A Statement on Women in Youth Ministry
Some of the godliest and most influential people in my life have been women. Two of my favorite professors were women who taught in the Bible/Theology department. The campus minister who mentored me for two years was a woman. I’m thankful for women in ministry.
My prayer for Youth Pastor Theologian when I launched it in May 2021 was for it to become a place where youth workers would come for encouragement and training. It’s isolating enough to pursue theologically-deep youth ministry, I don’t think it’s necessary to draw hard lines in the sand over complementarianism and egalitarianism.
There are a few reasons for this post. I want this to be a space where women know they are welcomed and valued. I want women to write and contribute to this ministry to fellow youth workers, and addressing this question straight-on will help set the tone for whose voice is welcome at the table. To this end, I want to be forthcoming with my personal view on women in ministry, explain YPT’s posture, and clarify what our boundaries are (and why).
My Personal View
I believe it’s significant that 1 Timothy 2:11-14 is anchored in the context of creation, not Roman or Jewish culture. Similarly, Ephesians 5:22-28 emphasizes the theological relationship between marriage and the church, and there is symmetry between Christ and the church and a husband with his wife. These do not seem to be cultural expressions but theological truths that are represented through our gender and sexuality.
I believe elders are to be godly men (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). The qualifications for the office of pastor/elder explicitly refer to men. This also corresponds with Adam’s headship in creation and the husband’s headship at home. The strictest reading of these texts (combined with 1 Timothy 2:12) means we should be consistent about women never teaching or having authority (including in schools, at work, and in other areas of life). However, I see a certain measure of distance between 1 Timothy 2:12 and 3:1-7. For example, the qualifications for church office are preceded by “This is a trustworthy saying,” and that’s after the statements about women being silent in church and being saved by childbearing. This tells me there’s a transition in emphasis about what Paul is saying. This doesn’t mean there’s zero connection between 2:12 and what follows, but there is a shift in the emphasis that removes a strict reading. Headship does not mean men should always get what they want and women are to obey them without question, it is a matter of accountability before the Lord.
I believe 1 Timothy 2:12 points back to the curse in Genesis 3:16, which states to the woman, "your desire will be for your husband but he will rule over you." Paul isn’t asserting male dominance in the church but restoring the created order of man and woman as partners in creation. Eve was created as Adam's "helper," but that Hebrew word (“ezer”) s used throughout the OT of a reinforcing army who comes alongside to do battle together (Ex. 18:4; Dt. 33:7). Elsewhere, God is called our “ezer” (Ps. 33:20, 70:5). Biblically speaking, this “helper” does not merely "come alongside and passively help here-and-there." Without the "ezer," there is no victory.
This doesn't eliminate headship but it does mean the woman's role isn't subservient. Sadly, a lot of complementarianism isn't so much "complementary" (equal but different) as it is about "authority and submission," and that makes me very uncomfortable.
Based on this explanation, I believe that elders should be godly men. This means that women are free to lead and serve in the church in every and any capacity that is not restricted to elders only. If your church only allows elders to teach Sunday school or to preach from the pulpit, then submitting to that boundary is a matter of consistently applying the church leadership’s guidelines. At the same time, if women can be deacons in the church then certainly a woman should be allowed to be a Youth Director since that is functionally a deacon-level position.
One major complication is the reality that many churches give the title “Youth Pastor” as a matter of respect, not function or authority. Many have the title “Youth Pastor” but are not an elder, even though their church would agree pastor/elder is the same office. Churches are prone to give the title “Youth Pastor” to someone whom they would not approve to be an elder because the person is fulfilling a pastoral role, not a pastoral office. This muddies the waters in talking about the question “Can women be youth pastors” because we don’t really know what we mean by “pastor.”
YPT’s Posture Towards Women in Ministry
To make a stupidly obvious statement, not everyone agrees regarding the verses above and the question of women in ministry. What do we do about that?
Youth Pastor Theologian is a ministry to youth workers. We are not a denomination, and we are not operated or sponsored by a denomination. We are a ministry to ministers.
Therefore, I do not believe it is essential for YPT to limit the scope of our ministry or contributors to those who are complementarians. My prayer is that YPT could become a place where godly youth workers can come together and learn together as we encourage each other to make lifelong disciples of Christ. We have so much to learn from each other, let’s not divide over important but non-essential matters.
This doesn’t mean we turn a blind eye to our disagreement. If Baptists and Presbyterians can partner in ministry despite their disagreements about something as important as the ordinances, then why can’t we do the same regarding women in ministry? Let’s respect one another in the midst of our disagreement.
YPT’s Boundaries for Partnership
The following boundaries for Youth Pastor Theologian have been determined. If readers have questions or suggestions about how to articulate these better, then please send an email or message; but these boundaries are already settled for YPT. Moving forward, we will ask our writers to agree with each of these statements prior to publishing their articles, and our YPT Facebook Group already has these listed as membership questions in order to ensure the types of counsel and resources we recommend to one another, without the group falling into a debate over these foundational issues.
1. Apostle’s Creed
The Apostle’s Creed has been the clearest standard for what it means to be a Christian since the Early Church. Although it wasn’t written by them, it captures the essence of what the Apostles taught. Throughout church history, to deny anything in the Apostles Creed was to be considered a heretic - someone whose faith is something “other” than Christian. (note: the “he descended into Hell” statement was added to clarify that Jesus actually died and descended into the realm of the dead since gnostics began teaching it merely appeared that Jesus died.)
2. Christian Exclusivism
I am convinced that Christian Universalism is one of the greatest threats facing the Church. There are various forms of Christian Universalism, but they teach that all people will be saved (eventually or unknowingly) by Jesus Christ. YPT is drawing this boundary to affirm that Jesus is the only savior and that faith in him is necessary to receive salvation and adoption as a child of God.
3. Biblical Inerrancy
We are Bible-driven youth workers. We prioritize Bible teaching in our ministries, not as an afterthought or merely as a short devotional add-on after all the games are over. The Bible is the inspired, authoritative, inerrant Word of God and is sufficient for life and ministry. We can reliably cross-reference scribal discrepancies in manuscripts through Textual Criticism to have a reliable Hebrew-Aramaic-Greek text from which our current translations come.
4. Historic Christian Gender & Sexuality
The greatest need of the LGBTQ+ community is Jesus. Refusing to welcome them and listen does not embody the loving-kindness of God. We pray for wisdom to care for our LGBTQ+ friends and family with love as we hold out the beautiful truth of God’s Word. We believe God created people in his image as male or female and is assigned at birth. Sex is a gift to be expressed through the covenant of marriage between one woman and one man. People can suffer from Same Sex Attraction and from Gender Dysphoria as a result of the Fall, which introduces the need for sensitive pastoral care.
If you sincerely and joyfully affirm these statements, regardless of your view on Complementarianism or Egalitarianism, then you are welcome here. And if you do not agree with one or more of the above, then I hope you will continue to benefit from our ministry and content - and perhaps become persuaded. Even though we cannot publish your content or enjoy your fellowship in the Facebook group, I am sincerely glad you’re here and I hope you can still draw some benefit from our ministry.
