How can women who have the gift of leadership operate in the church in a godly, biblical way? Today, author and ministry director Jen Wilkin shares her origin story–how she got where she is today–what her greatest challenges are in leadership, and what she wants the church to know about men and women serving together within the local church context.

1. If you want to use your gifting to lead in the church and the answer is currently “no”, continue to pray for open doors.

“If there are not currently doors open, pray that the Lord will make a way and continue to put yourself out there as you’re able to. I know how hard that is, to be met again and again with “no.” But there is good, meaningful, and satisfying work to be done in other spaces if that door is closed. The Lord sees that and honors it. All we can do is be faithful where the Lord has placed us.”

“There will be a better form of community in this room than there was when it was all male, because this is what the Lord envisions: that it is not good for the man to be alone. Brothers and sisters are meant to be working together, shoulder to shoulder.”

“[There is often an expectation] that women in the church are supposed to demonstrate a quiet and gentle spirit by being actually quiet and never saying anything that sounds ungentle. That stereotype can be difficult, but I have found that it is good discipline for me to be slow to speak and to find a soft way to say a hard thing. Those are important and godly things for me to be trained in.”

The Village Church

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