Friday is International Women’s Day, and I will be spending the day traveling to be with two of my favorite women in the world- my sisters. We are celebrating a birthday and attending a concert, spending a weekend together like we rarely get to anymore.
This IWD, I am also thinking about a group of women who are dear to me- women who serve in vocational ministry in the Church world.
I’m a pastor, or kind of still am, as I’ve left my role at my church and am waiting (ever so patiently) to see what God has for me next. I’m a preacher, a teacher, a sold-out advocate of youth ministry and students, and I’m a woman in the ministry world.
Over the years, as I got my sea legs in ministry, I became immersed in the debate over what roles women can and should play in ministry. I am convinced that women must serve and work in all levels of ministry in and outside of the Church, and I actually believe this more after I spend time studying what the Bible teaches. But that post is for a different day.
This post is for the women who are on the front lines in ministry in the Church. This IWD, I have a couple things to tell you…
-I see you. I see you on my facebook feed, and in private groups. I see you vilified on the internet for simply doing what God has called you to.
I see you putting ashes on foreheads and reminding us of our mortality and need for Jesus.
I see you trying to figure out how God has called you and where you fit in His eternal masterpiece.
I see you preparing a sermon or a message. I see you working on summer youth trip planning. I see you on your knees or in your car in earnest prayer for your people.
I see you, women of color, who are leading and preaching and teaching and sharing Jesus. (I read a great blog post from a sister in ministry just today, in fact. Read it here!)
I see you juggling life and ministry, family, parenting, vocation, and the high callings that you have.
I see you- the first one on your church staff to need a plan for maternity leave. The first female in your role. The first female on your staff. I see you blazing trails and making way for those who will come after us.
-You are not alone. There are thousands of us out here. One of the best things I have done over the years is participate in irl and online groups that are specifically for women in ministry. Find a group that is life-giving, and leave any groups that are perpetuating wrong thinking about women or toxic masculinity, or that just aren’t good for your soul.
If you are in youth ministry, I cannot recommend enough joining the diverse tribe of women found in this facebook group, called Women in Youth Ministry. They are simply lovely.
The next time you are at a conference or event, seek out the other women who are in ministry. Follow them on social media, and find someone you can befriend in real life.
Email other female pastors in your city or nearby. See if you can start meet up with them.
-Listen to truth. Believe it. I know you know this. You’ve taught this and preached this and told adults and students and children this a hundred times.
You need to hear it again. You are made on purpose, for a purpose by a perfect Creator. He designed you intricately and on purpose.
You are enough. You are not too much.
You are very loved by a perfect Father. You. You are loved.
You are a warrior. God made you that way. You are an ezer, a Hebrew word that connotes power and strength. You are not meant to sit on the sidelines of this life.
God has plans for you, and they are plans to bring Him glory and to help other people get to know Him. There is no greater calling, and it is not just your calling, but it is your vocation.
Women are meant to be co-equals in the work of the Church. It matters that you keep showing up to lead.
-It’s ok to take a break. Know what’s also true? God invented rest and thinks it’s good.
Maybe you are tired in ministry. Maybe you’ve been tired for a while. Maybe you’re burnt out or on the verge. Maybe you are hurt, and you haven’t taken time to deal with it.
It’s ok to take a break. God’s Kingdom needs you, and there is work to be done. But there is also healing to be had and times to rest. There is also your soul to consider. Shauna Niequist, in her book, Present Over Perfect, reminds us that we are part of God’s Kingdom too. So are our marriages, our relationships, and our children.
Take a day off. Take two. Attend a retreat alone or with your team. Take a vacation. Take a sabbatical. It’s ok to take a break.
-Your voice matters. And we need to hear you.
It can be hard to speak up. So many of us are used to being the only woman in the room, or one of only a few. And we are taught from childhood to not take up too much space.
Sisters, let’s speak with grace, but let’s speak up. Let’s speak up at our meetings, in our conference rooms, in our youth group, in our circles of influence.
God has you in ministry for a reason. For lots of them. We need you at the table, in the room, at the microphone, using your voice.
-And last…thank you.
Thank you. I know this work. It is not easy. Ministry is not easy for men or women, and it’s hard to understand just how hard it is when you live and work outside that context.
Thank you for showing up. Thank you for driving to a teen’s house in the middle of the night, because she texted you that she is suicidal. Thank you for counseling a parent whose child is battling addiction. Thank you for praying for your people.
Thank you for investing in children when they are at their most impressionable. Thank you for considering that a holy privilege. Thank you for signing up for the long-haul, to make an investment whose dividends you may never actually see but trust God for.
Thank you for spending hours preparing a message to share with your congregation. Thank you for studying Greek and Hermeneutics and for studying the needs of your people. Thank you for trusting God to work through you.
Thank you for planning trips and events and conferences, putting in hours of work so that your people can experience God afresh or for the first time.
Thank you for being an encourager. Thank you for speaking truth in dark places.
Thank you for your work. This is hard work. I know.
If I could tell you one more thing, it would be this: please don’t neglect your own relationship with Jesus in favor of doing holy work for others. In order to serve and lead well for any length of time you must be operating out of His power. If you feel like you are just going through the motions in ministry, I get it. Lots of people get it. We’ve been there. But please don’t stay there. Ask for help. Cry. Pray. Take that break. Confess, repent, keep going.
I’m rooting for you, wherever you are.
My prayer for you echos Paul’s encouragement for some of his people:
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9 NLT)
You are beloved. Thanks for your work. It matters. You matter. Carry on, sister.
-H