EMQ » January–March 2023 » Volume 59 Issue 1
Women in the Mission of the Church: Their Opportunities and Obstacles throughout Christian History
By Leanne M. Dzubinski and Anneke H. Stasson
Baker Academic, 2021
239 pages
US$ 21.00
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Reviewed by Eunice Momah, a doctoral student from Nigeria at the Center of Missiological Research, Fuller Theological Seminary, who is passionate about the mission of God in Africa and in building relationships across cultures in global missions.
In this engaging and informative book, the authors argue for recognizing women’s leadership as central to the identity and formation of the church in history (31). The three-part book of nine chapters consists of select historical narrations of women’s participation spanning two thousand years of church history, including how some women turned disparaging restraining obstacles into assets and opportunities for ministry (xi, 9).
According to the writers, the aim is to reclaim the stories of women in church history – including martyrs who have yet to make their way into contemporary histories of the church. Hence, the book seeks to demonstrate evidence of the active participation of women in the historical church as a precedent for arguing for women’s participation in leadership in contemporary Christianity.
A significant virtue of this book is its global outlook. It provides a comprehensive overview of women’s participation in the church across cultures and traditions, including Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Citing several important biblical and early sources, the authors offer a compelling argument that women were central to the formation of the church during its first centuries (54).
From the women in the life of Jesus (Luke 8:1–3) and Lydia, Mary, and Nympha, influential female patrons who used their resources to support the early church community (Acts 12:12, 16: 14–40, Colossians 4:15), to the sacrifices of the medieval nuns and women who participated in the reformation, we see a wide-angled representation of women across cultures who contributed actively to the mission of the church as patrons, missionaries, apostles, widows, martyrs, celibates, scholars, desert mothers, and deacons (61). Most captivating is the tale of Blandina, Perpetua, and Felicitas – women martyrs who, through their faithful embodiment of the sufferings of Christ, challenged the cultural notion that women are weaker vessels. (32, 210).
The argument of the book is purely historical, and not especially theological, focusing on the significance of women as active contributors to church growth in history. This makes the book an important contribution to historical studies of the church focusing on the contribution of women. It can also serve as an introductory textbook for a course on women’s leadership.
Overall, the book is informative, offering an avalanche of historical stories that hopefully will serve as empowering precedents for women across cultures and traditions.
For Further Reading
Women in the Church: A Biblical Theology of Women in Ministry, by Stanley J. Grenz and Denise Muir Kjesbo (InterVarsity Press, 2010)
Women in God’s Mission: Accepting the Invitation to Serve and Lead, by Mary T. Lederleitner (InterVarsity Press, 2018)
EMQ, Volume 59, Issue 1. Copyright © 2023 by Missio Nexus. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from Missio Nexus. Email: EMQ@MissioNexus.org.
