What if We Had Women and Men Leading Together?

October 5th, 2017 | April Karli

Growing up, my church experience, except for Sunday school, was all male led.

I watched my dad prepare and deliver sermons every Sunday. Another man led the hymn singing during the worship service. Regularly, my dad met with a team of all male elders. When missionary families visited, the husband would preach and share about their work overseas.

There was no question that men were the leaders of our church. Women’s voices were valued, but only in certain places like the children’s or women’s ministry, or organizing VBS, a potluck, or an outreach project.

What if Women…

Many capable, gifted women leaders were present in my home church, including my own mother, and I wonder how our community might have been different had those women been empowered and free to lead alongside the men.

If women had been invited to preach, lead worship, or asked to shepherd the church community as elders, I think we all would have had a richer, more full experience of God and what the family of God is meant to look like.

Certainly, as a little girl, it would have had a huge impact on me as well as the other children—girls and boys—to have seen women and men leading together.

Leading Together

These experiences for women aren’t limited to the church. There are still many venues where women’s voices aren’t welcomed or held in as high esteem as men’s. But the church can and should be leading the way when it comes to changing how men and women lead together.

SheLeads is a one-day event on October 28 where we can learn, discuss, and imagine together God’s vision for shared leadership in the church and ministry. Last year, many of the women who attended our Austin viewing party were transformed by the experience and began to understand their own God-given gifts and purpose in a whole new way. We heard lots of encouraging stories of how the speakers, panelists, and table discussions impacted the participants.

This year Austin, Texas is one of several regional venues for SheLeads. We are partnering with other churches in Austin to bring the event to town.

If you are a…

SheLeads is for you.

Email me to let us know by SATURDAY, OCT 7 to receive the group discount.

Registration prices go up Sunday! We hope to see lots of you there!