry with a both/and model. We need to advocate for ministry to women inside and outside the church.
In the church, we will have Bible studies, food, fellowships, training classes, and more. However, we must look for opportunities to minister to women in the community. This could include ministering to young ladies at local school campuses, serving at pregnancy centers and women shelters, and much more. Research what is happening in your local context, and if there’s a need the church can meet, go do it.
4. Celebrate
Lastly, whatever is celebrated from the pulpit is duplicated in the pews. When it comes to preaching, doctrine, ministry priorities, and vision, the pastor’s voice sets the tone for the rest of the church. Pastors must be the biggest celebrators of what is happening in women’s ministry inside and outside of the church.
“Whatever is celebrated from the pulpit is duplicated in the pews.” — @chipandjasmine Share on XWhen the members see what a big deal it is for the pastor, they will make it a big deal in their lives. They will invite women they know to get involved. They will serve with excitement, knowing it’s important in the life of their church. And they will continue to pray for the Lord’s power to work in ministry.
These suggestions provide a starting point, but they aren’t the be-all end-all. Ministry to women is essential, critical, and crucial to the life of the local church. Women will continue to be esteemed and important in the lives of our churches. We must do our part to keep them uplifted.
For permission to republish this article, contact Marissa Postell Sullivan.
