The Real Challenge is Training!

People often ask me what the big challenges and issues are for women who want to be in ministry.  I think they expect me to start talking about ordination and power struggles and the politics of church life.  But it’s not how I answer.  Instead, I say that we live in a city of four million people, all of whom need Christ and half of whom are women.  By far the biggest challenge is to equip Christian women to reach out to others.  Christian women need to learn how to bring the gospel to their friends and neighbours and how to teach other women about Christ that they might grow to maturity in him.  Therefore the real challenge is training!

Whether we’re ministering to a four-year-old or an eighty-four-year-old, training is essential.  We might be teaching Sunday school or leading Bible study or speaking to a women’s group or leading a friend to Christ – whatever we are doing, we need a clear grasp of what the Bible teaches about God, his nature and purposes. 

My passion is to see women of all ages trained thoroughly in the gospel and the message of the Scriptures, so that others can be saved. 

When is the best time for women to pursue training?

The simple answer is – as soon as possible!

Women have less straightforward lives than men. Combining study, work, marriage and children is complex and demanding.  This means that if you are not married yet, then this is an ideal time to think about training. 

While at uni, students are often able to combine their secular learning with Christian study by joining one of the many Christian campus organizations that offer biblical teaching and training.  Those in the workforce can enjoy studying the Bible through such resources as the evening courses and correspondence courses that are offered by Bible and theological colleges.  Ultimately though, the best way of being equipped will always be to seize the opportunity of studying full time, and this is always much simpler while single.

Does this mean there are no opportunities for married women to be trained?  Absolutely not!  Some form of study is still very possible – but it may be more complicated. A couple may choose to study together, full time or part time, before the kids come along.  Or once children are at school, or later when children have reached adulthood, there may be time for a married woman to gain further equipping. 

However in order to gain the knowledge and the confidence that is needed to teach others the word of God, we do need to plan how we are going to be trained – whether it will be full-time or part-time, formal or informal.  Funnily enough, there will always obstacles to be overcome, but the long-term benefits are enormous.  A former student, Lyndall Nurse, who has ministered in the parish of Bundanoon and is now ministering to university students at MAC, wrote to me and said:

I feel that I could not have taken a paid leadership role in my church if I had not had the opportunity to study the word of God.  I now know the Bible better.  More importantly, I know God better and my desire is for others to know this God that I know.

Where to train?
There are many wonderful opportunities these days for gaining knowledge and skill in ministry:  from training offered in local churches, to joining up with the Ministry Training Strategy (MTS), to weekend and day training conferences. 

However, there is no doubt that being able to set aside time to study God’s word in a more focused way helps learning to be achieved more quickly.

There are full-time and part-time opportunities for study at a wide range of colleges and institutions.  In my part of the world, Mary Andrews College (MAC), Moore College and Youthworks all offer a range of excellent courses that train women in God’s Word.  To give you some idea of the variety that’s available (and because it’s what I know best), here are some of the options at MAC:

MAC runs diploma level courses that can be studied full-time or part-time at a range of locations around Sydney.  ‘Full-time’ in these courses only means two mornings a week, with the diploma able to be completed over two years.  ‘Part-time’ can mean as little as one subject per semester.  Many of our current students in these courses are young mums, or women already involved in ministries in their churches and/or school community, or women with older children.  There is a good range of subjects; for example:  Old and New Testament, ethics, church history, theology, pastoral care, evangelism, and so on. 
MAC also provides complementary training for women who are undertaking a degree-level course at Moore College (such as the one-year Diploma of Bible and Missions or the three-year B.Th. or the four-year B.D.). This complementarity of training recognises the distinctive ministries women have. 
MAC can also assist in training at the parish level by invitation. 
The College also offers short courses that heighten Bible knowledge and ministry skills.

There is no shortage of options or opportunities for training.  There is great need everywhere for trained women who can bring God’s word to others.  Let me urge you to consider how you are going to be equipped to minister to others, and plan to do something about it. 

As you do so, I think you will find that the ways in which you think about life, and ministry, will change.  That’s certainly the experience of graduates that I talk to.  One of them, Caroline Spencer, put it like this:

College taught me how to understand God’s word and teach it to others.  Now that I’m working in ministry, I did wonder how to apply my college education, since I don’t preach, and am not always preparing a Bible study from scratch each week.  After a while I discovered that I was using my college education all the time – because I was thinking theologically about things that came across my path.  Everything from giving feedback on the advertising for an evangelistic event; to answering someone’s question: “Does God predestine people to go to hell?”; to working out the big idea in Romans 7; to working out what women’s ministry at my church should look like. The way that I approach ministry has been subtly but fundamentally shaped by my years at college. 

Contact Details

If you would like to investigate further the possible training opportunities available to you, contact MAC on (02) 9517 5333 or look up our website on http://www.mac.edu.au or contact Moore College on (02) 9577 9999 or the MTC Website:  http://www.moore.edu.au