Growing Women in Ministry
When we visited Washington, D.C., I asked a question that still echoes in my heart: Is there any hope for the church here?
I wrote about that trip in my earlier reflection, walking past cathedrals and Capitol buildings, feeling both awe and ache. The city felt like a paradox—full of faith communities doing beautiful work, yet weary under the weight of ambition and division.
But amid that noise, I saw something hopeful: women leading with grace, courage, and quiet strength. Pastors, professors, planters, chaplains—faithfully holding together congregations, teaching Scripture, and embodying Christlike humility in a place defined by power. Their leadership wasn’t loud; it was rooted. It reminded me that God’s work rarely depends on prominence—it grows through faithfulness, character, and calling.
That same hope is alive in our own church. We are blessed with women pastors and emerging women leaders—mothers, sisters, students, and daughters—who sense God calling them to lead, teach, and shepherd. Watching them grow has been one of the great joys of ministry for me. We talk often about our church being “greenhouse” where leaders can be incubated, tended, supported and grown. But it’s also a reminder that leadership development in the church must be intentional. If we want to see the next generation of women thrive in ministry, we have to prepare the soil for them to grow.
A Whole-Person Approach to Leadership Development
As we’ve read Growing Women in Ministry by Dr. Anna R. Morgan, who co-pastors a church in the D.C. area and serves as Vice President of Academics at Ascent College. Morgan brings both pastoral and academic insight to a vital question: How do women actually grow into ministry leadership?
Through her research, she identifies seven aspects of leadership development—three inward and four outward.
Inward dimensions:
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Spiritual calling – recognizing God’s call and deepening spiritual formation.
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Giftedness – identifying and honing the gifts God has placed within.
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Emotional intelligence – developing self-awareness, empathy, and resilienc
Outward dimensions:
4. Home-life supports – how family systems and rhythms sustain leaders.
5. Ministry context – the church’s openness, culture, and structure.
6. Leadership relationships – mentors, peers, and sponsors who invest in women leaders.
7. Communication – developing one’s voice and confidence in leading, teaching, and preaching.
Morgan’s framework is both theological and practical. It names what many of us have observed: leadership development isn’t just about skills—it’s about formation. It involves the whole person and the whole community.
This whole-person vision resonates deeply with the work I’ve been doing on Sabbath for Everyone. Just as Sabbath creates space for people to rest and flourish, developing women in ministry requires creating space for them to lead and grow. Both are acts of trust—trusting that God’s work continues even when we release control. True leadership is about making space for others to flourish.
Why Women’s Leadership Matters
For me, this isn’t a theoretical issue. It’s personal and theological.
As a pastor, brother, and dad, I see daily how God gifts women for leadership. My wife Kealy is a gifted teacher and leader. My sister pastors faithfully in her own context. And my daughters are watching—seeing what kind of space the church will make for them in the future.
That’s why I hold an egalitarian view of ordination and leadership. I believe that God’s design is for men and women to co-labor as equals in His kingdom.
“I believe that God’s desire for His Church is that men and women equally co-labor for the Kingdom and the Gospel. In my opinion, there is evidence in Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience that compels us to change our thinking on this issue.
Throughout Scripture, while uncommon, women are given roles of leadership in Israel (Miriam, Deborah, Esther) and in the early church (Mary, Phoebe, Junia, Priscilla). Jesus valued, taught, and discipled women—and appeared to them first after His resurrection. Paul worked alongside women, commended their faith and leadership, and reminded the church that in Christ, old hierarchies are erased: we are all one (Gal. 3:28).
It is my prayer that we would embrace that vision—where women and men serve side by side, reflecting the fullness of God’s kingdom.”
When women are empowered to lead, the entire church becomes stronger—more balanced, more compassionate, more reflective of Christ’s body.
Reflection Questions for Church Leadership
If we want to grow women in ministry, we must become a church where calling is named, gifts are nurtured, and barriers are removed. Here are a few questions our leadership team—and yours—can prayerfully consider:
1. Calling and Formation
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How are we helping women discern and name their call to ministry?
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Do we provide safe, affirming spaces to explore that calling without fear or hesitation?
2. Giftedness and Opportunity
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What leadership or teaching roles are open—or closed—to women in our church?
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How might we intentionally open new pathways for women to use their gifts publicly?
3. Emotional and Spiritual Health
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Are we modeling healthy rhythms of rest, family, and Sabbath that sustain long-term ministry?
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How are we equipping both men and women to grow in emotional intelligence and resilience?
4. Relational and Cultural Systems
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Who are the mentors and advocates championing women leaders in our context?
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What assumptions about gender or leadership might still be shaping our culture—spoken or unspoken?
Flourishing Together
Leadership in the kingdom of God has never been about hierarchy or control. It’s about faithfulness, service, and the empowerment of every image-bearer of God.
As Anna Morgan reminds us, growing women in ministry isn’t simply a “women’s issue.” It’s a church health issue.
When women flourish, the whole body of Christ flourishes.
Our daughters, sisters, and future pastors are watching. Let’s give them more than permission—let’s give them pathways.
About the Author
Ryan Thorson
Follower of Jesus. Husband. Father. Pastor. Coach. I am passionate about helping people discover the gift of Sabbath and slow down spirituality in the context of our busy world.One response to “Growing Women in Ministry”
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Ryan,
Great post. In your work on regarding the sabbath have you found women having difficulty practicing sabbath? With many women being tasked with many duties in the home, Morgan mentions we men created an extra 7 hours of week each week for our wives, do they feel truly at rest? If this is a struggle, what can the church do to assist women in a way that enables them to practice the sabbath?