The unhealthy church loves to sideline women labeling them as unqualified for God’s anointing. But the healthy church values God’s anointing on women and embraces their leadership qualities.

This subject is personally frustrating to me as a woman who has been hearing God’s voice daily for more than 23 years and one who has personally experienced every manifestation of the Spirit gifts delivered through me. I truly believe that women are generally naturally more receptive to receiving God’s presence then are men. (But don’t believe me. Ask God yourself!)

The Lord regularly speaks through me in tongues of angels and tongues of men. Like the apostle, Paul, I also speak in tongues more than most of you. Remember that Paul said “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.” (1 Corinthians 14:18 NIV) However, with all the connection that I have to God, because of my gender, the unhealthy churches refuse those gifts of God through me and other similarly anointed women. Why?

There were women leaders recorded throughout the Scriptures. There were women prophets, women apostles, women evangelists, women teachers, women disciples, and women deliverers. What nonsense is the devil strategically placing in the unhealthy churches that causes them to intentionally wrongly divide Scripture away from God’s heart?

Let’s look at the Biblical texts to study about women and the roles they have held throughout generations as described in both the old and new testament manuscripts.

Female Prophets:
Miriam (Micah 6:4)
Deborah (Judges 4:4-5)
Huldah (2 Kings 22:14)
Anna (Luke 2:36-37)
Phillip’s Four Daughters (Acts 21:8-9)

Female Apostles, Evangelists, Deacons & Teachers:
Junia, an apostle (Romans 16:7)
Priscilla, a teacher and missionary (Acts 18, Romans 16:3, 1 Corinthians 16:19, 2 Timothy 4:19)
Pheobe, a deacon (Romans 16:1-2)
Lois & Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5)
Chloe (1 Corinthians 1:11)
Nympha, church in her house (Colossians 4:15)
Euodia & Syntyche (Philippians 4:2-3)

Female Disciples of Jesus:
Joanna (Luke 8:3, 24:10)
Mary, the mother of James and Joseph (Matthew 27:55, 28:5-7)
Mary of Bethany (Luke 10:38-42, John 11-12)
Salome (Mark 15:40)
Susanna (Luke 8:30)

Female Deliverers:
Deborah (Judges 4:8-10)
Jael (Judges 4:17-22 and 5:24-26)
Esther (Esther 4:14)

In some protestant Christian divisions of the church, women are forbidden from leading prayer or teaching if a man is present despite that we can clearly see in the Scriptures, that woman had leadership and teaching roles with men present. In some divisions of the corporate church, women are not allowed to teach doctrine or discuss doctrinal anomalies despite that there were women prophets, apostles, and evangelists mentioned by name in Biblical texts.

While there are a few texts in Paul’s writings that seem to exclude women from speaking, those are thought to be situational rebukes of specific heresies surrounding women “deities” rather than corporate doctrine. Who but the devil wins in devaluing half of God’s anointed vessels from ministry? How have the unhealthy churches fallen prey to such negligence against God’s heart?

The healthy church seeks God on these matters and doesn’t disqualify His ambassadors based on ethnicity or gender. It has been fewer than 100 years since the unhealthy churches disqualified black men and women from serving in ministry (or even attending church with white people). How does the devil keep blinding churches from truth and continuing that scheme seemingly without corporate church opposition?

Has your church visibly opposed the spiritual crimes against women being perpetrated in the unhealthy churches?

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28 NIV)

Additional note regarding elders:
I submit to you that 1 Timothy 3:11 and Titus 1:6 (in original context) also gave WOMEN of one-wife husbands leadership authority. Paul specifically calling for “husbands of one wife” proved that polygamy was an issue at that time. However, polyandry (one wife with two or more husbands) was rare or non-existent. Still Paul called out that women ministrants needed to be the wife of a one wife husband. In either case, for men or women, being married or single was not a deterrent from leadership authority. (Paul wasn’t married during his ministry.)

“Women — in like manner grave, not false accusers, vigilant, faithful in all things. Ministrants — let them be of one wife husbands; the children leading well, and their own houses,” (1 Timothy 3:11-12 YLT) ~ Young’s Literal Translation

“ if any one is blameless, of one wife a husband, having children stedfast, not under accusation of riotous living or insubordinate –” (Titus 1:6 YLT)

Some will use these two passages with modern day language translations to promote that women cannot be elders. But the original language does not say that. But don’t believe me. Ask God yourself!

Note: “Polyandry is a rare form of polygamy, which broadly refers to any marriage involving more than two spouses. In polyandrous arrangements, multiple men are married to a single woman, often sharing responsibilities, resources, and familial duties. This contrasts with polygyny, where one man has multiple wives, which is far more common worldwide.” ~Ai assist