Womanhood is not a periphery issue for the church. There is no healthy church where women thrive and men do not, or where men thrive and women do not.

Jen Wilkin is a speaker, writer and teacher of women’s Bible studies in Dallas, Texas. She has organized and led studies for women in home, church, and parachurch contexts. Her passion is to see women become articulate and committed followers of Christ, with a clear understanding of why they believe what they believe, grounded in the Word of God. She is the author of Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds.

1. Is women’s ministry necessary? Do you publicly celebrate that ministry?
2. What do women uniquely need from the Church?
3. What do women uniquely contribute to the Church?

Resources prepared by David Clifford and Amy Guibal from Bethlehem College & Seminary.

Additional material and study questions curated by Jennifer Brogdon for The Gospel Coalition.

In this section, Kathleen Nielson and Jen Wilkin address the role of the Word in Women’s Ministry. Nielson explores the importance of stories in the Bible for enabling us to fulfill the calling God has given us to build up the body and mature into the image of Jesus, and Wilkin addresses the Word as a gift and means of grace.

Kathleen Nielson (PhD, Vanderbilt University) loves studying the Bible with women, and presently serves as director of women’s initiatives for The Gospel Coalition. She has taught in the English departments at several collegiate institutions, has directed and taught Bible studies at several churches, and  speaks and writes extensively. She often travels to Indonesia with her husband Niel, who helps oversee a growing network of Christian schools there. They live in Wheaton, IL, and have three sons, two beautiful daughters-in-law, and four amazing granddaughters.

• The story of the Bible gives us meaning through its various genres. How do the Psalms shape us?

In this section Lydia Brownback explores the reality of hatred against Christians, and questions what our response should be in the midst of this reality.

Lydia Brownback is the author of several books and a speaker at women’s conferences internationally. When time allows, Lydia blogs at lydiabrownback.com. She has served as director of editorial for Crossway’s Book Division; writer-in-residence for Reverend Alistair Begg; and broadcast media manager for Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, where she produced The Bible Study Hour radio program with James Montgomery Boice. Lydia holds degrees from Syracuse University and Westminster Theological Seminary.

1. How does Christ give us hope when there is so much to fear?
2. How can our weaknesses serve God’s purposes for the expansion of the Church?

Many people wonder what to say to someone who is grieving. They contemplate what they can do to help. This section walks through 10 things grieving people wish others knew and helps others understand what’s helpful and what’s not.

Nancy Guthrie teaches the Bible at conferences around the country and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Covenant Theological Seminary. She and her husband, David, are the co-hosts of the GriefShare video series used in more than 8,500 churches nationwide and also host Respite Retreats for couples who have experienced the death of a child. Guthrie is the author of numerous books including Holding on to Hope and Hearing Jesus Speak into Your Sorrow, as well as the Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament Bible study series.

1. Who are the members in our church who are presently grieving?
2. What is one thing we can do this week to encourage their soul?

Jesus can heal me, but does Jesus want to heal me?

This section looks at two different areas that lead us to becoming disappointed in God. We must ask what Jesus’s healing ministry truly means so we can minister to women struggling with a disappointment  in God.

1. What is the main reason Jesus came?
2. How does our answer to the question above change how we minister to those who are disappointed in God–to those he doesn’t heal?

God rewards us when we wait. This section discusses what that means in regard to the object of our waiting.

Betsy Childs Howard is an editor for The Gospel Coalition. She and her husband, Bernard, live in Manhattan where they are planting an Anglican church. Betsy previously worked at Beeson Divinity School, where she earned a master’s in theological studies, and Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.  She is the author of Seasons of Waiting: Walking by Faith When Dreams Are Delayed (Crossway 2016).

1. What is the object of our waiting?
2. In what ways can/will God reward us for our waiting? How may it be different from our expectations?

What does is look like to walk together through prayer? This section speaks to two different fruits the Lord gives when we do this and four different ways we can grow in love for one another.

Megan Hill is a pastor’s wife and a pastor’s daughter who has spent her life praying with others. She serves on the editorial board for Christianity Today and is a regular writer for Her.meneutics and The Gospel Coalition. Her new book is Praying Together: The Privilege and Priority of Prayer in Our Homes, Communities, and Churches (Crossway, 2016). She lives in West Springfield, Massachusetts with her husband and three sons.

1. How can we prioritize prayer in our church?
2. How does prayer grow our love for one another?

Why are women weary? This section gives an answer to this question and brings good news to the weary woman.

Elyse M. Fitzpatrick (MA, Trinity Theological Seminary) is a counselor, a retreat and conference speaker, and the head of Counsel from the Cross Ministries. Fitzpatrick has authored over 21 books, including Because He Loves Me, Comforts from the Cross, and Give Them Grace.

This section speaks to suffering in the midst of ministry while also touching on ministering to the suffering Christian in general.

How do we nurture others by God’s grace? This section encourages us and strenghtens our faith in all the ways we nurture as disciples, wives, moms, sisters in Christ, etc.

Gloria Furman serves as a cross-cultural worker and writer. She and her husband Dave have four children. In 2008 they moved to Dubai, United Arab Emirates to help plant churches. Gloria is the author of Glimpses of Grace, Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full, and The Pastor’s Wife.

In this Panel Discussion, Jen Wilkin, Lydia Brownback, and Kathleen Nielson answer important questions such as: How do you start a women’s ministry? What do the practical issues look like?