Half the Harvest
The Vital Role of Women in The Great Commission
Globally, there are more than four billion people who are far from God, with roughly half of that population being women. In many cultures, women are more spiritual and tasked with doing daily spiritual rituals to their gods or teaching their children about their belief systems. Women are half of the plentiful harvest. But are women also half of the harvest force?
There are many reasons why women may not be as heavily involved in making disciples of all nations. In various places around the globe, women may not have the same opportunities as men or have respect within their communities, limiting their ability to live out their priestly identity (1 Peter 2:9-10). Women are also often given and gifted with the responsibilities of taking care of their household and children, having the unseen and often under-appreciated role of making disciples of their children in their homes.
However, I would argue that many women do not even know that they have a role to play in God’s eternal plan to use His sons AND daughters to proclaim His Good News. Many sisters around the globe have never been told of their identity as an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) or encouraged to participate in Kingdom work (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8).
The conversation is obviously nuanced and complicated. I recognize that there are biblical and cultural considerations in the role of women in church planting. Also, as a mom of two young children, I understand the high value of raising my children as disciples – and hopefully disciple-makers – and the time constraints that come with that God-honoring role. Laying aside those caveats, I want to acknowledge that women were given the same Great Commission to make disciples of all nations. Women have the unique opportunity to share with non-believing women around them and can enter into different spaces than men to share the Good News. While it may look different in various seasons or contexts, women are half of the harvest force, but they are often not being equipped at that rate to enter into the plentiful harvest (Luke 10:2).
In a past article, I shared a biblical framework and examples in Scripture of women making disciples in the home, in the church, and in the harvest. The Spirit gives guidance to women on how to be faithful in each season of life in whatever calling we receive from Him. Based on my experience over the past seven years in South Asia, many women don’t even realize that there are examples of women making disciples in Scripture. Oftentimes, women don’t even know that they can ask the Spirit for ways that they can be involved in God’s mission. There are already resources for doing a biblical survey of women serving in the New Testament (Coworkers EBook and Role of Women YouTube Video). Instead, here I want to present a few testimonies of women in South Asia who have realized their identity as royal priests and faithfully sought to obey the Father in whatever opportunities He provides.
Bring the Lost to Me
“Rachel” and her husband had been involved in the church for many years. She had been a faithful pastor’s wife and loved those in her church well. My husband had begun partnering with Rachel’s husband, so I met with her one day to ask what her vision was for her ministry. We did the study of women in the New Testament and she began to wonder whether God had a bigger vision for her than taking care of her household. With a child still in school and her many responsibilities as a pastor’s wife, she was still not able to leave her house very often. So one day she frankly prayed to God, “I want to share with the lost, but I can’t leave my house. Bring the lost to me.” That week, a new non-believing neighbor came to her house out of the blue, asking for prayer and wanting to know more about Jesus. This answered prayer brought Rachel confidence and also a conviction that God wanted her to boldly work for Him. Now Rachel, her husband, and their son often pile on their bike and go to non-believing villages to share the Gospel. Rachel has encouraged and equipped many more ladies to be faithful with whatever capacity they have. When she can travel to do ministry, her son comes and does his schoolwork along the way. When she needs to be home, she spends countless hours on the phone encouraging and sharing with other ladies.
Starting with Prayer
With both of her kids in college, “Wendy” had more time than ever before. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the church was not able to meet in person, so Wendy decided to start a prayer gathering on Zoom for the ladies in her church. The ladies began praying and studying the Word. They faithfully prayed for the lost, and God began answering prayers for softened hearts around them and for the sick to be healed. Prayer gatherings turned into times of studying the Word with seekers and new believers, which turned into opportunities to encourage each other to share the Gospel among the vast population of lostness around them. A few years later, there are house churches growing across their state through the faithful sowing of these women. Wendy has a vision to see church-planting teams in many districts and multiple states. The ladies in their network are seeing new believers proclaim Jesus as King every week, and groups are multiplying to the 2nd generation. It all started with beginning a prayer time for the lost.
Leaning on Christ in Trials
“Lydia” grew up Buddhist and married a Hindu man. She was invited to a church and was drawn to Jesus’s teachings, but her husband would not allow her to continue visiting. Years later, her husband was charged with a crime and faced years of jail time. In a daunting situation, Lydia remembered the hope of Christ and encouraged her husband with the Scriptures she knew. In the midst of their trials, the couple leaned on the one true King and were baptized. Within one year of giving her life to Jesus, Lydia had led multiple friends and family members to Christ and baptized them, starting fellowships in homes that multiplied to new villages. While there are still struggles and challenges, she is a great example of finding hope and immediately desiring for friends and family to experience saving grace.
If You Can Do It…
I once was invited by my partner in South Asia to speak at a women’s conference. My son was still nursing, so he came along and was passed around like a chunky, blonde doll. The one session that I was supposed to teach, he was, of course, at his fussiest. I strapped him into the baby carrier and tried not to lose my train of thought. The concerned looks from the crowd told me that I was as chaotic as I felt. At the end of the meeting, my partner told me, “They liked what you shared. But mostly they thought that if you can do ministry with a baby then they definitely can make disciples.” I know that unintentional encouragement has nothing to do with me making it look easy, but that they saw a fellow sister push through her obvious weakness in a season of motherhood to pursue what God was asking her to do. Sometimes seeing the testimony of (albeit messy) faithfulness is what someone needs to be encouraged so that they too can participate in God’s mission.
Power of Testimonies
“Go back to your home, and tell all that God has done for you.” (Luke 8:39a, CSB)
“They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; for they did not love their lives to the point of death.” (Revelation 12:11, CSB)
Time and time again, testimonies of God’s faithfulness can bring encouragement. Testimonies fight the enemy’s lies that women cannot participate in Kingdom work, or that women are not valuable members of the harvest force. Let's proclaim all that God has and will do through women to see all peoples and places reached with the Good News. There is power in the word of our testimony to overcome the schemes of the enemy, so let us tell all that God has done for us, both among the lost and among our sisters who need to be reminded of their priestly identity. Women are half the harvest and half the harvest force; if we believe this to be true, let us encourage and equip our sisters to joyfully join in this urgent Kingdom work.