This Postings is not for women! Well, more accurately, it’s not exclusively for women. As church leaders and agency staff, we all—male and female—need to intentionally engage the female half of the Church in global outreach.

Mobilizing women to impact the world is, in many respects, no different than challenging men to do so. Missions has a long history of opening ministry doors for everyone. However, we want to take advantage of women’s unique opportunities. In this article, three women in mobilization share how they connect women and missions.

Angela Mason is city care pastor and leader of global outreach at C4 Church in Ajax, a suburb of Toronto, Canada.

Lori McDaniel is a global mission catalyst with the International Mission Board, working from her home base in Arkansas.

Kimberly Sowell is director of missions mobilization at Second Baptist Church in Lancaster, South Carolina, as well as a speaker and author.

Postings: What does mobilization of women look like from your perspective? What are the essentials to keep in mind?

Lori: If we are really discipling women in our churches, then those disciples are making disciples, and we can’t stop short of making disciples of all nations. Jesus said, “I called them so that I could be with them, so that I could send them out to preach.” (Mk. 3:14) We get the “calling” and the “with” part. But the gospel is for “all nations.” We have to help our women understand this. Historically, when women have grasped this imperative, they have become powerful leaders behind so much in missions.

Kimberly: One of the reasons why the people in the pew, including women, are not going is because they aren’t being called to go. A lot of women are waiting to be asked. Why do they need a personal invitation? Because it doesn’t occur to them that they could go. They need a one-on-one challenge: “I want you to pray about going.”

Postings: What strengths and unique opportunities do women bring to global missions? Are there openings we just can’t afford to miss?

Angela: Some ministry opportunities are very unique to women. For instance, I took a team to the field that included three talented women. One was a professional therapist and another had a doctorate in psychology. We ministered to women who had been trafficked. Because of the abuse they had suffered, this ministry had to come from women.

In another case, our church did leadership training in Bangladesh. I loved that we could illustrate that Christianity values men and women equally, and that we can serve together. While the men there usually receive most of the training, our team of talented women focused on equipping the women who were hungry to learn.

Kimberly: Good missions practice is relationship oriented, and that tends to be a strong suit in women. In general, men often focus on accomplishing a task or solving a problem whereas women focus on the person. We need both, but women often connect powerfully on that relationship level. They also tend to want to minister to the whole person, which is important.

Lori: We need to help our educated women recognize that their skills are needed. We aren’t just looking for men to be church planters. We need professional women to relocate with their jobs and work in a nation that needs the gospel. The BAM (business as mission) movement has been largely men; we need women stepping up into this conversation. Whatever their profession, there are opportunities for women—the creative possibilities are endless!

Postings: Church missions leaders often say that the hardest group to mobilize is young families. How do you challenge moms of young children to involvement?

Angela: Actually, moms often contact me looking for opportunities because they want to teach their children what serving looks like. So we design family service projects like visiting an immigrant family with children of the same age. Or we host a Christmas dinner where the kids can help serve, or we involve whole families in a community garden project. These are ways to include all generations.

Kimberly: We have to be intentional about providing family missions-trip opportunities because it often doesn’t occur to mothers to take their children, especially to Majority World environments. But I have seen it transform lives. My children have brought people to the Lord on the field. I don’t want kids to see missions as just for specially tapped people but as the normal life of the follower of Christ!

Postings: What about younger women and retirees? Are there unique opportunities for women in these stages?

Lori: Thinking about younger women, if they have a heart for God, I want to feed that. A journey toward participating in God’s mission can be part of their growing process. I encourage them to take the next missional step. Sometimes they are fearful because they think they have to have it all figured out before they can lead a team or help guide their church to be a sending congregation. Encouragement can help build their confidence.

Retired women don’t have a job or kids holding them back. They can go and their age gives them clout! And I tell these women that the mission field is a great place for your grandkids to visit you!

Not all women are to go, but women of all ages need to find their role. If it is giving, we need to challenge them to be generous and sacrificial. If it is praying, they need to be challenged to “join in the struggle by praying” as Paul urged his friends (Rom. 15:30).

Postings: On the flip side, are there hurdles unique to women that hinder their global engagement?

Kimberly: Sometimes a woman feels called to missions and her husband doesn’t. I personally wrestled with this issue and realized that God had another way for me to fulfill that calling. God’s plan for each person is unique.

Lori: Women’s fears can sometimes push them to dismiss themselves from missions. I try to make it uncomplicated. For example, I rarely use the term, “evangelism,” because the average churchgoer thinks, “I don’t do that.” So I remind women that they teach their five-year-old Bible stories, and we need people to go on this missions trip and do the same thing, tell those same stories to the women they will meet. I remind them that they know how to be a listener and a friend, and that’s what we need.

Kimberly: I’m a mom with young children, so I wrestle with the reality that I can only be gone so much. And this is true for all women in this life phase. However, in our culture, we moms are pressured to never inconvenience our children. This is not biblical. We need to have a stronger love for God than a fear of criticism or self-imposed guilt. We have to say, “God, I’m available. You tell me when, how, and where.”

Lori: We teach moms to consider our children as gifts from the Lord. But they are not gifts for keeps. God may want to set them on a pathway that leads to sharing the gospel with the nations as sheep sent out among wolves. That is hard to accept as a mom; none of us wants to send her son or daughter–regardless of their age–to a dangerous place. But we need to challenge women to pray that their children will be used for God’s glory, and that is not all neat and tidy. However, the call to sacrifice always must be based on understanding the “why”—the priority of making God’s glory known to all nations.

Postings: How do we encourage women to step up to leadership in various areas of  missions service, especially the mobilization side of things?

Kimberly: I’ve begun mentoring women in missions leadership. Some of these are women in other churches who want to bring missions passion to their church or sphere of influence. It’s a way I believe that God wants me to maximize my effectiveness.

Angela: Creating opportunities that are flexible is crucial. If we want women to take any kind of leadership roles in missions, we have to hold meetings and schedule events that work for moms and for women who have full-time jobs.

Kimberly: One of the keys is having a church that has a healthy appreciation for women in leadership. Recently our male leaders have been intentionally creating an environment where women can exercise gifts in leadership roles in missions. That’s critical.

Angela: One of the most empowering things for me was when our church leaders took the time to think through and articulate how they would support women in ministry leadership roles. It gave me the freedom to confidently tell women that they have been given gifts of leadership and teaching that they could use in our church and on the mission field. We submit to biblical authority, but the goal of impacting God’s Kingdom requires that everyone use all of their God-given gifts. Each of us, regardless of gender, is accountable to Him to use what He has invested in us.

Women Build International Friendships One at a Time by K

When I first tried to mobilize women to reach out to our Indian community, I did a lot of training in churches. Few attended and they weren’t applying what they learned. Fear and busyness seemed the biggest obstacles.

Addressing fear: I switched my approach and just looked for women willing to go with me to meet an Indian friend. After one or two visits with an Indian woman in her home, the relationship was established. I then could move on and do it again with another woman.

Overcoming busyness: I got permission to reengineer a weekly Bible study program that women were already committed to attend. I asked the members if we could continue our Bible study every other week and then do a short prayer walk or meet with international women on the in-between weeks. There was some initial hesitance, but it’s been highly successful! Relationships have developed; we now have monthly potlucks that involve 20 Americans and 30 of our Indian friends. And two of our original Bible study members are considering long-term missions!

Practical Help: Our women love to be able to provide practical help, and this opens doors. We have taught a number of our international women friends how to drive. Others we have helped to develop a budget or learn how to coupon. We’ve gone into their homes and cut their hair. We’ve held baby showers, art classes, and a cooking club. These services use a wide range of our women’s gifts.

Prayer: Another woman and I started praying together each week for our Indian community. Two more women have now joined us, and each of us is from a different church. We see the results as doors are opening more quickly! I also encourage our women before each visit to email or text five believers to pray for them as they go. This immediately multiples the number of women involved in the ministry.

How can we reproduce this type of outreach? Are there one or two women in every city that God is calling to get this started? I would love to see cross-cultural friendship ministries spread across America. Contact K to pursue this discussion.

Not “Someday When…” by Lori McDaniel

I once found an older woman walking around our missions area where we highlight upcoming teams. I knew her to be an intelligent career woman.

“I always wanted to go on a missions trip, but now I’m too old,” she said wistfully.

What a delight to tell her that she would have greater impact on this team because she had grey hair. I explained that her age would immediately win her a hearing in this culture due to their great respect for elders.

Another time I was sitting with two young moms when one of them said, “I want to be involved in missions but my kids are young. I just have to push ‘pause’ for right now.”

“Are there any Asian children in your daughter’s Kindergarten class,” I asked her.

“Yes,” she replied.

“Then specifically because you have young children, you have an opportunity that I don’t have. You can invite this Asian mother and daughter over to your house for a play date. Who knows what God will do as you reach out!”

So often women are tempted to put missions in the “someday when…” category. We need to break out of this mental box and stop dismissing ourselves from service. Every season is absolutely ripe for God to use us for His global mission.