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5 Biblical Reasons to Make a Woman an Early Hire
There are good biblical, cultural, and historical reasons to make your third hire a female.
Church planting is exhausting, round-the-clock work. When we planted over seven years ago, every family member poured themselves out for the task. Along with our church-planting friends, we did everything from counseling and teaching to web design and childcare.
So then, church planter, hear me: the last thing I want to do is add another burden or task to your hefty load. I know well the weight you’re already carrying.
I can imagine the exhortation to hire a woman early (or at all) feels like another difficult task to accomplish. I am certain that Lead Planters (first hire) and their Executive or Associate Pastors (second hire) would find it easier, quicker, and less tricky to keep adding men to their teams. After all, you already know other good men from seminary and networking. And you likely suspect adding a woman to your small team might lead to some complicated interpersonal scenarios. But there are many areas of church ministry to consider for this hire—children’s or preschool ministry, women’s ministry, communications, and more. Consider your context and what position might be most beneficial to add to your ministry. There are good biblical, cultural, and historical reasons to make your third hire a female.
Here are five biblical reasons to make a woman your third hire for your church planting team (we’ll examine the cultural and historical reasons in future articles).
1. Adam
In Genesis 1, every time the Lord creates something new, He declares His creation good. The first time we see that something is “not good” is when Adam is still alone (Genesis 2:18). By God’s design, Adam needed a helper to complete his tasks from God. Standing alone, Adam was in lack. He needed a counterpart who was the same but different to fulfill God’s call and commission. If God deems it “very good” (Genesis 1:31) for Adam to have a female partner in his calling, then it’s also very good for today’s church planters. We who believe the genders are distinct and complement one another should quickly agree that a female leader is not only good but necessary in the early days of a church plant.
2. Jesus
When Jesus set out on his public ministry with His twelve disciples, Luke tells us there were “also some women.” Mary Magdalene, Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Susanna, and many others traveled with Jesus and the twelve, learning from Jesus and providing for Jesus’s ministry of their own means (Luke 8:1-3). Male and female relationships were arguably trickier in Jesus’ day than our own. Yet Jesus did not distance himself from women; He invited them to be an integral part of His mission. Since Jesus valued having women involved in His earliest days of ministry, then it’s valuable for the earliest days of our church plants too.
3. Paul
While Paul’s writings on women remain a source of great debate, we can be certain about one thing: women played an integral and vital role in the churches where Paul served or had influence. Romans 16 is a favorite chapter for getting a glimpse of women in the early church. We see Phoebe, a sister and a servant; Prisca, Paul’s coworker, who, along with her husband risked their lives for Paul and the gospel; Mary, Tryphena and Tryphosa, and Persis who all worked hard in the Lord for the Roman church; Junia, who was outstanding among the apostles; and the mother of Rufus who was like a mother to Paul (Romans 16:1-15). If Paul depended on women in the very first Christian churches, then it’s good for today’s church planters to depend on women too.
4. Family
The New Testament is filled with the vocabulary of family when referring to the church. Jesus says those who do His Father’s will are His brothers, sisters, and mothers (Matthew 12:50). Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters (Hebrews 2:11), for we are His coheirs (Romans 8:17). Titus 2 instructs older men and women to encourage and teach younger men and women in the faith family. As a family, the church needs brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, and grandparents at the table. A family in which one of these voices is excluded or minimized will be dysfunctional, unbalanced, and unhealthy. Church planters, seek and embrace the voices, wisdom, and ministry of your spiritual sisters and mothers.
5. New Heaven and New Earth
The church is heading toward the new heaven and new earth, where we will be prepared like a bride, ready for our groom, our Savior Christ Himself (Revelation 21:1-2). Jesus says we will no longer be married to our spouses (Matthew 22:30), but we will feast at the marriage supper of the lamb together (Revelation 19:9). All Christians will be with our God and he will be with us—death, grief, crying, and pain will be no more (Revelation 21:4). Without the presence of sin, we will finally and fully realize the truth Paul wrote to the Galatians, “There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Why not pursue that beauty and unity now? In our church plants we have a chance to see God’s kingdom come, His will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).
Scripture sets a precedent for the necessity of women in God’s mission. Women are not helpful addendums to church plants; they are necessary and vital to each local church from the very beginning. As soon as your role as Lead Planter is secure and your Executive or Associate Pastor is in place, hire a woman in light of the Scriptures.
