Skip to main content

WOMEN CLERGY

Women Clergy

The Church of the Nazarene supports the right of women to use their God-given spiritual gifts as leaders and pastors in the church. We invite you to connect with our network of Nazarene women clergy!

 

Connect with a member of the Nazarene Women Clergy Council

  501. Theology of Women in Ministry. The Church of the Nazarene supports the right of women to use their God-given spiritual gifts within the church and affirms the historic right of women to be elected and appointed to places of leadership within the Church of the Nazarene, including the offices of both elder and deacon.

The purpose of Christ’s redemptive work is to set God’s cre­ation free from the curse of the Fall. Those who are “in Christ” are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). In this redemptive community, no human being is to be regarded as inferior on the basis of social status, race, or gender (Galatians 3:26-28). Acknowledging the apparent paradox created by Paul’s in­struction to Timothy (1 Timothy 2:11-12) and to the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 14:33-34), we believe interpreting these passages as limiting the role of women in ministry presents serious conflicts with specific passages of scripture that commend female participation in spiritual leadership roles (Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:17-18; 21:8-9; Romans 16:1, 3, 7; Philippians 4:2-3), and violates the spirit and practice of the Wesleyan-holiness tradition. Finally, it is incompatible with the character of God presented throughout Scripture, espe­cially as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.

                                                            Manual 2017-2021, Church of the Nazarene

 

Videos

Janine Metcalf on Women in Clergy Leadership

Angie Bentley on Being a Female Pastor

Shawn and Ashley Evans discuss Married Church Staff Members

Margaret Tyler on Passing Faith

Diane Leclerc discusses “Discovering Christian Holiness”

Althea Taylor on Starting a Compassionate Ministry Center

Cheryl Evans on Outreach to the Homeless

Joseph Coleson: Women and Creation ("Ezer Cenegdo: A Power Like Him, Facing Him as Equal")

Tribute to Mary Lee Cagle by Stan Ingersol

An interview with Janine Metcalf