Women in the Church

Have you ever noticed that there are more women at church than men? This is not the case with every congregation, but statistically there are more religious women than men. It may have been that way in the early church, too. Many women are mentioned in the New Testament, and some of them did very important things. Jesus taught an important lesson to the Samaritan woman about worship. Mary Magdalene was the first person to see Jesus after His resurrection. Paul called Phoebe, Priscilla, Mary, and Junia his "fellow-workers in Christ Jesus." Even though these women did not have many rights in society, they were able to achieve great things in the church because "there is neither male nor female in Christ" (Galatians 3:28). Women were essential to the growth of the first-century church, and they are essential to the growth of the church today.

Realizing how special women are in the church, we must now look at what God asks them to do. God has organized His church in a very specific way: "The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God" (1 Corinthians 11:3). Everyone has a purpose in God's plan. Men are called to lead the public worship of the church, and to serve as elders and deacons in the church (1 Timothy 2:12; 3:1-13), but women have equally important things to do. Timothy learned the Gospel from his mother and grandmother when he was a young child (2 Timothy 1:5), and Peter mentioned wives who brought their husbands to Christ by their example. Women have powerful influence through their families, and the Lord uses that to help His church grow. The New Testament also encourages women to treat the church as their family (1 Timothy 5:2). So, by their good example and teaching, women may have a powerful influence among the Lord's family (Titus 2:3-5).

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