Why Are We Still Talking About Women's Equality in the Church (in 2026)?
My Biggest Fear When I Started Researching and Writing About Women's Equality in the Church 10 Years Ago Was . . .
that it would no longer be an issue by the time I finished my book. Sounds silly now, but I honestly had the thought, knowing my doctoral program/thesis would take me 7 to 8 years plus another 2 years to publish in book form, that by the time I was done the message would no longer be that necessary.
At the time I did my research proposal (2014) things were looking up, I thought. I felt progress was being made both in my church tradition (Pentecostal, such as PAOC/AG) and in the wider global Church. I honestly feared my research might be irrelevant by the time I finished! That would have been a great outcome of course (except for my writing career).
But two years ago as I launched my book, and 10 years after beginning the research, I sadly had to write this post:
"Why Are We Still Talking About Women's Equality in the Church?"
That post was just a few everyday examples of how far we still have to go. Unfortunately, it looks like this might have to become a somewhat annual post. And so, here's the 2026 edition of . . .
5 Reasons Why We Must Keep Talking About Women's Equality in the Church and Intentionally Empowering Women
1. For the first time in church history, women are leaving the church more than men (at least in the US)
This is no small development, and it has a lot to do with using the Bible (inaccurately) to support male dominance in leadership. It's particularly younger women leaving the church. You can find many reports on this subject, but here's just one: https://www.americansurveycenter.org/newsletter/young-women-are-leaving-church-in-unprecedented-numbers/
2. People are politicizing the issue instead of caring about what the Bible actually says and teaches
There's other ways to say this, but any pastors who affirm and empower women in leadership in their churches will tell you how exhausting this is.
I'm not a particularly political person and don't engage in political debates from the pulpit. And yet, when we talk about (or more importantly, practice!) women in leadership, these days people interpret it as some sort of political statement or alignment.
Here's an example of what I mean. Here's a message someone wrote our church after one Sunday:
This past Sunday we could not attend and I watched the service online. You astonished me again with your DEI PHILOSOPHY of having women preaching more and more. Women should not have Dominion over men. There is a very rapid breakdown happening in Churches . . . the Billionaires from the left are making huge gifts to the Right Evangelical movement luring them into approving transgenderism, climate control to change election results, etc. Only 2% of the Church's today are true to the word. Pastor John MacArthur would roll over in his grave, men lead. Just as in choosing Elders. We will not be coming back.
In the message this person was referring to (below), a story about the early church in Acts, I never mentioned DEI or anything political. I simply preached what I think the Bible says. And yet it was interpreted entirely through a political lens.
Somehow preaching the biblical message of women in Christian leadership was conflated with transgender issues and climate change? This is the uphill battle we now have to fight when it comes to women's equality in the church.
3. Online violence against women is on the rise and spilling over into everyday life and the church
Here's just one of many reports about the subject.
The treatment of women, including by Christian men, is being formed and shaped online more than from the Bible. And unfortunately, the messaging they're receiving is one of power-over, control, and even the acceptability of violence.
What can be done? The church must teach and help people, especially young boys, on how to navigate this. Here is an EXCELLENT article on how to do so: https://www.faithtoday.ca/Magazines/2026-Mar-Apr/Algorithms-are-discipling-our-kids
4. What's on paper is not translating into practice
What I mean here is that Christian denominations or organizations that proclaim to be egalitarian are often not practicing what they preach.
My own tradition (Pentecostal) I think struggles with this. A glance at just one recent AGM booklet for one of the districts within the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) revealed the following:
- Out of the 9 people nominated for the District Leadership Team, there was one woman and eight men.
- The 3 people nominated for our General Executive were all men.
- And of course all the executive officers (the highest leadership positions in a District) were already men, which is true in pretty much every District across Canada in the PAOC.
From a visual standpoint, it was quite striking to see the pictures and profiles on the few pages of the booklet featuring the nominees and to see eleven men and just one woman from a tradition that frequently teaches God's Spirit being poured out "on all people . . . sons and daughters . . . both men and women" (Acts 2:17-18).
I know and understand that there are complexities involved, and myself and my church also often fall short in what God has called us to when it comes to shared leadership--I'm aware of the plank in my own eye!
I'm also aware that it's often hard to find women who will allow their name to stand for these positions for various reasons, whether the commitments involved or out of fear. But those are just further evidence of the depth behind the problem and how much work and change there is to be done.
It's not that I don't love all the men who are in leadership. They are all wonderful people to my knowledge, and I don't believe they are purposely trying to keep the leadership all male. It's simply that it means I'm only hearing from or being led by "half the church," which is not good for my spiritual formation or leadership development; it's not healthy for me to hear from mostly male voices or have mostly men making decisions that impact our churches.
Of course I can and do find other ways to listen to women's voices (here's some strategies), but I'd love to not have to try so hard!
Speaking of visually striking, here's a promo for the Pentecostal World Conference from last year, which features 18 men and 3 women in its lineup of speakers.
5. Some influential and well-respected churches and Christian organizations DO purposely promote male-only leadership
Whereas I don't think the groups in the previous point are purposely trying to keep women out of leadership, some definitely are.
Recently on vacation I visited a "Community Church" which was the only evangelical church option in the community. This was a progressive area and it was a young church in a beautiful new building with lots of families. The service had a very laid back and contemporary feel: it was warm and friendly, people on the platform wore backwards hats, a woman led the music team.
So it caught my attention when they announced they were looking for a new lead pastor and one of the board members or elders prayed, “Prepare the heart of the man you have chosen for this role."
I decided to dig a little deeper after the service and discovered the denomination this church was a part of does not mandate or have a theological position that says only men can lead churches. They explicitly leave it up to individual churches to decide. What I discovered is that this church had in fact made an official policy decision to only allow male pastors.
And it seemed to be a primary theological issue for them because when I looked up the application for the position, I noticed that one of the featured questions on it was:
"What are your views on the role of women in ministry? How has your understanding evolved over time?"
There are lots of examples like this and we'll see them everywhere if we're paying attention.
A student recently showed me their syllabus for a pastoral ministry course at a school that has both men and women enrolled. The main textbook for the course? Pastoral Theology: Theological Foundations for Who a Pastor Is and What He Does. Not exactly very inviting for women to sign up for that course.
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ABOUT JOSEPH
Pastor, Author, and sometimes pretends to be a Scholar
Joseph (PhD, University of Birmingham) is the author of The Pentecostal Gender Paradox: Eschatology and the Search for Equality.
Since 2015, he and his wife have together pastored Oceanside Community Church on Vancouver Island, where they live with their four children.
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