Lausanne World Pulse – Missionary Pioneers: A Legacy of Women and Men Advancing the Gospel Together

March 2007

By Mimi Haddad, Chelsea Dearmond and Mary Ann Nguyen

The gospel partnerships of men and women on mission fields today may seem unprecedented to some. Yet history is filled with examples of men and women using their gifts together, advancing the kingdom throughout the world.

In fact, many of today’s evangelical leaders stand as part of a glorious legacy of Christian men and women whose God-given talents advanced the gospel with passion, purpose and power. Even a short survey of mission history offers astonishing examples of men and women who worked together in advancing the gospel. Consider Paula and Jerome who translated the Bible from the original languages into Latin in the fourth century. Or consider Theodora and Justinian—emperor and empress of the Byzantine Empire in the fifth century who brokered peace between Christian factions and developed laws that aided female prostitutes. Or consider Protestant Reformers Martin Luther and his wife Katharine Von Bora. Or consider the missionaries of the nineteenth century such as Catherine and William Booth, Pandita Ramabai and Frances Willard. The gospel partnerships of missionaries throughout history are examples for us to celebrate and model today.

While men and women have advanced the gospel together throughout history, it was during the modern missionary movement of the 1800s when Christians began to develop a cohesive biblical basis for women’s service as gospel partners with men. Let us explore several leaders within the modern missionary movement and the biblical foundations they laid for men and women’s gospel service.

The Modern Era
According to historians, the modern mission movement began at the end of the eighteenth century as Christians in “Great Britain, Europe and North America, newly awakened to their missionary ‘obligations,’ founded an impressive array of mission societies.”¹ Motivated by a concern for the imminent return of Christ, this movement had far-reaching results.

During the modern missionary movement of the 1800s Christians began to develop a cohesive biblical basis for women’s service as gospel partners with men.

By the final years of the twentieth century, more than half of all Christians in the world were to be found outside the region that had been the historical heartland of Christianity for nearly 1,500 years. New centers of Christian strength and vitality were now found in widely scattered places in the Americas, Africa and Asia.²

Beginning with the modern missionary movement, for the first time in history, Christians began to affirm a cohesive biblical basis for the shared public ministry of women as well as people of color. Between 1808 and 1930, more than forty-six biblical treatises were printed in support of women’s gift-based ministry.³ Their affirmation of women’s gospel service grew out of their commitment to evangelical priorities of biblical authority, evangelism and social action.⁴

Dr. Mimi Haddad (left) is president of Christians for Biblical Equality and a founding member of the Evangelicals and Gender Study Group at the Evangelical Theological Society. She also serves on the board of directors for Global Women and is an adjunct professor at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She served as the convener of Issue Group 24 for the 2004 Lausanne Forum in Pattaya. Mary Ann Nguyen (middle) is pursuing her Masters of Divinity at Bethel Seminary in San Diego, California, USA. She and her husband are preparing to serve overseas. Chelsea Dearmond (right) is editor of Mutuality Magazine, a publication of Christians for Biblical Equality.