Galatians 3:28,“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, THERE IS NEITHER MALE NOR FEMALE: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

The words of Paul have been misconstrued and hence, it is the reason for several doctrinal divisions today. Some viewed Paul as a chauvinist that doesn’t want women to have a say but that’s far from the truth. There were words spoken by Paul to solve momentary problems in the early church and as such, he wasn’t making a one-fits-all rule for churches in all ages.

God doesn’t use gender distinctions to determine ministerial roles and assignments because there’s no male nor female in Christ. God sees us essentially as SPIRIT BEINGS and not GENDER BEINGS. If that is accepted, then you should also believe that spiritual assignments like Pastoring and others can also be given to any child of God (regardless of the gender). When God looks at you, he is not seeing a man or woman but rather a spirit being, our gender is only a reflection of certain unique roles God wants us to fulfill especially in the family.

In Joel 2: 28, God promised to pour his spirit upon ALL FLESH (females inclusive) and he said that our sons and daughters shall prophesy (Prophecy isn’t only predictive in nature-inspired preaching is a type of prophecy.)

Let’s look at women that God used from Old Testament into the New Testament, even contemporary examples.

1. Deborah: In Judges 4:4, Deborah was introduced to us as a Prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth and the leader (Pastor) of Israel. She judged Israel as led by God and she did well. Her work over the nation of Israel is akin to the work of a pastor.
2. Prophetess Huldah: 2 Chronicles 34:22, 23-28, she prophesied by the Spirit of God to men and they took her words back to the king.

Some bible scholars agree that Psalms 68:11 meant that when the Lord gave the word, great was the company of ‘women’ that proclaimed it. A.S. Worrel translation puts it that way.

3. Prophetess Anna: Luke 2:36 told us about a Prophetess who never left the temple. She worshipped God day and night, fasting and praying. I am of the opinion that she was into ministry even in that temple even though she wasn’t the synagogue ruler or high priest.
4. Priscilla: In Acts 18:26, Priscilla and her husband Aquilla heard Apollos preaching and they explained the way of God to him more adequately. In Romans 16:3, Paul called Priscilla and Aquilla his fellow workers in Christ Jesus. That means the woman and her husband were actively involved in Paul’s ministry as workers. If Paul hated women, he would have told her not to be involved.
5. Phoebe: In Romans 16:1, Paul greeted a sister by name Pheobe, she was the servant of the church at Cenchrea. The name Cechrea came up twice in the bible and the first time it was mentioned was in Acts 18:18. At that time, we weren’t told that there was a church in that town because Paul was still roving in his Apostolic ministry and when he won a soul to the Lord in that region, as customary of Paul, he would start a church and put someone in charge. In Romans 16:1, it is clear that Sister Pheobe was in-charge of the church at Cenchrea because no other person’s name was mentioned with regard to the church at Cenchrea.

Contemporary examples of women whom God had used to pioneer great works include:

Aimee SempleMcpherson: she founded Foursquare gospel church and till today, the church is still functional. Also, we have Florence Crawford, who founded Apostolic Faith church worldwide. God used Kathryn Khulman as a healing Evangelist, Woodworth Etter was used for a mighty revival in Pennsylvania, Ruth Heflin was a female Apostle that did great works for the Lord. The list is inexhaustive. As a missionary, experience has shown that women can penetrate places where men are not allowed and God has been using that to spread His work. If on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit was given to both men and women, then both(men and women) should be able to do the Spiritual work(teaching, preaching and pastoring) as led by the same Spirit.