Women’s Ministry Stereotypes

From Sharon Hodde Miller:

Women’s ministry, as a form, is in the midst of a massive shift. Many women’s ministries have responded to the outcry and evolved, but the stereotypes have not always changed accordingly. Rather than doing justice to the change, broad stereotypes have remained, further stigmatizing women’s ministry in the minds of female church-goers.

Nowhere has this stigma been more apparent to me than in my efforts to involve young women. In most of the churches where I have served, the 20-somethings have been all but absent from women’s ministry events. This younger generation has grown up hearing about “fluffy” women’s ministries, and the stereotype has become entrenched. Even when change is happening in their churches, many young women persist in the belief that all women’s ministries are inherently superficial.

An additional tension raised by these stereotypes is the attitude that often accompanies them. In the interest of improving women’s ministry, there is a tendency to belittle women who have done it differently. I am guilty of this. In the past, my critiques of women’s ministry were not only unfair but often condescending. I painted in broad strokes and I was ungrateful for the contributions of the women who had gone before me. I did not distinguish form from function, ignoring the reality that in some parts of the country, a tea party is exactly the kind of outreach event that a non-Christian, middle-aged woman might attend.

Women’s ministry is not a monolithic movement. As some women’s ministries begin to change, it is important that our language reflects the complexity of this shift. Old stereotypes and blanket condemnations can be just as detrimental to the growth of a women’s ministry as its own frivolous methods. Prophetic correction is indeed necessary at times, but the line between constructive criticism and destructive cynicism is a fine one. Too often our conversations about women’s ministry have fallen on the wrong side of that divide, so we might consider hope as a categorical alternative. After all, women discipling women is certainly worth getting excited about.