For generations, the question of women in leadership has stirred conversations across churches, classrooms, and coffee tables. For many women in church ministry, the conversation isn’t theoretical—it’s personal. You love the church, you long to serve faithfully, and yet you sometimes feel the quiet ache of limitation.
It’s not because you lack calling or gifting, but because the path forward feels unclear. You sense God’s invitation to lead, while also wanting to honor Scripture, spiritual authority, and the community you serve. And so the question lingers quietly beneath the surface: Is there truly a place for women to lead here?
God’s Original Design: Shared Dominion and Co-Laboring
Before there were church traditions, pulpits, and pews or titles and positions, there was Eden. This was God’s first declaration of identity and purpose for humanity. Genesis 1:27–28 tells us that both male and female were created in God’s image and commissioned to “fill the earth and subdue it” and to “have dominion” together. Leadership, stewardship, and calling were never gender-exclusive; they were shared assignments rooted in divine design.
Hierarchy enters the story only after the fall (Gen. 3:16), not as God’s ideal but as a consequence of brokenness. And the gospel does not reinforce the consequences of the curse; it redeems them. Through Christ, God restores what sin distorted, calling men and women back into partnership, purpose, and Spirit-empowered leadership.
When we begin with Genesis instead of cultural assumptions, we rediscover a foundational truth: women were never an afterthought in God’s mission. They were always an integral part of His plan.
Women Who Led with God’s Endorsement
Throughout Scripture, we see examples of women serving as leaders, prophets, teachers, and pioneers of faith. Far from being footnotes, their stories are on the front lines of God’s redemptive plan.
Deborah (Judges 4–5)—A prophet and judge who guided Israel during one of its darkest times, rendered legal decisions, spoke God’s Word, and inspired a nation to victory. She led with wisdom, courage, and spiritual authority.
Huldah (2 Kings 22)—King Josiah sent officials to consult Huldah, a prophetess. God entrusted her with revelation critical to Israel’s renewal. Her prophetic voice sparked repentance and national reform.
Priscilla (Acts 18:24–26)—A theological teacher who, alongside her husband Aquila, instructed Apollos, a learned preacher, “more accurately” in the way of the Lord.
Phoebe (Romans 16:1–2)—Paul commends Phoebe as a deacon and benefactor of many. As the likely courier of the letter to the Romans, she would have read, explained, and interpreted it to the early believers, a position of theological trust.
Mary Magdalene (John 20:17–18)—The first witness of the resurrected Christ, commissioned to proclaim the good news to the disciples. Thomas Aquinas referred to her as “the apostle to the apostles.”
These women, and many others, served in leadership as essential participants in God’s unfolding story. Their stories reveal a consistent pattern: when God calls women, He equips them with wisdom, authority, and spiritual power.
Modern Women in Leadership: The Calling and the Tension
Many women in ministry carry both a passion to lead and a tenderness toward home, family, and community. Modern leadership is rarely a straight line—it’s a sacred balancing act. And Scripture gives space for that complexity.
Here are some of the tensions women often navigate:
Work–Life Harmony (Not Balance)
Balance implies equal weight at all times. Harmony acknowledges seasons. Some seasons require more leadership energy; others require more presence at home. God moves in rhythms, not rigid rules.
Leading and Tending: A Both/And Calling
Many women feel caught between leadership responsibilities and the desire to nurture home and family. Scripture never pits these against each other. Leadership can happen in boardrooms, churches, classrooms, and kitchens, and God can anoint a godly woman wherever she is leading.
Mom-Guilt and Ministry-Guilt
Women often internalize expectations from all directions. But remember, you are not failing. You are faithfully responding to the assignment in front of you. God doesn’t call you to be everything at once; He calls you to be obedient in the moment.
The Superwoman Syndrome
The pressure to prove yourself—to be twice as competent, twice as prepared, twice as perfect, can be crushing. But biblical leadership is rooted not in performance but in dependence. God did not ask you to be superhuman. He asked you to be surrendered. These tensions don’t disqualify women from ministry. They humanize and strengthen their leadership. God shapes leaders through the everyday realities of life, not in spite of them.
Practical Applications: Leading with Conviction, Clarity, and Wisdom
How do women lead in a way that honors both Scripture and the varied convictions across different church traditions? With humility, courage, and discernment.
1. Be a Woman of the Word Before Being a Woman of the Platform
Your authority doesn’t come from title, personality, or gifting. It comes from God’s truth. Let Scripture shape your identity, your integrity, and your leadership instincts.
2. Lead with Boldness and Restraint
Boldness without humility becomes pride. Humility without confidence becomes silence. Biblical leadership holds both: courage to speak and the maturity to submit to God and biblical structures.
3. Seek Mentorship and Community
No leader thrives alone. Whether in a church tradition that fully affirms women in every role or one that navigates those questions more carefully, seek mentors who are anchored biblically, emotionally healthy, and committed to your growth.
4. Honor the Context You Are Called To
Different denominations steward leadership differently. Even if you see Scripture one way, you may serve in a structure that holds another conviction. Leading with wisdom means honoring the community you’re a part of while discerning how God is shaping your long-term calling.
5. Continually Return to Jesus’ Leadership Model
Jesus never used leadership to elevate Himself but to serve, restore, and point people to the Father. That is the posture that transforms not only ministries but hearts.
The Bigger Story: Being Co-Laborers with Christ
At its core, this conversation isn’t primarily about gender. It’s about calling.
From Eve to Esther, from Mary to Priscilla, God’s mission has always included women co-laboring with men to advance His kingdom. The Holy Spirit doesn’t distribute spiritual gifts according to gender, but according to purpose (1 Cor. 12:4–11).
The invitation is not to fight for your place, but to step into the one God has already prepared for you. May we be a church that reflects His full image, men and women, leading together in love, humility, courage, and obedience.
Entrusted to Lead
A practical tool for women who are called to leadership roles in any area of life, Entrusted to Lead offers biblical insight and real-life encouragement for how to navigate their leadership journey.
Warrior of Eden
There’s a reason you’ve always known God has big plans for you—He’s created you with great purpose. In Warrior of Eden, Beth Guckenberger draws on God’s original intention for women to embolden us to use our gifts as full participants at church, at work, and at home.
