The importance of women’s faith to the Church

Written in a time and culture that devalued women, the Bible is remarkable in the honor it ascribes to the faith of women. For example, this theme is one of the elements we see clearly in the Gospel of Luke. Let’s take a look at what we can learn from the stories the Holy Spirit prompted Luke to record. 

Luke’s record of the faith of women

If we rewind the tape and head all the way back to the beginning of Luke’s Gospel account, we find that he begins almost immediately with the story of a man named Zechariah who was told the Word of God and yet did not believe. As an example of a more appropriate response, Luke then describes how a young woman named Mary trusted in the Word of the God and “believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” (Luke 1:45)

Later on in chapter 7 of the same Gospel account, another story is told, only this time it is one that compares one man’s misunderstanding of his own sinful position (Simon) and another woman’s clear assessment of her need to be rescued (Mary of Bethany or “the sinful woman”). While the man, one of Jesus’ disciples, is blinded by his pride, the woman sees clearly.

The Gospel of Luke then concludes with the powerful story of Jesus’ resurrection. Within that testimony, yet again, the reader finds side-by-side comparative responses — first the response of a group of women and then the response of a group of men. When the women courageously made their way to the tomb to honor their Lord, the men remained hidden and fearful. While the women ran back to the Apostles and the rest of the followers to tell them of what they had seen and believed to be true, most of the men doubted and disregarded their testimony, because it “seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them” (Luke 24:11).

Each of these three parts of Luke’s Gospel when seen from a big picture perspective form a thematic thread that declares loudly, the faith of women is to be taken seriously.

Don’t miss this part of the Gospel of Luke — the faith of women is amazing and plays an essential part in the life of the Church. Not only must Christian men acknowledge the beauty of this aforementioned statement, but we must also recognize, as shown throughout the Scriptures that where men are often slow to believe in Christ and understand the truths of the Gospel, women tend to go first and as such serve as an inspiration for growth and transformation.

How we can celebrate women’s faith in our churches

As a practical means of application, a church that wishes to live as a resurrected people that honors women as the Gospel of Luke does, could potentially employ the following practices:

1. Promote women’s voices

Too often the stories of faith that many women possess are relegated to women’s ministry events or to a ladies’ Bible study. In addition to these venues, churches would greatly benefit from men and young boys hearing the powerful stories of faith from the women of congregation in a mixed gender setting. Let a woman testify to the goodness of God so that men of all ages might be able to respond in a way that redeems what the Apostles and others missed on that Easter morning. The International Missions Board (IMB) has many more female missionaries than it has male missionaries. What if their stories were told with regularity in our churches alongside of that of Adoniram Judson and William Carey?  

2. Promote women’s resources

There are plenty of Christian resources written by women (books, studies and other resources) that would substantially benefit both men and women reading them together in their church (some notable authors include Rosaria Butterfield, Jen Wilkin and Jackie Hill-Perry). What if instead of the entire church only recommending books by men, a woman’s view was also included in the reading list?

We all benefit tremendously from the insights of our sisters. One only needs to consider the beautiful, Spirit-filled declarations of the women who spoke and sang of the greatness of God in Scripture, and how helpful and transformative those passages have been to the entire body of believers. 

3. Promote women’s gifts

All Christians are gifted by the Holy Spirit to build up the church. It is through the radical commitment to serving according to their gifts that a woman’s faith (just like a man’s) is put on a wonderful display. As the saints are celebrated, there is significant inequity that should be adjusted so that the faith of women put into practice is equally valued. One way of doing this can be seen through churches that are using social media posts or a regular highlight in the Sunday service or a special section in the bulletin to honor both men and women as they serve according to their giftedness. 

Part of living a resurrected life as Christians is walking in the truths of the Scripture. The Gospel of Luke and the rest of the Bible are clear: a woman’s faith is a powerful example for us all. Brothers, I want to encourage you not to forget about the prominence of women in the Gospel and what that means for the Church today. In this next year, may all Christian men not only note the faith of women but celebrate it and promote it.

John M. Ames is the church planting pastor of Faith Community Church in Providence, RI.