Women's Ministry

The Purpose

The purpose of our Women’s Ministries is as follows: First, we desire our women to experience a rich, satisfying relationship with Jesus Christ. Second, we desire to instruct and encourage our women in the understanding of biblical womanhood which includes recognizing one’s true value and identity in Christ, recognizing God’s unconditional love for them, and embracing and practicing the roles God has called them to in alignment with how God has designed women as made clear in Scripture (see Danvers Statement below). Thirdly, we desire to foster biblical friendships between women that will result in discipleship relationships between the older and the younger (Titus 2:3-5), and will result in relationships of encouragement between peers (Proverbs 27:17). Fourth, we desire to reach out to our community through the Women’s Ministry by providing welcoming, non-threatening opportunities to the women nearby. Fifth, we seek to develop in women their giftedness to effectively and faithfully serve both their family and the body of Christ.

The Plan

The way we seek to fulfill our purpose in Women’s Ministries is through the following:

Discipleship Ministries:

1. Bible Studies – these are weekly studies throughout the year that focus on Biblical texts or topics. They are often inductive in nature, thus attendees are being taught both what the Bible says and how to study the Bible for themselves.
2. M.O.P.S (Mothers of Preschoolers) – this is a biweekly ministry that goes through the school year that is concentrated on mothers with young children. MOPS provides an environment where women can build friendships, be encouraged, and gain practical parenting strategies.
3. Conferences – each year our women participate in conferences for women. In the past we have hosted our own conferences and have attended nearby conferences. These are always a great time of encouragement for all involved.
4. Fellowship Events – throughout the year; see calendar or bulletin for more information

Serving Ministries: See respective coordinators

1. Quilting Ministry – women who serve the Lord through prayer and with their hands make quilts and knitted afghans for children in orphanages in the former Soviet Union (through Slavic Gospel Association)
2. Meal Ministry – to provide RCC families with meals when expecting or after having a new child, or when a surgery is scheduled.
3. Nursery Ministry – to provide a loving atmosphere with responsible, safe and healthy care for children ages birth – 36 months
4. Baby/ Wedding Showers – to provide encouragement and lasting friendships with women of RCC that are getting married or having their first child

Biblical Womanhood

In 1987 The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood was founded and it later came out with the Danvers Statement which is partially reprinted below. It summarizes our own concerns and desires well.

The Danvers Statement

Rationale

We have been moved in our purpose by the following contemporary developments
which we observe with deep concern:

1. The widespread uncertainty and confusion in our culture regarding the complementary differences between masculinity and femininity;
2. the tragic effects of this confusion in unraveling the fabric of marriage woven by God out of the beautiful and diverse strands of manhood and womanhood;
3. the increasing promotion given to feminist egalitarianism [concern for women’s rights in the church and the home] in with accompanying distortions or neglect of the glad harmony portrayed in Scripture between the loving, humble leadership of redeemed husbands and the intelligent, willing support of that leadership by redeemed wives;
4. the widespread ambivalence regarding the values of motherhood, vocational homemaking, and the many ministries historically performed by women;
5. the growing claims of legitimacy for sexual relationships which have Biblically and historically been considered illicit or perverse, and the increase in pornographic portrayal of human sexuality;
6. the upsurge of physical and emotional abuse in the family;
7. the emergence of roles for men and women in church leadership that do not conform to Biblical teaching but backfire in the crippling of Biblically faithful witness;
8. the increasing prevalence and acceptance of hermeneutical oddities [inventive or new interpretations] devised to reinterpret apparently plain meanings of Biblical texts;
9. the consequent threat to Biblical authority as the clarity of Scripture is jeopardized and the accessibility of its meaning to ordinary people is withdrawn into the restricted realm of technical ingenuity;
10. and behind all this the apparent accommodation of some within the church to the spirit of the age at the expense of winsome, radical Biblical authenticity which in the power of the Holy Spirit may reform rather than reflect our ailing culture.

Affirmations

Based on our understanding of Biblical teachings, we affirm the following:

1. Both Adam and Eve were created in God’s image, equal before God as persons and distinct in their manhood and womanhood (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:18).
2. Distinctions in masculine and feminine roles are ordained by God as part of the created order, and should find an echo in every human heart (Genesis 2:18, 21-24; I Corinthians 11:7-9; I Timothy 2:12-14).
3. Adam’s headship in marriage was established by God before the Fall, and was not a result of sin (Genesis 2:16-18, 21-24; 3:1-13; I Corinthians 11:7-9).
4. The Fall introduced distortions into the relationships between men and women (Genesis 3:1-7, 12, 16). ## 4a. In the home, the husband’s loving, humble headship tends to be replaced by domination or passivity; the wife’s intelligent, willing submission tends to be replaced by usurpation [assuming leadership] or servility. ## 4b. In the church, sin inclines men toward a worldly love of power or an abdication of spiritual responsibility, and inclines women to resist limitations on their roles or to neglect the use of their gifts in appropriate ministries.
5. The Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, manifests the equally high value and dignity which God attached to the roles of both men and women (Genesis 1:21-27, 2:18; Galatians3:28). Both Old and New Testaments also affirm the principle of male headship in the family and in the covenant community (Genesis 2:18; Ephesians 5:21-33; Colossians 3:18-19; I Timothy 2:11-15).
6. Redemption in Christ aims at removing the distortions introduced by the curse. ## 6a. In the family, husbands should forsake harsh or selfish leadership and grow in love and care for their wives; wives should forsake resistance to their husbands’ authority and grow in willing, joyful submission to their husbands’ leadership (Ephesians 5:21-33; Colossians 3:18-19; Titus 2:2-5; I Peter 3:1-7). ## 6bb. In the church, redemption in Christ gives men and women an equal share in the blessings of salvation; nevertheless, some governing and teaching roles within the church are restricted to men (Genesis 3:28; I Corinthians 11:2-16; I Timothy 2:11-15).
7. In all of life Christ is the supreme authority and guide for men and women, so that no earthly submission–domestic, religious, or civil– ever implies a mandate to follow a human authority into sin (Daniel 3:10-18; Acts 4:19-20, 5:27-29; I Peter 3:1-2).
8. In both men and women a heartfelt sense of call to ministry should never be used to set aside Biblical criteria for particular ministries (I Timothy 2:11-15, 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9). Rather, Biblical teaching should remain the authority for testing our subjective discernment of God’s will.
9. With half the world’s population outside the reach of indigenous evangelism; with countless other lost people in those societies that have heard the gospel; with the stresses and miseries of sickness, malnutrition, homelessness, illiteracy, ignorance, aging, addiction, crime, incarceration, neuroses, and loneliness, no man or woman who feels a passion from God to make His grace known in word and deed need ever live without a fulfilling ministry for the glory of Christ and the good of this fallen world (I Corinthians 12:7-21).
10. We are convinced that a denial or neglect of these principles will lead to increasingly destructive consequences in our families, our churches, and the culture at large.

To view the full statement see: www.cbmw.org/Resources/Articles/The-Danvers-Statement

Recommended Resources

For more information on Biblical womanhood we recommend the following resources:

Websites:

1. The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood – www.cbmw.org
2. GirlTalk – www.girltalkhome.com

Books:

1. John Piper & Wayne Grudem, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.
2. John Piper, What’s The Difference?
3. Alexander Strauch, Men and Woman: Equal Yet Different.
4. J. Ligon Duncan & Susan Hunt, Women’s Ministry In The Local Church.
5. Carolyn Mahaney, Feminine Appeal.
6. Nancy Leigh Demoss (ed.), Becoming God’s True Woman.
7. Andreas Köstenberger, God, Marriage, And Family.
8. Carolyn McCulley, Radical Womanhood.
9. Susan Hunt, The True Woman

The Women’s Ministry comes under the authority and direction of the Elders of Rothbury Community Church and is directly accountable to the senior pastor. All events and ministries should be approved by the elders and be consistent with the purposes of the women’s ministry.