More Women Serving as SDA Pastors

[Key Guy]

United States: More Women Serving as Pastors ...

The number of women serving as pastors in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America is increasing. Using several sample surveys it was determined that between 2000 and 2005, the number doubled from 1 percent to 2 percent of the local churches in the United States. There are about 3,000 Adventist pastors serving across the U.S., so the total number of women serving as solo or senior pastors increased from about 30 in 2000 to about 60 in 2005. Another way to look at it: there are about 5,000 local churches in the U.S., so the total number with a woman serving as the pastor went from about 50 in 2000 to about 100 in 2005. This is actually a far smaller percentage than the proportion of women serving as Adventist pastors in some other countries such as Finland, Italy and China. [Monte Sahlin/The Visitor, from Adventist News Network]

[Tom Wetmore]

Progress in our time - small though it may be, it's a good thing. And quite interesting that we are behind some other areas of the world Church in this aspect.

But the sad reality is that this is not real progress in comparison to our Adventist history. We are merely on the road to recovery toward where we were in the 19th Century; and staggeringly short of the ideal numbers of women in ministry advocated by none other than EGW herself.

In 1899 there were almost 350 Adventist ministers in the US and Canada. (There were slightly less than 500 total worldwide.) By one count, there were approximately 20 female pastors serving in the years leading up to and just after the turn of the century. While I do not have the precise number for the single year 1899, this would mean that approximately 4% of the total Adventist pastors during that time were women. Compare that with 2% for 2005 in US. Despite the notable exceptions mentioned, on a worldwide basis the percentage of women pastors would be substantially less. We have a ways yet to go to even catch up to the point the Church was in Ellen White's time. (There was a dramatic decline in the number of women in ministry after her death to almost none until the 1970's.)

But EGW stated an ideal that would mean that at least one-third of our pastors would be women. Here is what she said:

Quote:

Women can be the instruments of righteousness, rendering holy service. It was Mary that first preached a risen Jesus. In fulfillment of the divine plan, the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost... Those who engage with the Son of God in his work, be they ever so aspiring, can have no greater, no holier work than this. If there were twenty women where now there is one, who would make this holy mission their cherished work, we should see many more converted to the truth. The refining, softening influence of Christian women is needed in the great work of preaching the truth... Zealous and continued diligence in our sisters toiling for the spread of the truth would be wholly successful, and would astonish us with its results... -- RH, January 2, 1879.

Taken as a benchmark, EGW's statement above advocates that we should have at least 20 times the number of women in pastoral ministry. What do you think would happen if we added 1200 female pastors here in the US!! Quite simply as EGW said it, we would be "astonished" at the results, seeing "many more converted to the truth." That sounds like a real viable solution to stagnant church growth in NAD!

Tom