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Women's Ministry in the Local Church: A Complementarian Approach
Susan Hunt and Ligon Duncan walk through the Scriptures to help readers better understand what it means to have an effective, biblical women's ministry in the church. The benefits of women's ministries are great: training and discipling, evangelizing, and reaching out to the poor and needy. This book, written by seasoned ministry leaders, provides many proven tools to help start a women's ministry in your church.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 17, 2006
75 people are currently reading
444 people want to read
About the author
J. Ligon Duncan III
42 books52 followersLigon Duncan is the Senior Minister of the historic First Presbyterian Church (1837), Jackson, Mississippi, President of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Chairman of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, Convener of the Twin Lakes Fellowship, and Adjunct Professor at Reformed Theological Seminary. He served as the 32nd Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in America (2004-2005), the youngest minister ever to fill that post.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
January 24, 2021
Excellent book, gives you the biblical foundation for this particular ministry, explains the principles, and highlights the needs and benefits of it. 'The tools' in each chapter in part 2 are not relevant to us here, but they will certainly stimulate the discussion.
November 5, 2022
I found this one a bit hard to get through. The writing was a bit jolting, and there was no way to know whether Susan Hunt or Ligon Duncan was talking in a particular section. I also found the framework frustrating. Their main argument for having a women’s ministry was to enforce complementarianism. While I don’t disagree with this being part of the ministry, I don’t think it should be the backbone of women’s ministry — shouldn’t we nurture our women first before making sure they hold to a contested idea? I also found many of their examples of “women’s work” to be things men & women can (and probably should) do together, rather than giving so many tasks to the women of the church. There was some good practical advice, such as how to imbue covenental truths into various events, and I overall they truly want women to hear the Gospel. But I found their focus on complementarianism to be almost reactionary, as they quoted many people who said it was the live-or-die issue of the church of the 21st century. I think whether you hold to complementarianism or egalitarianism, the Gospel has room for you, and if the church is less strict on this, I don’t think the love of Jesus will be imperiled. Hold to either viewpoint, but teach your women to love Jesus, love the church, and love their communities, and you will have a successful women’s ministry.
March 1, 2019
This is an excellent practical book on why women’s ministry is so vital to the church. With all the recent controversies the church has been embroiled in, it will do all of us a world of good to seriously consider women’s ministry in the local church. Ligon Duncan writes “The complementarian position acknowledges that God created men and women equal in being but assigned different but equally valuable functions in His kingdom and that this gender distinctiveness complements, or harmonises to fulfill His purpose”.
Tim Challies has written a brilliant review on this book
https://www.challies.com/book-reviews...
I have worn out my highlighter with this book. It’s rich with practical wisdom. Will sum up with these words from the book itself “God pronounced gender-aloneness ‘not good’ in the Garden, and the same is true in the church . He did not give His benediction of ‘it is very good’ until man and woman stood side by side, equal but different”.
My prayer is that most churches including mine will encourage a women’s ministry where the glory of God will be on full display.
Tim Challies has written a brilliant review on this book
https://www.challies.com/book-reviews...
I have worn out my highlighter with this book. It’s rich with practical wisdom. Will sum up with these words from the book itself “God pronounced gender-aloneness ‘not good’ in the Garden, and the same is true in the church . He did not give His benediction of ‘it is very good’ until man and woman stood side by side, equal but different”.
My prayer is that most churches including mine will encourage a women’s ministry where the glory of God will be on full display.
April 8, 2023
This book was a good and quick read. I’ve read other books on this topic, but one thing I really appreciated about this one is how practical it is. It gives you specific tools and methods to for women better equip ministry within the church and beyond.
October 8, 2012
As church ministry goes, my experience has been that women’s ministry tends to be one of the more difficult areas of church life to approach in a healthy, biblical, and dignified manner. I’m sure that is why Ligon Duncan and Susan Hunt set out to write this book together. They clearly want to lay out something of a philosophy of ministry for women’s ministry in the local church, and overall they haven’t done too poorly at it (though there are differences that I might highlight).
As I read it, I was struck by several observations, some of which the book addresses better than others. They include:
Why “women’s” ministry? A lot of the sentences in the earliest chapters of book, which begin with something like, “healthy women’s ministry is…” or “good women’s ministry must include…”, could just as well have been written without the “women’s” in there. So why is it needed? If good MINISTRY can be described in exactly the same way, why qualify it as women’s ministry at all? This brings up a parallel point…
Why not “men’s” ministry? So many of the reasons given for women’s ministry in this book stand just as strongly as a rationale for a good men’s ministry, too. Where is the emphasis on that? The same people who are going to say, “we must have a strong women’s ministry” should then argue just as emphatically for a strong men’s ministry as well. But we never hear that — not even in this book, not even mentioned.
The importance of womanhood The real strength of this book is its thorough development of a rationale for women’s ministry based on the need for dealing with womanhood in healthy, godly ways. This is a real truth that I think is overlooked (as is the counterpart of biblical manhood, since the best it seems to get is the Mark Driscoll testosterone-fest) too often in the church. But this also raises an earnest question: if the main and best reason for women’s ministry is so that we can have a context for women to discuss, learn about, and deal with issues related to womanhood, are we consistently employing that? Are our women’s Bible studies, for example, focused on one or more of these issues? Or are they simply gender-segregated studies that have no justification for the segregation (except perhaps to give a woman an opportunity to teach, but we’re skittish about letting her teach when men might actually be present)? There is very little acknowledgement of this in the book, even in the appendix on evaluating Bible study materials.
Big churches only? A lot of the practical implications of this book suggest a structure that works very well for big churches, while the mileage may vary, as they say, for smaller ones. Because most of the book is a philosophy of ministry statement, this isn’t as much the case as I feared it might be when starting into it (since both Dr. Duncan and Mrs. Hunt are in larger congregations). Still, there’s not much help for “scaling” this down to a small congregation’s purposes, and that would be of great benefit — especially since more than 90% of the churches in the country are less than 100 in membership!
Overall, I don’t have any great problems with what is presented in this book. It doesn’t read easily, and at times feels a bit forced (usually in trying to accommodate both Dr. Duncan’s and Mrs. Hunt’s views at the same time). But the content is solid, and their ideas are good ones overall. Local churches will still have a lot of work to do, in trying to determine HOW to take this philosophy of ministry and apply it in their context.
As I read it, I was struck by several observations, some of which the book addresses better than others. They include:
Why “women’s” ministry? A lot of the sentences in the earliest chapters of book, which begin with something like, “healthy women’s ministry is…” or “good women’s ministry must include…”, could just as well have been written without the “women’s” in there. So why is it needed? If good MINISTRY can be described in exactly the same way, why qualify it as women’s ministry at all? This brings up a parallel point…
Why not “men’s” ministry? So many of the reasons given for women’s ministry in this book stand just as strongly as a rationale for a good men’s ministry, too. Where is the emphasis on that? The same people who are going to say, “we must have a strong women’s ministry” should then argue just as emphatically for a strong men’s ministry as well. But we never hear that — not even in this book, not even mentioned.
The importance of womanhood The real strength of this book is its thorough development of a rationale for women’s ministry based on the need for dealing with womanhood in healthy, godly ways. This is a real truth that I think is overlooked (as is the counterpart of biblical manhood, since the best it seems to get is the Mark Driscoll testosterone-fest) too often in the church. But this also raises an earnest question: if the main and best reason for women’s ministry is so that we can have a context for women to discuss, learn about, and deal with issues related to womanhood, are we consistently employing that? Are our women’s Bible studies, for example, focused on one or more of these issues? Or are they simply gender-segregated studies that have no justification for the segregation (except perhaps to give a woman an opportunity to teach, but we’re skittish about letting her teach when men might actually be present)? There is very little acknowledgement of this in the book, even in the appendix on evaluating Bible study materials.
Big churches only? A lot of the practical implications of this book suggest a structure that works very well for big churches, while the mileage may vary, as they say, for smaller ones. Because most of the book is a philosophy of ministry statement, this isn’t as much the case as I feared it might be when starting into it (since both Dr. Duncan and Mrs. Hunt are in larger congregations). Still, there’s not much help for “scaling” this down to a small congregation’s purposes, and that would be of great benefit — especially since more than 90% of the churches in the country are less than 100 in membership!
Overall, I don’t have any great problems with what is presented in this book. It doesn’t read easily, and at times feels a bit forced (usually in trying to accommodate both Dr. Duncan’s and Mrs. Hunt’s views at the same time). But the content is solid, and their ideas are good ones overall. Local churches will still have a lot of work to do, in trying to determine HOW to take this philosophy of ministry and apply it in their context.
April 2, 2015
I give it a four on content that was solid and thought-provoking about what is the fundamental purpose of women's ministry. As a book, I felt like it lacked cohesive flow, partially due to the dual author structure. Several long passages were repeated. If you haven't already, I would recommend reading some of the Foundations for Biblical Womanhood materials before picking this book up - I have not, but the theological groundwork is apparently covered more thoroughly there and the first portion of this book kept referring to them.
August 15, 2022
Great book. Looks a lot more at what biblical womanhood is in comparison with some other books of a similar vein. I think people often don't write on 'womanhood' or 'manhood' because they're afraid of creating unfair gender stereotypes, but Susan/Ligon are both wonderfully unapologetic about teaching God's Word on this topic. They encourage us to embrace God's teaching and put His will above our personal preference - something we always need to hear.
Good food for thought on what it means to be a 'helper' like the Lord and how this shapes a women's ministry that is life-giving and blesses the whole church. Also begins to address some of the practical results of word ministry e.g. community, compassion ministries, as well as the usual Titus 2/ 1 Timothy 2 passages.
However, I tend to baulk at the idea that women are 'naturally' care-givers who mainly focus on practical things - maybe because I'm of a more studious, less practical (more scatterbrained?) mindset. Life circumstances may also play into this. This book has shown me I need to do some more thinking about this!
Key quote: 'Covenant consciousness will protect us from the sin of being territorial about the portion of a ministry entrusted to us. Covenant consciousness will cause us to think about the common good rather than individual preference.' (p.123) - God's gospel should shape all that we do and call for our obedience to His word.
Good food for thought on what it means to be a 'helper' like the Lord and how this shapes a women's ministry that is life-giving and blesses the whole church. Also begins to address some of the practical results of word ministry e.g. community, compassion ministries, as well as the usual Titus 2/ 1 Timothy 2 passages.
However, I tend to baulk at the idea that women are 'naturally' care-givers who mainly focus on practical things - maybe because I'm of a more studious, less practical (more scatterbrained?) mindset. Life circumstances may also play into this. This book has shown me I need to do some more thinking about this!
Key quote: 'Covenant consciousness will protect us from the sin of being territorial about the portion of a ministry entrusted to us. Covenant consciousness will cause us to think about the common good rather than individual preference.' (p.123) - God's gospel should shape all that we do and call for our obedience to His word.
December 10, 2021
A valuable resource on what true Biblical woman- and manhood is, and how to use that as a Biblical foundation to evaluate/start a church’s women’s ministry. The focus is not on women, but rather on the Bible, which is how it should be.
June 11, 2023
I think this one is more like a 3.5 for me, but three seemed harsh. Overall has some good things to say, but also felt too prescriptive for areas of disagreement within orthodoxy.
March 2, 2012
This is an excellent guide on setting up a women's ministry in your church and the benefits of it. It also gives direction on women to women ministry - discipleship and mentoring. I would recommend this book to any women who has a desire to minister to the women of their church.
November 7, 2024
I really, REALLY enjoyed the content of this book! I am already an avid promoter for women's ministry in the church so it's not like it was going to be a hard sell, but this book is one of the few that I've come across that make such a strong argument not merely for the benefit of women's ministry in the church, but the absolute necessity of it.
The central biblical argument is based on select passages in Titus and 1 and 2 Timothy. These books are categorized as "pastoral letters" written by Paul to Titus and Timothy, leaders of their churches, as encouragement and instruction regarding the organization and delegation of authority within the local body.
One particular quote I loved was "A sense of legacy creates a sense of destiny". Meaning you have this communal maturing of the saints within the church where the elders 'pass the baton' of what they have learned to the next generation. As someone who can fit in both categories of "younger" woman and "older" woman, I understand the exact meaning behind this. I see women in the church older than me who are intentionally creating this beautiful legacy of covenantal community within the local body and it brings me to tears to imagine 25 years from now when I'm in their shoes, willing and able to share all that I learned from them with the next generation.
"It is essential, according to the biblical pattern, that Christian women disciple other women to know and live the truths of biblical womanhood in the church and in the world." - Dr. Peter Jones
------
There are 5 major reasons given for why a women's ministry is important in every healthy evangelical church:
1. We have the opportunity to helpfully address the issue of the nature of manhood and womanhood.
2. The Bible teaches so much and so clearly on manhood and womanhood
3. When Biblical manhood and womanhood are denied, altered or unpracticed, it results in disasters for marriages, families, and churches.
4. We ought to have an intentional, deliberate approach to female discipleship because men and women are different and these differences need to be recognized, taken into account and addressed in the course of Christian discipleship.
5. The denial or twisting of the bible's clear teaching on manhood and womanhood is one of the central ways that biblical authority is being undermined in our time.
The "task" of the leadership of a women's ministry:
1. Ecclesiastical Submission: bible study teachers and materials should be under the oversight of the elders and these teachers should lead the women to support the male leadership of the church. (This is not only true for women but should be the policy for all educational ministries).
2. Covenantal Compassion: The Bible studies should teach women the theological reasons for ministries of compassion and provide opportunities for women to show compassion.
3. Covenantal Community: Bible studies should be a time when women learn the theology of community, are enfolded into relationship with other women, and are mobilised to be supporting pillars in the church. Bible studies should teach women to see immature women, even rebellious ones, not with disdain but with a desire to mother them into maturity.
4. Discipleship: Bible studies should quip women to pass on the legacy of biblical womanhood to the next generation and should offer opportunities for them to have hands-on experiences in discipling one another.
------
The central biblical argument is based on select passages in Titus and 1 and 2 Timothy. These books are categorized as "pastoral letters" written by Paul to Titus and Timothy, leaders of their churches, as encouragement and instruction regarding the organization and delegation of authority within the local body.
One particular quote I loved was "A sense of legacy creates a sense of destiny". Meaning you have this communal maturing of the saints within the church where the elders 'pass the baton' of what they have learned to the next generation. As someone who can fit in both categories of "younger" woman and "older" woman, I understand the exact meaning behind this. I see women in the church older than me who are intentionally creating this beautiful legacy of covenantal community within the local body and it brings me to tears to imagine 25 years from now when I'm in their shoes, willing and able to share all that I learned from them with the next generation.
"It is essential, according to the biblical pattern, that Christian women disciple other women to know and live the truths of biblical womanhood in the church and in the world." - Dr. Peter Jones
------
There are 5 major reasons given for why a women's ministry is important in every healthy evangelical church:
1. We have the opportunity to helpfully address the issue of the nature of manhood and womanhood.
2. The Bible teaches so much and so clearly on manhood and womanhood
3. When Biblical manhood and womanhood are denied, altered or unpracticed, it results in disasters for marriages, families, and churches.
4. We ought to have an intentional, deliberate approach to female discipleship because men and women are different and these differences need to be recognized, taken into account and addressed in the course of Christian discipleship.
5. The denial or twisting of the bible's clear teaching on manhood and womanhood is one of the central ways that biblical authority is being undermined in our time.
The "task" of the leadership of a women's ministry:
1. Ecclesiastical Submission: bible study teachers and materials should be under the oversight of the elders and these teachers should lead the women to support the male leadership of the church. (This is not only true for women but should be the policy for all educational ministries).
2. Covenantal Compassion: The Bible studies should teach women the theological reasons for ministries of compassion and provide opportunities for women to show compassion.
3. Covenantal Community: Bible studies should be a time when women learn the theology of community, are enfolded into relationship with other women, and are mobilised to be supporting pillars in the church. Bible studies should teach women to see immature women, even rebellious ones, not with disdain but with a desire to mother them into maturity.
4. Discipleship: Bible studies should quip women to pass on the legacy of biblical womanhood to the next generation and should offer opportunities for them to have hands-on experiences in discipling one another.
------
September 6, 2018
I’m still not totally sure what to think about this book mostly because I expected it to be something completely different from what it was. I was given this book and told that it was a sort of guide for setting up a women’s ministry. Even many of the reviews here present it as a guide... but it’s not, not really.
Don’t read this book if you want an explicit outline of what women’s ministry should look like. After all, there’s not an explicit example of women’s ministry in the Bible. I do wish it had more instruction from a practical standpoint. Rather, this book is a defense of women’s ministry, why women’s ministry should even exist and why leadership in the church should thoughtfully foster it.
Frankly, I’ve been a little disillusioned with women’s ministry. I’ve found that a lot of the work going on in women’s ministry does not have to be gendered, but it is. I have seen gendered ministries segregate the overall ministry of the church. Reading this book has helped me to see past that disillusionment because it explains how a biblical women’s ministry can truly strengthen a church community. Women have a huge role to play in shaping the culture of the church with grace and compassion.
Don’t read this book if you want an explicit outline of what women’s ministry should look like. After all, there’s not an explicit example of women’s ministry in the Bible. I do wish it had more instruction from a practical standpoint. Rather, this book is a defense of women’s ministry, why women’s ministry should even exist and why leadership in the church should thoughtfully foster it.
Frankly, I’ve been a little disillusioned with women’s ministry. I’ve found that a lot of the work going on in women’s ministry does not have to be gendered, but it is. I have seen gendered ministries segregate the overall ministry of the church. Reading this book has helped me to see past that disillusionment because it explains how a biblical women’s ministry can truly strengthen a church community. Women have a huge role to play in shaping the culture of the church with grace and compassion.
August 18, 2020
Great content, but it takes a bit of effort to get through. The dual authorship is interesting, but they both bring wisdom to the table, so it’s worth the whiplash. My biggest frustration was it felt like there was so much repetition! Entire paragraphs would be nearly word for word (if they weren’t in fact exactly the same) from introductory chapters to later chapters. Nevertheless, the insight found within these pages is humbling and life-giving to anyone who partakes in, leads, or prays for a women’s ministry. But be warned, there may some tough love if you lean towards an egalitarian view on gender roles.
September 20, 2019
Our church women’s group read this together. I didn’t disagree with anything in particular, but found it poorly written- it had a circular way of explaining things that seemed to be on repeat, probably an attribute of having two authors who are trying to give each other identical air time to talk about the same topics due to the sensitive nature and distinct qualifications of said authors. Anyway. It was interesting to think over, but hard to get through.
September 30, 2020
Read this for “Introduction to Pastoral and Theological Ministry” at RTS Charlotte.
This book felt like a half-baked project from the get-go. The authors awkwardly share space in the book, there is some repetition in the quotes and main points, and the content sits halfway between philosophical and practical, doing neither well.
While not unbiblical, I would look for other complementarian guides to women’s ministry.
This book felt like a half-baked project from the get-go. The authors awkwardly share space in the book, there is some repetition in the quotes and main points, and the content sits halfway between philosophical and practical, doing neither well.
While not unbiblical, I would look for other complementarian guides to women’s ministry.
July 7, 2022
Womens ministry in the Local Church is a great read. It is another tool in the tool belt on being an effective pastor. This is an area that many pastors struggle. What do I do with women who show leadership promise. How do I prevent womens ministry from being, just another thing? Ligon Duncan lays the foundation with certain tenets. These tenets are not just limited to womens ministry but that is the focus here. Susan hunt then takes this outline and demonstrates how it is applied practically.
October 31, 2017
This is an excellent book to guide a women's ministry to their purpose in serving and caring for the congregation. The book begins by placing a firm Biblical foundation under the structure of the women's ministry. I highly recommend this book for all women interested in serving in their church's women's ministry.
January 26, 2025
Really good resource for any woman in the church. Gives a lot of practical guidance in living out your life in submission to God’s word for His glory. The affirmation of Biblical manhood and womanhood was refreshing, as well as, the overarching them of prayer for the women in our body.
“…let the lion loose, let God be God, and let His word speak and rule in our lives.”
“…let the lion loose, let God be God, and let His word speak and rule in our lives.”
May 4, 2019
I took my time reading this rich book and will find it a continued invaluable resource for ministering to women in the Church. Highly recommend if you are involved in leading, teaching, and helping your pastors equip women in your own local body of believers.
September 13, 2019
I really enjoyed this book. It helped me to better understand what women's ministry ought to look like and how it should function. It also helped me to better appreciate how blessed I am with the wife God has given me.
September 23, 2021
This is a solid foundation of what a church's women's ministry can look like, based on the Bible and mostly Presbyterian/Covenantal principles. It wasn't super practical, more theological and theoretical, but the examples and anecodtal tidbits I found helpful.
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July 24, 2024Because I know one of the authors personally, I cannot assign a rating for fear it would show my bias, but I will say that it is a MUST-read for both men and women in the Church today. Please take up this nugget of gold and experience the richness of its truth.
October 15, 2018
Wavering between a 3 and 4. Some helpful concepts regarding a biblical apologetic for a women's ministry.
May 18, 2019
This book gives good reasons and purpose for having a womens ministry. They talk about pitfalls to look out for and practical ways to implement a ministry in a church.
May 1, 2020
Garnered some great info and thoughts.
January 26, 2024
This is by far the BEST book I’ve read on women’s ministry in the church.
February 15, 2024
This is a great read with lots of things to digest and learn. I highly recommend this helpful resource for understanding a biblically based Women’s Ministry in the local church!
May 13, 2024
Helpful read for women wanting to serve in their local body
August 7, 2025
I know I finished it. Two stars because I can't remember what I thought of it.
November 6, 2017
I just finished reading this book as a participant in a committee at our church to think through the philosophy of women's ministry. Five years ago I thought women's ministry was dumb. I'd had some really not-great experiences with women's ministries. However, four great years with some really fabulous women at my church and a very godly, scripture-seeking culture there has overhauled my thinking. This book was wonderful, and incredibly instructive as we have been thinking through our philosophy and purpose for women's ministry. It was very sound, thoughtful, scriptural and thorough, and was a much more enjoyable read than I expected. Very delighted to have found such a great resource.
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