Int’l (MNN) – Strong leadership is a keystone of the Church, Christian ministries, and missions. Yet leadership failures seem commonplace. A3 seeks to change this narrative through focused Gospel training for gifted leaders, whether they are men, women, young, or old.
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.
Image courtesy of Pexels from Pixabay
