Carrie Sandom is the Director of Women’s Ministry at The Proclamation Trust. I asked her a few questions about Women’s Ministry.

Here is part 3 of our 4 part series, Wednesday is for Women’s Ministry.

What fruit is borne through Biblical Women’s Ministry in the life of the church?

Titus 2 is clear that where this kind of ministry is NOT happening, we malign God’s Word. I take that to mean that a healthy local church will have discipleship programmes running for men and women and we adorn the gospel of grace and make it attractive when we make these a priority.

Men and women are equal in status, dignity and humanity – so why wouldn’t we take the discipleship of women as seriously as we do the discipleship of men. People have often said to me over the years that it’s a real shame that I “only” teach women but by saying this they show they do not value women or women’s ministry as much as men. This kind of inherent misogyny is rightly being challenged in our culture and the church should be leading the way in addressing the unhealthy attitudes that prevail. We malign God’s Word and the gospel of grace if we don’t.

How could a church wanting to expand and develop women’s ministry set about finding someone to fill a ministry role?

There is a growing network of women involved in ministry – either because they have done Cornhill or attend the Women in Ministry conference (or both). Evangelicals Now and the Hub are good places to advertise for jobs but it’s also worth contacting the PT office as we often know who’s looking for a job/coming to the end of their current contract.

How do you ensure women’s ministry is not the thin end of the egalitarian wedge?

I think some churches do fear this but I think doing nothing is more likely to exasperate the women in your church! Once women have a taste of what women to women ministry involves it can help them to feel valued and that they have a role to play in the life of the church. It’s helpful if the men in leadership are aware of and affirm what they’re doing and show people what an integral part of the church’s life and witness it is. But running a women’s ministry doesn’t mean I’m going to get into the pulpit! At some point the church will need to be taught about the roles of men and women in the family and the church (but not endlessly) – and then to get on and model the unique roles that men and women have.

How do you ensure that others on the pastoral team understand and support you in your role?

There needs to be good communication about what women’s ministry is and what it’s not – not just amongst the staff team but the wider church as well! The aims of the women’s ministry at St John’s are exactly the same as the aims of the church as a whole – to know Jesus better and to make Him better known. It is a Bible teaching ministry, where we let the Bible set the agenda (studying whole books at a time in the women’s Bible study groups) and not an issue based ministry (seeking to solve people’s problems). As such it is no different to what the youth worker is trying to do with the youth, the men’s worker is trying to do with the men or the preachers are trying to do with the whole church when we gather together on a Sunday.