Lessons from Women Leading Missions in the Local Church

Women in missions leadership can face unique opportunities and challenges. This resource distills interviews with three seasoned female missions leaders, identifying three common challenges and offering practical wisdom for how to lead with courage and integrity. It can be used both as encouragement for women discerning or serving in missions leadership and as a conversation tool for church leaders who want to cultivate healthier pathways for women’s influence in their sending church.

A Pioneers report from 2021 states that about two-thirds of missionaries are married couples, and 70-80 percent of the rest are single women. Some of these field-experienced women will return to their passport countries with the desire to serve in a missions capacity in their local church. Their background and experience on the field have prepared them well for leadership roles. However, if they are given the opportunity to lead, they face a unique set of challenges in what is normally a male-dominated environment, even though they represent more than half of missions workers serving around the world. 

Author Dan Allender says, “When you leave out a significant portion of the population and think that you are doing ministry, all you have developed is a structure of patronization. It is a tragedy that we even have to think in these terms.” How can women successfully overcome these challenges to serve and lead well?

To answer this question, I interviewed three female missions leaders serving in large, well-established evangelical churches. I wanted to know how they navigated their respective roles. Their backgrounds involved a sure calling to missions, significant experience on the field, service in various roles, and, at one time or another, addressing and overcoming issues related to their gender. As they shared their stories, three main challenges came to light: lack of mentorship, managing male-female relationships, and having a voice in decision-making (many times related to their ministry titles). How they continue to deal with these challenges provides wise and valuable insight for other women in their positions and those who may have missions leadership in their future. 

Mentors—Find One, Be One

Mentoring programs for women often exist within the local church, but they’re usually built around life-stages like singleness, marriage, parenting, or professional life. Programs focused on leadership are more challenging to find, and leadership within missions is even rarer. The main reason is the scarcity of experienced women serving in these roles, which is odd considering the overwhelming number of women participating in missions around the world. 

All the leaders I interviewed said they lacked a mentor to advise and guide them as they navigated their path to leadership. Most of the time, they walked this path on their own. Despite not having mentors, they voiced the importance of being a mentor to other women within their sphere of influence. They are keenly aware that their knowledge and experience from living a global life and working in their respective missions roles are invaluable to other women pursuing the call to leadership. 

If mentorship isn’t available within, then look without. Technology makes it possible! Search out women missions leaders in different churches and organizations. They are usually more than willing to share their knowledge and experience with others pursuing a leadership path.

Follow Woody’s moving command in Toy Story: “If you don’t have one, get one.” Even if you can’t find one, be one!

Managing Relationships Through Church Protocols

Managing male-female relationships in the local church may present the biggest challenge to women in leadership. Preventing moral failure and abuse and protecting reputations weigh heavily on any leader’s mind, and the increasing number of high-profile failures justifies their concerns. Differing theological views on women in leadership also contribute to the matter. These female leaders talked at length about navigating church policies and shared their personal convictions.

Male-female relationships are a part of every area of church life. Adherence to church protocols requires meticulous planning and forethought for interactions between opposite genders. 

• Does the meeting room have windows? 

• Is the door open? 

• Who is riding in the car, and with whom? 

• Can I go to coffee with this person? 

• Have I copied the appropriate people on this email? 

• Is my text worded without issue? 

• Do we have the correct ratio of men to women to make this mission trip work? 

• Am I dressed appropriately? 

The list goes on, affecting every meeting, meal, office space assignment, phone conversation, email, text, conference attendance, and, especially, mission trip. It is a matter for consideration in every relationship: staff-to-staff, staff-to-member, and staff-to-global worker. 

Transparency requires hypervigilance, which can create a certain level of anxiety. The daily reality is reflected in the following leader’s honest words:

“I always have to think about my surroundings. With any interaction with the opposite sex, I have to ensure that my behavior and conversations are above reproach. In the ministry of care, conversations can get quite personal, and not everyone understands the standards I work under. It is a delicate balance not to appear standoffish or rude but still address global worker needs in a compassionate way.”

It is challenging to ensure that protocols and issues regarding male-female relationships don’t hinder the ministry. Women leaders, especially in churches with global workers on the field, have to be able to communicate, advocate, and go where they are needed when they are needed, but doing so in a timely manner can be challenging. For example, church policy may prevent a much-needed care trip to a family in crisis on the field if the team doesn’t have the proper ratio of men and women participants. Obviously, having to cancel a trip for that reason is the last thing any missions leader or global worker wants to happen. 

The Biblical Model

The solution to this dilemma is right where we should expect it. The New Testament presents a healthy and productive model of mixed-gender relationships where men and women work together as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Jesus’s treatment of women, his inclusion of them in ministry, and their active ministry participation are evidence of these healthy relationships (Matthew 12:50; Luke 8:1–3). As Paul traveled throughout the known world planting churches, his reliance on partnerships with both Christian brothers and sisters was critical to his missionary efforts (Romans 15:14; 1 Corinthians 14:26; Colossians 3:16; 1 Timothy 4:6). Romans 16 is a great example of this kind of healthy relationship: 

Jesus and Paul are exemplary models for Christian men everywhere and for all time. They were brothers to Christian women! This is a message seldom proclaimed, but we believe it is time for a change. If we really want to be Christlike or follow in the steps of the apostle Paul, we must adopt a new family paradigm. We must see and treat one another as siblings. We believe this new mind-set would revolutionize ministry today, put to rest the heated debate over women’s role in the church, and bring honor to God as the culture observes us acting like family. 

I once heard a pastor say, “I’d rather be thought rude than interested.” Is this the example given to us in Scripture? There is a lot of room for collaboration in between those two extremes. In the words of my professor Howard Hendricks, “Beware the peril of the pendulum.” Too far in either direction and this issue veers from the Scriptural example into legalism or licentiousness. 

The answer lies in thinking biblically, which will directly affect behavior. Do you think of your male coworkers as family members? As brothers? Do they think of you as their sister in Christ? Does your church leadership view you that way? The failure to think biblically about relationships is one reason why church protocols end up overly restrictive. One of the missions leaders I interviewed put it this way:

“We need to change the narrative in our local churches. Our relationships should be viewed as familial, brothers and sisters in Christ working together for the gospel.”

There is no quick solution to this dilemma. Restrictions on gender interaction in church relationships may seem overly cumbersome, especially in missions, where the needs are often critical and urgent, but the limits are there for a reason. Do they often put a fence around the law? Yes, unfortunately, but we minister in an imperfect world. These kinds of restrictions serve to protect each individual and our Christian witness to the outside world. 

Where does this leave women working in missions? For one, you must consider the spirit behind the protocols and commit to follow them. They are there for everyone’s protection. At the same time, you need to examine your heart—do you view your relationships through the proper biblical lens? Always take the opportunity to express the biblical standard for brother-sister interaction. And by all means, if you experience a violation of church protocols or the biblical standard, do not hesitate to report it.

Finding Your Voice with Courage and Confidence

When providing insight into ministry decisions, it is challenging to be heard and valued. Theological views about women in leadership, the fear of appearances, and church culture surrounding meetings and retreats that are gender-exclusive, all affect the ability to hear the voice of both genders, depriving decision-making of much needed, more well-rounded insight. 

Reluctance to speak is sometimes based on our discomfort with being in the minority or, perhaps, being the only woman in the room (and also possibly the only person with international experience). It takes courage to speak when you feel outnumbered. It takes confidence in what you know and trust in where God has placed you. 

All three women I spoke with said speaking up and asking questions was a growth process for them as leaders. A lot of that growth was related to security in their identity as women created in the imago Dei and their call to missions. One woman related that in the early years of her leadership role, she questioned why her perspective differed significantly from that of her male coworkers. She asked herself, “Is it my gender, my experience, or just how I think?” She realized all three gave her a unique perspective that richly informed decision-making situations. Another expressed that her outspoken personality had gotten her in trouble several times: 

“In the beginning of my ministry career, it was as though, because of my ethnicity and my gender, coworkers expected me to be quiet and soft-spoken. That is not my personality. The Lord led me to spend time reflecting on what it means to have a gentle and quiet spirit. I studied 1 Peter 3:4 and came to be at peace with the way God designed me and to reconcile that my outspoken personality didn’t conflict with having a gentle and quiet spirit.”

What’s In a Name? The Thorny Issue of Titles

As these leaders reflected on their journey, it was evident how far they had come. One illustration of the stereotypical—and somewhat humorous—challenges they faced is that more than one of them recounted how, early on in ministry, they were asked to make coffee for the men in the room. They addressed it, and their leaders quickly resolved it. But the courage to address it was preceded by some serious soul-searching over their identity, calling, pridefulness, expectations, and future in ministry. 

Over time, as their responsibilities grew, their titles grew as well. They are now trusted to manage budgets, make decisions, and bear the burdens of leadership as they continue to minister to women and men on the field and those preparing to be sent. 

Titles for women in ministry can vary widely depending on denomination, theological interpretation, complementarian or egalitarian practice, and even a “this is the way it has always been” mentality. Titles reflect authority, responsibility, seniority, and corresponding privileges and restrictions. This is the case in any organization, but in many churches, women are often unnecessarily restricted to holding certain positions and titles. Church leaders need to work to ensure the roles and responsibilities available to women leaders are reflective of their biblical and doctrinal convictions and are not put in place and perpetuated arbitrarily. 

Needed: Women of Influence in Missions Leadership

If you are a woman called to local church missions, heed the words of wisdom from these female leaders. You need to carefully analyze church policies, theological perspective, and culture and ask if you will be valued, heard, understood, and viewed as a voice of influence. Ask these questions: 

• Where are you allowed to serve? 

• Are you allowed to lead? 

• What would you be allowed to do within the church and on the field (e.g., baptize, teach, or serve the Lord’s Supper)? 

• Are you okay with church protocols regarding male-female relationships and interactions? 

• Can you be patient and take a long view of service in a local church environment? 

Make sure you are considering all these things with eyes wide open. As you process all this, remember this truth: women of influence are needed in missions leadership. This is true not only for the sake of the multitudes of women serving in missions around the world, but for all people—both those who are sent with the gospel and those who are waiting to receive it. 

Next Steps

The journey toward sending well happens one step at a time. Here are a few ways you can continue moving upstream as a leader:

1. Get to know a woman who has a staff or leadership role in your church or another church. Ask them how they overcome obstacles that are unique to women in leadership and how to have influence in the life of their church.

2. Look for a mentorship network of other women in ministry. Find regular spaces to share the challenges you face in ministry leadership as a woman and be encouraged to continue bringing your important vantage point to the life of the church.