The Gospel’s Impact on Social Expectations

(Image courtesy of Sara Madden from Pixabay)

Mary Jo Wilson with A3 says that traditionally, many of the leaders they’ve trained have been older men who are more established in their roles. This dynamic can neglect women and young men ready to lead in the future.

Wilson says, “A lot of people, if you talk about men and women – especially in the church or in latent Christian leadership – people go right to the theological point. Oh, we’re talking complementarian, egalitarian, but the truth is a much bigger factor are the social constraints. Where there are these expectations put on that really hold women back in a lot of ways? And so we do see that. I guess the big question is, how does the Gospel impact that? How does the Church show a different way, and show the image of God in women, to show the missio dei expressed by women’s involvement? Just asking the question, how we can remove barriers so women can say yes to God?”

Seeing the Value of Christian Women

In many cultures, male leadership turns into male domination. This leads to women being undervalued and even treated as second-class citizens. Unfortunately, this mindset can carry over into the Church. Especially where Christians are in an extreme minority, women’s lack of rights in a country tends to flow into how the Church views women.

One Christian woman living where there are very few Christians said when she started A3 training, it made one of the other pastors there very uncomfortable.

(Image courtesy of A3)

“That was maybe a little awkward start,” Wilson says. “But she said that at the end, he said, ‘I’m so glad I learned alongside you. I see the woman differently now.’ And I’m thinking, wow, with most churches, some have told me, 70% of their church are women. For the pastor to see women differently, just by learning alongside a woman leader is just a tremendous impact that I know will carry on.”

Join A3 in Training All Leaders

Depending on the needs of an area A3 might provide training aimed at Christian church leaders, general Christian leaders, or even NGO leaders. This more general training seems to allow women to feel more confident expressing their gifts and become equipped to do God’s work.

Wilson says, “People can be praying just that God would help us to find a way to really step into men and women partnering together deeply for His mission. Especially in countries where women experience tremendous oppression, just to see the beauty of the Gospel in these countries and the message that each woman, as each man, is precious to God and an image bearer carrying His image into the world.”

Please pray that God would continue to open doors for A3 as they train leaders for the ministry of the Gospel. If you want to get involved with A3, click here.

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Mary Jo Wilson says Asian Access walks alongside them through these decisions, “Just considering how God could be working through them in their vocation, and how they are uniquely positioned out in the world to be light and to be Christ’s presence. To see God working through all that is a new concept. We’ve seen this to be hugely freeing for them.”

The training

These young professionals want training to be good leaders. Wilson says, “Half of our cohort is our singles. They’re earlier in life, starting into their careers, and passionate about Christ.”

This training starts with a deep love for God. This affects every aspect of their lives, from business dealings to workplace relationships. Eventually, they learn ways to share their faith in these environments.

Wilson says, “It would be wonderful for people to be praying for these particular cohorts and for a lot of the young professionals across Asia and around the world. Pray for these Christians in their communities as they shine their light through their professions.”

The group hails from two different countries, and they meet regularly over Zoom. Pray this training would strengthen the local churches.

COVID-19

The leadership of these young professionals is already being tested.

Depending on where they live, some of them still face a lot of COVID-19 restrictions and rampant sickness in their communities. Ask God to give them wisdom as they continue to navigate these challenges. Wilson says, “Just praying for them as they go through that. Because these young people are at a really critical time in their lives. How will they process through this and grow through this and come out the other end?”

(Header photo courtesy of Free-Photos from Pixabay)

Her own desire to understand how God views women in leadership compelled her to invest time in scripture and prayer. She says that, in a world of mixed messages and traditional values, it can be easier for a women to lead from the back rather than take a more upfront role at the table where key decisions are made in ministry.

“I think it’s been difficult sometimes to capture those women and to find a place where we can engage them and develop them as leaders because they are in the background and often they’re more comfortable in the background.”

Mary Jo’s personal investment resulted in a white paper on women in leadership. “As I studied and prayed, the point of my paper was women and men serving together and how we can come together in the body of Christ and be all about the mission – not separating and not limiting anyone to serve and be about the Great Commission.”

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Her studies are now being used by Asian Access to develop better methods to engage women in their servant leadership ministry. Mary Jo believes that men must be key partners in change for women in Asia. She shares, “Some of it is engaging men to talk about how we’re going to do this so it’s not just women saying ‘we need more voice,’ but men saying ‘we need your voice’ and discussing together how we can go about that. “

Mary Jo and the team at Asian Access see women in leadership as pivotal in the countries in which they serve. “I think the Gospel speaks to us and – if we’re really experiencing the God – says that we should be saying that NO ONE is less. If we’re reading the Gospels and Christ’s interaction, He is about the oppressed and the vulnerable and certainly women would fall into that category, so I believe the Gospel is what compels us to bring women in and to say, “You’re not less and you are co-image-bearers.” And when God created us, He created us together, and together we express His image in the world.”

Learn more now about what Asian Access is doing to develop servant leaders throughout Asia.