Reform, as a grass roots movement, envisages action coming from members who have thought, studied, discussed and agreed. Discussion papers such as this one are written by individual members for the council of Reform and the wider church. The author alone is responsible for the paper. This paper may be copied freely.
A woman on the team? Why not?
A paper by Pat Lawler
Statistics show that seventy per cent of our congregations are women. With such a challenge I marvel that comparatively few churches have women on their staff teams. With so many people yet to hear the Gospel the opportunities for ministry are endless. It is a matter of great urgency to help equip Christians to share the Gospel and to help them fulfill their part in helping others mature in Christ and live useful fulfilled lives in His service - whatever that context might be.
Perhaps you will not be greatly surprised when I say that the principles found in the following texts have greatly influenced my approach to ministry:
".... to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ". Ephesians 4:12,13.
"And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others". 2 Timothy 2:2.
My own convictions regarding male headship in marriage and in church leadership are based on the creation order found in Genesis 1-3 and Ephesians 5:23,24. I have worked on two church teams over a period of twenty years and found it to be a very supportive principle enabling each one of us to work towards a common objective within the context of our different gifts and responsibilities. As a lay person, trained by the Navigators and on their staff for many years, I have never seriously considered the diaconate or ordination. On the contrary, I believe a lay person has more time and a greater freedom to concentrate on women's ministry without other distractions.
When I arrived at my present church thirteen years ago my prayer was that God would use me as He chose in this new situation and that He would help me observe areas where I might serve. The first opportunity came with the coffee rota and a little later I offered to cook the monthly suppers before the prayer meeting. These gave ideal opportunities for getting to know people.
About a year later I was approached by one of the young mothers in the congregation who had previously worked with me. She asked me whether there were any Bible study groups during the day for those who were unable to get to the house groups. There were not. Since I had a full-time secular job at that time I volunteered to lead such a group on my day off, provided she could find others who would be interested. She did, and the Bible study ministry among young mothers had begun. Over a five-year period this one group had expanded to five, each with its own leader and assistant.
As we evaluated the ministry we saw the danger of becoming too insular and the need to concentrate more on outreach. Because time is at a premium for young mothers our thoughts turned towards the existing mothers and toddlers programme to see if we could make it a more effective resource for evangelism. With this in mind we changed the objectives of the existing group and made them more overtly evangelistic. A team of two like-minded women assumed responsibility for this ministry. Today these women co-ordinate a team of fifty helpers, on a rota basis, involving approximately ten each week. One of the significant benefits of this ministry has been that it allows a lot of young mothers the opportunity to serve within the limited time they have available.
The workload had by now become such that it was necessary for me to look for a part-time job. Unknown to me some of the Bible study group leaders approached our minister to ask if I could be appointed to the staff in a part-time capacity. Initially, I joined the staff team for two days a week. As the work continued to grow, this increased gradually to become a full-time position.
Another aspect of the women's ministry caters for the needs of the older women in the congregation. The two women who had been leading this group for many years asked me to take responsibility for it. They felt the work needed a fresh approach. This was a new venture for me and one which I embarked upon with some trepidation. However, with a wonderfully committed team of three helping me, we have seen these women growing in their concern for each other and in a deepening understanding of their faith.
About four years ago we became aware that some of the needs of the new believers were not being met. We felt it was important for them to become more established in their faith before joining a house group. As a consequence an eighteen week "Learning to Live" Bible study course was started and is now an established feature of our church programme among the women. This course has been used by God, not only to help young believers grow spiritually but also to stimulate older Christians who have felt the need for a refresher course. These groups have given some of the single women opportunities to learn how to lead Bible study groups and to help others individually. Currently we have three women who are receiving training for leadership in this work.
As I look back on my ministry the following principles emerge.
Prayer
Most of the ministry opportunities opened to us as a result of persevering in prayer.
Observation
Time was spent identifying areas of need. It was helpful to be able to do this initially from the perspective of a church member.
Service
Start where the need is. In my case it was the coffee rota. This came before other more formal types of ministry.
Teamwork
Working with another like-minded person helped demonstrate my heart and vision for the ministry. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 promises that "two are better than one because they have a good return for their work".
Planning
At each stage our programme was planned to meet specific objectives for the individuals and groups in our care.
Training
A growing ministry is dependent on consistently recruiting and training new leaders and assistants so that the work can continue to grow and expand.
Resources
As the work evolved God wonderfully gave people to meet the needs at the right time.
Over the years I have had the privilege of seeing God use all kinds of women to accomplish the work He wants done in this world. In some cases their gifts and skills were readily apparent whilst others emerged more slowly. In either case it has been a joy to see them continue to serve the Lord wherever they find themselves, both here and overseas.
A portion of Scripture that continues to encourage me is 1 Corinthians 1:26-31.
"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord"."