Fuller Statement on Women Preaching
The following statement was given to the members of Grace Church in January 2025.
It is the historical and ongoing conviction of the GCC leadership team that the Bible teaches the following:
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Churches should be overseen by male leaders (Elders), who are held responsible for ensuring that the teaching of the church is doctrinally sound.
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Aside from this responsibility to oversee teaching, there is a wide range of other word based ministries which are not the unique responsibility of the elders, and which may be practised by Christians of both genders.
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It is therefore appropriate that, within the oversight of the eldership team, suitable and trustworthy women and men who are not elders should occasionally 'preach' - addressing the whole congregation with biblical encouragements.
A note on definitions:
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We find two broad categories for word-based ministry in scripture. While this is a slight over-simplification, thinking in these terms can help us clarify important areas of this topic.
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'Teaching': A specific responsibility for shaping theological foundations and defending true doctrine in the church. This ministry is not confined to Sundays or to a particular meeting (Acts 20:18-21). This kind of teaching is generally the unique responsibility of the elders. (James 3:1 says not many of us should be 'teachers', and 1 Tim 3:2 states that elders must be able to teach)
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'Preaching': The broad responsibility of every believer to proclaim the good news of the Gospel, building up the church (as in 1 Cor 14:26) and evangelising the world (as in Acts 2). This responsibility is exercised through many different gifts and means, both publicly and privately, and can include addressing the whole gathered church.
A guiding principle for handling complex or confusing scriptures passages:
Because we trust that God has given us a unified message in scripture, we look to the Bible itself to give us context for understanding passages that we find confusing. If a particular verse or statement appears on first reading to conflict with the overall narrative of scripture, we should look carefully for honest interpretations that align more naturally with that main narrative. This is the normal interpretational process of exegesis.
The main narrative of scripture does not exclude women from preaching:
The Old Testament gives clear examples of women occasionally giving instruction for the whole of God's people. Prominent examples include the ministry of Deborah in Judges 4 - 5, and Huldah the prophetess in 2 Kings 22.
In the New Testament, the picture becomes much clearer for those who are ‘in Christ’. Women were counted among the wider group of disciples following Jesus and it is reasonable to assume they were among the 72 sent out with authority to preach the gospel in Luke 10. Women were the first to proclaim the resurrection to the gathered church in Luke 24. The all-inclusive language of Acts 2 strongly implies that women were part of the gathered church at Pentecost and received power from the Holy Spirit to publicly proclaim the gospel. Women are expected to prophesy in the gathered church as in 1 Corinthians 11. Under the New Testament's broad definition of prophecy, this can include addressing the whole congregation with a prepared message of spirit-empowered, scripture-based encouragement.
Our Conclusion:
With the broad narrative of scripture clearly including women in the public proclamation of scriptural truth, we humbly believe it is appropriate to accept scripturally faithful interpretations of some more complex passages which align with this overall picture (1 Timothy 2:11-15, 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 & 1 Corinthians14:34-35)
Based on this understanding, we believe that Grace Church should continue with its historical practice of including suitable and gifted women in preaching ministries, within the oversight of the eldership.