Overview
Outreach 2022 Resource of the Year (Theology and Biblical Studies)
2021 ASM (American Society of Missiology) Book of the Year Award
Women have been central to the work of Christian ministry from the time of Jesus to the twenty-first century. Yet the story of Christianity is too often told as a story of men. This accessibly written book tells the story of women throughout church history, demonstrating their integral participation in the church's mission. It highlights the legacies of a wide variety of women, showing how they have overcome obstacles to their ministries and have transformed cultural constraints to spread the gospel and build the church.
2021 ASM (American Society of Missiology) Book of the Year Award
Women have been central to the work of Christian ministry from the time of Jesus to the twenty-first century. Yet the story of Christianity is too often told as a story of men. This accessibly written book tells the story of women throughout church history, demonstrating their integral participation in the church's mission. It highlights the legacies of a wide variety of women, showing how they have overcome obstacles to their ministries and have transformed cultural constraints to spread the gospel and build the church.
Media
Women in the Mission of the Church reviewed in International Bulletin of Mission Research
“Dzubinski and Stasson have made an important contribution to our understanding of church history by highlighting the contributions of women in every major historical period.”
Women in the Mission of the Church reviewed in Christian Scholar's Review
“A concise, accessible, and well-researched volume suitable for a spectrum of audiences.”
Women in the Mission of the Church reviewed in International Review of Mission
“[This book] is for professors, pastors, and anyone who cares about the whole of the church being equipped to carry on God’s mission in diverse ways.”
Leanne M. Dzubinski and Anneke H. Stasson interviewed by Lynn Cohick on The Alabaster Jar
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Leanne M. Dzubinski and Anneke H. Stasson interviewed by Michael Chan on The Gospel Beautiful
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Leanne M. Dzubinski and Anneke H. Stasson interviewed by Currey Blandford on A Theology of Hustle
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Leanne M. Dzubinski and Anneke H. Stasson interviewed by Jennifer Grisham on YouTube (Logos Live)
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Leanne H. Dzubinski and Anneke H. Stasson on Missio Nexus
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Women in the Mission of the Church reviewed in Interpretation
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Women in the Mission of the Church reviewed in JETS
“[The authors] succeed by ensuring we no longer overlook the contributions of women in the church’s mission.”
Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction: Women in Ministry Is Not a Twentieth-Century Phenomenon
Part 1: Women's Leadership in the Early Church
1. Patrons, Missionaries, Apostles, Widows, and Martyrs
2. Virgins, Scholars, Desert Mothers, and Deacons
Part 2: Women's Leadership in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages
3. Mothers, Sisters, Empresses, and Queens
4. Medieval Nuns
5. Beguines and Mystics
Part 3: Women's Leadership Since the Reformation
6. Women Preachers in America
7. Social Justice Activists
8. Denominational Missionaries and Bible Women
9. Faith Missionaries, Evangelists, and Church Founders
Conclusion: Women's Leadership in the Church
Index
Introduction: Women in Ministry Is Not a Twentieth-Century Phenomenon
Part 1: Women's Leadership in the Early Church
1. Patrons, Missionaries, Apostles, Widows, and Martyrs
2. Virgins, Scholars, Desert Mothers, and Deacons
Part 2: Women's Leadership in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages
3. Mothers, Sisters, Empresses, and Queens
4. Medieval Nuns
5. Beguines and Mystics
Part 3: Women's Leadership Since the Reformation
6. Women Preachers in America
7. Social Justice Activists
8. Denominational Missionaries and Bible Women
9. Faith Missionaries, Evangelists, and Church Founders
Conclusion: Women's Leadership in the Church
Index
Endorsements
"For two millennia the stories Christians have told about God's work through humankind have been remarkably truncated--focusing almost exclusively on men to the detriment of the entire story of God's redemptive work. Women, too, have played--and continue to play--just as important a role as men in the overarching story line, and it is long past time that we correct our perspective. Women in the Mission of the Church is one of the more significant works over the past few decades that begins to address this gap. My hope and prayer is that this book will continue the process of igniting the correction of our story line so that it appropriately reflects the fact that women have been just as remarkably engaged in all facets of God's mission as men have. As a man, I deeply appreciate how Women in the Mission of the Church has enriched my understanding of and appreciation for women's active and engaging participation in God's mission over the two millennia since Christ died for all humankind."
Scott Moreau, academic dean, Wheaton College Graduate School
"Professors Dzubinski and Stasson provide the church and the academy with a wonderfully engaging, accessible, and inspiring collection of stories of women's leadership in mission that highlights how women have lived out their abilities, gifts, and callings in the church through the ages. Even when constrained by male-dominated church authorities throughout history, women have consistently challenged not only those who would restrain them but the reigning gender-based ideologies that governed them, and they have done so through their persistent and fruitful ministries and their faithfulness to God and God's calling. This is a book that should be on every Christian's bookshelf!"
Bonnie Sue Lewis, professor emerita, University of Dubuque Theological Seminary
"A wide-angle portrait of a beautiful history of women in the Christian church through the ages! This is a story praising the accomplishments of Christian women as mystics and mothers, monastics and missionaries, and so much more. Some of these women were famous, while others lived lives of quiet faithfulness. This book is also a clear-eyed examination of the obstacles women have faced in the church that will give readers today--both women and men--encouragement to face contemporary obstacles in ministry with tenacity and grace."
Benjamin L. Hartley, adjunct instructor, Seattle Pacific University; chairperson of the American Society of Missiology Board of Publications
Authors
Leanne M. Dzubinski
Leanne M. Dzubinski (PhD, University of Georgia) is professor of leadership and director of the Beeson International Center at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. She previously taught at Biola University and served for more than twenty-five years in cross-cultural ministry.
Anneke H. Stasson
Anneke H. Stasson (PhD, Boston University) is associate professor of humanities and history at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana. Her current research addresses the relationship between Christianity and cultural conceptions of gender, marriage, and family life.