How did I get to YWAM?

I wrote this blog back in early 2021. To tell my lifelong YWAM story. There is no room for all of the stories and places where my life and YWAM have intersected over the past 35 years. But I had the need to share an overview of what happened, why we are here, and how much it means to me. I am posting it over a year from when it was written as it was not the right time then. It was too fresh, too recent, too raw. But today in July of 2022. I think it is okay to share how we got here, at least part of the story. There is so much more we have done, so many more places we have been, and so much has happened in this past year living in over 20 places in 8 countries. But for now, I will just post this unposted blog from 2021 if for anything, to share this fantastic picture Juan took of me in Dallas, Texas, USA when I was 15 years old and we were dating ;) 

Way back in 1988 when I was 15 years old, a good friend gave me a Youth With A Mission "GO Manuel" and said, "You should pray about joining YWAM." This book was basically a "website" for Youth With A Mission before there was the internet. Each page was a promo for a YWAM missions base somewhere in the world. In one black and white page, a missions campus would need to put enough convincing slogans, pictures, and information to inspire a young person like me to hop on an airplane, arrive in their country, to serve in missions with their team. Usually with a skateboarder or surfer having a blast in the picture or some young woman backpacking in Nepal. It was glorious! 

I remember holding an earlier version of this book close to my chest as a very precious source of information. It was my dream to be a missionary in Africa, and I thought this may be my ticket to get there. I poured over the pages of this book over and over again in my bed at night. Many times falling asleep with it open in my hand, multiple pages dog eared. Amsterdam. England. Hawaii. South Africa. Australia. New Zealand. Switzerland. Each page prayed over with little stars or checkmarks in the corner to remember which ones seemed like the right place for me. 

When I presented this dream to my parents they looked at me incredulously. Go to some other country where I know NO ONE to study the bible and missions with an organization they knew nothing about? It was a firm NO. I had to go to college. I sighed a disappointing sigh and picked a Bible College in Santa Cruz, California to attend that was Assemblies of God. It was called Bethany Bible College. I wanted to study Bible and World Missions there.

After visiting I was sure that is where I wanted to go. I loved everything about it. California and these people were "my people" - Alas, my parents were disappointed that it had the words "Bible College" in the title and that would be "limiting the options for my future" so no, I couldn't go there either. My mom thought it would be better for me to go to Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida. It was a Christian School, but an employer couldn't tell by the name. A win-win in my parent's mind. I did not want to go there, but we came to an agreement that I would go if they allowed me to major in Theology and minor in Counseling.

After one year there, actually, after a few weeks... I knew it was not the right place for me. My dorm room in the above picture overlooked the Palm Beach Yacht Club & Intercoastal Waterway... yet the beauty was empty. The Bible classes were so basic that it was not challenging for me intellectually or spiritually. I felt like the Christians at this school were not like me at all, barely Christian if at all for the most part. I had to do extra things on my own time to make being there worth my time. I became the first Resident Assistant RA that was a Freshman in the history of the school. In this job (usually reserved for Juniors and Seniors) I was responsible for ministering to and caring for girls of all ages, many nights praying with them or offering kind correction and kindness in their rooms. I also worked as a youth pastor at a local church which I was later told was intimidating to the other guys who were my fellow Theology majors - hoping to get a youth pastor job like mine after 4 years of education. Ooops. I didn't know I wasn't "supposed" to do this. Too late. In my spare time, I  helped at a church for the homeless on the wrong side of the tracks, volunteered with the Pro-Life Club, and served every week at a home for children born addicted to crack and cocaine. During spring break, while others drank and partied, I took my roommates on a mission trip to the West Indies; did street evangelism in the slums and helped build a community center. Returning to fancy Palm Beach, I would try to reach the rich as well as the poor. I would drive the dark hedge lined streets at1am at night putting bibles and cartoon messages about Jesus in the mailboxes of multi-million-dollar rows of mansions. Voted in as the representative for the freshman class in the Campus Ministries Department, I enjoyed helping to plan outreaches and ministry events for the whole campus. All this is to say, I was not the "normal" female freshman college student.

I couldn't stay and study things I already knew when I wanted to GO & DO the gospel. I believed I could study as I went to serve Jesus, as that is what I had been doing my whole life, reading hundreds of books and taking courses throughout the years that applied specifically to what I needed to know to accomplish God's call on my life. So I left. 

Back to the YWAM GO Manuel. After leaving University at the conclusion of my Freshman year, I joined a ministry to the homeless in NYC, co-youth pastored at a church with my fiancee and married. I still wanted to join Youth With A Mission, but instead, we ended up in California doing youth ministry, missions, evangelism, and having babies. 

We took the teenagers we were pastoring at an Assemblies of God Church in Redwood City, California to YWAM summer camps in Chico, California. Each summer a YWAM mission trip to Mexico, Columbia, Ireland, and England with the students we pastored was on the agenda. We would perform YWAM dramas in San Francisco at all of the tourist stops while doing relationship street evangelism... not just on the West Coast, but all over the world. In my heart, and in ministry, my way of doing everything was always very very very "YWAMISH."

We continued our YWAMy way of doing ministry for many years, youth pastoring outside of NYC and continuing with YWAM missions trips each summer staying at YWAM bases for many years always performing YWAM dramas in the streets & schools of the world sending teens from our maxed out at 300 teenager youth group we led to YWAM worldwide after high school and followed their stories and experiences closely as I followed the growth of YWAM closely from a distance checking their world map and news almost monthly most of my life. 

Before 9-11, we were planning on finally joining YWAM by starting a ministry base in Europe, Ireland to be exact, but my husband's parents asked us to help them with their ministry in NYC once those planes hit the twin towers and NYC Relief needed us. We didn't want to, but God asked us to, so we said yes, of course. We will follow the Lord anywhere He leads, even when it is something that we would not choose for ourselves.  My husband was able to grow the ministry to quadruple the size, budget, and volunteers hosting YWAM teams from around the world at our missions base that was very much like a YWAM base. We were Urban Missionaries leading up to 12 outreaches a week at one time and reaching possibly up to 1000 people a day in the busy season. But alas it was not YWAM, though it operated very much the same.  

My husband became the Chairman of the Board for the NYC Rescue Alliance making sure the big outreaches in the city like The Salvation Army, The oldest Mission in America, and our organization at the time worked together to help move towards ending the homelessness epidemic in NYC. I suggested many times for my husband to donate our missions base to YWAM as if we ran it as a YWAM base we would have no overhead, no salaries, no medical insurance to pay, etc., etc. as all YWAMERS raise their own missionary support. We would be able to help SO MANY more people and have a steady stream of students coming through for 2-3 month cycles to run the outreaches. Alas, it never materialized as we would have to do a DTS to do that and we had 4 small kids and a large ministry to run. Plus we were too old by then in our 30's. 

Two of our 4 kids attended Youth With A Mission Discipleship Training Schools in Orlando and in Paris, France. Another attended Heidi Baker's School of Missions in Mozambique, Africa. We still kept our YWAM ties, sent many people to YWAM schools and hosted teams from around the world on our 8-12 outreaches a week. 

Then Covid Hit NYC - being a mobile outdoor ministry to the homeless, it was one of the few options for the homeless in the whole city as it shut down. Lines were blocks long. It was all hands on deck. Yet not many hands could as our 6 thousand volunteers a year were in quarantine. After a horrific and exhausting year in NYC during Covid with triple the need, and a few heroic volunteers and staff who kept things going we all saw so much death, almost my own even as I had near death experience while having Covid as my husband was on the streets doing ministry that day. As a first responder organization, my husband and I needed a Sabbatical. We had been in full-time ministry for 30 years and we had earned a 3-month break in 2021 even before Covid hit. Our family's Non-Profit was doing better than ever, so it was a good time to take a breather. Our ministry non-profit mission allowed for sabbatical according to the bylaws as we had been faithful at NYC Relief for 18 years, 14 of which we fully funded our own income. After 7 years a sabbatical is awarded to all of our employees, but we had never taken one. It was time. 

My first idea was to call a YWAM base where we could rest and recover. This is when I was encouraged to consider a Crossroads Discipleship Training School. A YWAM school for over 30-year-olds. I knew we only had 3 months for our sabbatical, not the 6 months required to do this, so I did not think it was possible even though it sounded like a dream come true to me. Join YWAM for a season? My 17-year-old self was giddy with the long-awaited dream being presented to me.

 

By December 12, 2020, we found out we would no longer be working with the ministry our parents had started and we had served and grown so faithfully for 18 years of our lives from post 9-11 through Covid. On December 13th we interviewed for YWAM Crossroads. December 14th we were talking with a realtor to put our family's dream home on the market. By December 15th we began to sell almost everything we owned on Facebook Marketplace, up to a hundred items a day to afford our airfare to get on a plane flying out to one of the largest YWAM campuses in the world. On Christmas Day we were taking down the tree and packing up the family heirloom ornaments by lunch. On December 31st at 10:30pm, our plane landed on the most isolated island in the world in the center of the pacific ocean on the side of a volcano. Just before Midnight 2021, we were standing on the balcony of our Airbnb with 3 suitcases containing our entire lives for the coming years, praying in the New Year and giving each other a sweet kiss as we held each other tight leaning into the unknown.

As we walk this new road it feels like a rebuilding of the ancient ruins of all of the things we have done in ministry over the past 30 years coming together in a cumulation of experiences and giftings to finally do what we do best. Our sweet spot, missions, youth, mentoring healthy ministers, creative ministry with acting, music, evangelism, mercy ministry, it's all here. It's YWAM.  

Still, I wonder as I step onto the campus and the life I longed for when I was 15 years old, 16 years old, 17 years old, hugging that old dog eared "Go Manuel" and every year from then until now as a YWAM affiliate 47-year-old... why could I have not been in YWAM all along? Maybe He wanted us to gain wisdom and understanding in different venues, different arenas, different denominations and ministries as I have worked with well over 20 for sure, so we could bring that wisdom back home. Back home to YWAM where my heart has always been. 

They asked us if we wanted to commit to 2 years with YWAM. My first thought was 2 years? How about 20? They had me at hello. 

Formerly Rev. Tracy Galloway

Now Mombo Galloway - University of the Nations, Youth With A Mission

www.gallowaysonmission.com

25 Women Who Ministered to Men in the Bible

25 Women

Who Ministered to Men in the Bible:

By Reverend Mombo Galloway

 

Nowhere in the Bible does it say women are to minister only to other women and children. In fact, the Word of God teaches the opposite. Yet, many Bible-believing churches and denominations have accepted this false cultural bias as a fact. This has become an acceptable way to place over 1/2 of the population in a status of non-influence within the leadership of the church/missions/ministry to the world.  A church with no women in leadership partnering alongside the men is like having a home with a dad but no mother or no mother that partners alongside him in leading the family. Imagine a home with small children at Christmas with a dad and the mother has passed. It would not be the same homey feeling at Christmas. This is the same with our church homes around the world.  It is a home yes, but not ideal, not as special, missing so much love and care. It's ideal to have a mother and a father leading the home and leading within the house of God because a male and a female together reflect the nature of who God is as we are both made in His image. In creation, God said "let them rule" not "let him rule." The fall is a result of turning away from God, and horrific things were a result throughout the ages, slavery, abuse, neglect, and more. But if we have been made right with God in Christ Jesus, and now have received God's intended purposes for all of our lives, male and female, we can do all things through Christ Jesus. 

BELOW IS A LIST OF 25 WOMEN WHO MINISTERED TO MEN IN THE BIBLE to show that yes, women can and should minister to men, just like men that minister to women in churches around the world. Sisters and brothers under Christ, not under each other. It's time for reformation in the church to mirror the truth of scripture. Here's mud in your eye so the blindspots can finally be washed away as we see what the whole of scripture says.  

- Mombo Galloway

University of the Nations - Kona

Youth With A Mission

1. Eve

Genesis 2:18 “Then the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper (In Hebrew also means minister) fit for him.” Therefore, in the beginning, Women were made in creation to minister to men. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Women were created in the image of God. In the image of the Father/Son/Holy Spirit; Not a “less than” image. The same anointing of a God image bearer and a witness is within the woman as it is in the man. In addition, God ministers to women and men. Men minister to women and men. Women minister to women and men. It’s that simple.

 

2. Miriam

Micah 6:4 “I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam.” Miriam was leading the Israelites (men and women) into the purposes of God, just like her brothers. She also led men and women into victory across the red sea and led men and women in worship.

 

3. Deborah

An honored and respected Judge, Deborah excelled in multiple areas. She led as a prophet, judge, military leader, songwriter, and minstrel. Deborah summoned Barak and told him the Lord commands him to position himself at Mount Tabor and bring 10,000 warriors. The Lord spoke through her to Barak to share His strategy and promises of deliverance and victory. Judges 4:5-7 She judged under a palm tree, a setting rabbinic tradition maintains, that validated her openness, fairness, and refusal to show partiality. The Bible records no dissent or rebellion against her. Leadership resides not in gender but in character and gifting. The Israelites recognized her abilities and prospered under her tenure. Deborah calls herself a mother of Israel. (5:7) As we all understand, a mother and a father have authority given by God to lead and train up both males and females. Deborah led Israel for 40 years from 1107 BC until her death in 1067 BC.

 

4. Huldah

Huldah appears in the Hebrew Bible in only nine verses, 2 Kings 22:13-20, 2 Chronicles 34:22–28. This short narrative is sufficient to make clear that Huldah was regarded as a prophet accustomed to speaking the word of God directly to high priests and royal officials, to whom high officials came in supplication. She told kings and nations of their fates, had the authority to determine what was and was not the genuine Law, and spoke in a manner of stern command when acting as a prophet. “Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to speak to the prophet Huldah… She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me…” Again another example of a woman ministering not just to men, but to leaders and priests.

 

5. Judith

To remain ecumenical, for the catholic theologian, I am including Judith from the book of Judith in the catholic old testament bible which is considered Apocrypha literature by the protestants. Judith, instead of going to Bethulia’s leaders, summoned them to her home (Judith 8:10). Chiding them for testing God (Judith 8:11–12), she declared she had a plan to save Bethulia, Jerusalem, the Temple, and the people. Declining to reveal it, she nonetheless proclaimed her deed will “go down through all generations of our descendants” (Judith 8:32). Not only did the leaders listen to Judith without interruption, but they also acclaimed her for her wisdom and—like all men in this tale, do her bidding (Judith 8:28–29).

 

6. Hannah

Hannah was considered to be a prophetess. I want to bring to light a portion of scripture where she decided to do something different than her husband and family, presumably under the unction of the Holy Spirit. In going against his plans and making her own, her husband is actually understanding and supportive of her which is a response not commonly valued in marital authority in a patriarchal society. Samuel 1:21-22 “When Elkanah next took his family on their annual trip to Shiloh to worship God, offering sacrifices and keeping his vow, Hannah didn’t go. She told her husband, “After the child is weaned, I’ll bring him myself and present him before God—and that’s where he’ll stay, for good.” Elkanah said to his wife, “Do what you think is best.” If only we who are married would respond this way to each other more when our spouse differs from us. If we were to put an understanding hand on their shoulder, look them in the eye and smile, and say sincerely “do what you think is best.” This portrays confidence and trust in the others' ideas even if it diverges from the traditional family customs. Though not teaching a man directly here, I felt it was noteworthy in that he submits to his wife which foreshadows the New Testament verse instructing us to "submit to one another."

 

7. Jael

Jael was a woman in the Bible who helped the Israelites subdue Jabin the Canaanite king by single-handedly killing the commander of his army, Sisera. Her story is found in Judges 4:17-24. Killing the commander of an attacking army against Israel was not just a soldier’s act but what victorious military heroes are honored for. Jael took the bull by the horns and took care of business, ugly business, that trumped the meek and mild stereotype of BC women. Jael took a tent peg and hammer in her hand and snuck up going "softly to him" (Judges 4:21). She then “drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died" (Judges 4:21). Thus Deborah's prophecy that "the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman" came true (Judges 4:9). Did she minister to men? Well, maybe not the man she killed, but to the men and women of Israel, yes. She was an example of wit, fortitude, and strength.

 

 

8. Jehosheba

As mentioned in 2 Kings 11:2 and 2 Chronicles 22:11 Jehosheba was the daughter of King Jehoram. She became the wife of the high priest, Jehoiada. This is the only instance of a princess marrying a high priest. She was also the courageous woman who rescued her nephew Joash, to save his life from being murdered. Jehosheba has the credit of preserving “The Seed Royal,” for had Joash also perished the line of Judah would have been made extinct. Her husband the priest then set her nephew Joash as King and was free to make a covenant between the Lord and the new king and the people that they would be the Lord’s people. “All the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols to pieces and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.” This would not have happened without the boldness and risk of Princess Jehosheba saving the future king, the line of Judah, and together with her husband bringing the Israelites back to serving the Lord.

 

9. Esther

This is the one "female story" most Christians know. Therefore I will address that she along with many of these female heroes of the Bible risked her life for the sake of men and women in the name of God. She broke the rules by entering the throne room uninvited and speaking when not being spoken to first by the king. She stood for God’s people and turned the heart of the King through prayer, fasting, and obeying what God told her to do. She ministered to her husband the king as she guided him to make choices that would please the Lord and save the lives of a generation of Jewish families.

 

10. Anna

Luke 2:36-38 “There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to ALL who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” She spoke to all "of the messiah", both men and women. The first female preacher of the New Testament.

 

11. Junia

Once thought to be a man’s name by possibly biased male scribes, it has now been proven from multiple historic sources that Junia has only been used as a female name in her time period. In Romans 16:7 Paul says, “Greet Andronicus and Junia, my compatriots and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to (or prominent among) the apostles, and they were in Christ before me." We usually think of the apostles as the 12 disciples that followed Jesus during his time on earth but we must remember that in The Upper Room and also at the Ascension that there were many followers of Jesus, male and female, that were commissioned to go into the world and preach the gospel. At that moment, all of those who decided to follow these instructions male and female were then considered apostles. This would help us to understand why Paul calls Junia not just an apostle but one of the “well-known” apostles. Strong's biblical concordance says apostle/Apostolos in Greek means: a messenger, one sent on a mission. Surely the men and women in the upper room and the men and women at the ascension were sent by Jesus on a mission to the world to proclaim the gospel. We don’t know if Junia was a follower of Jesus while he was on earth or if she came to the faith after, but we do know that if she had been put in prison for proclaiming the gospel along with Paul and Andronicus then she most likely taught the men and women in the early church just like all of the other followers of The Way who were imprisoned for doing so.

 

12. Phoebe

Since we are already here in Romans 16 regarding Junia, I would be remiss to not tell you that Romans 16 is the "mother-load" of women in ministry in scripture. It is a shame that women are not familiar with Roman’s 16. Not including wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters that are mentioned there, we find up to 9 women who serve in ministry in the churches listed in this one chapter. Phoebe is the first one mentioned. Paul says “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.” I want to point out that he is not saying she is there to help them, though she is, he is instructing the men and women to help her. She is the leader to be offered help. She is the one carrying the gospel letter message to the church in Rome which by anyone’s standard was an intimidating, highly educated, anti-Christian city. As the gospel messenger, it would be her duty to read the letter and explain it to the church in Rome and the other places she was sent to proclaim the gospel mentioned and therefore minister to men and women in the church. The Word also shows Phoebe as a “benefactor”. In Greek, a benefactor is someone who’s a donor yes, but also the word is connected with a presenter. Someone who presents to groups of people, men, and women. She is also wealthy and some theologians concur, possibly a business owner. 

 

13. Priscilla a.k.a. Prisca for short by close friends

Paul lived with Priscilla and her husband Aquila for a year and a half. Priscilla and Aquila were early church pastors that ministered to men and women in their congregation. To the Corinthians, Paul wrote, “Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church in their house.” They are mentioned six times in the New Testament together with her name being ahead of her husband's four times and his being mentioned ahead of his wife two times. Four of six times having the wife’s name ahead of the husband which is different even by today’s standards speaks to her leadership. This seems to imply that she was an equal leader if not a prominent leader of the church with her husband. If in any way, Priscilla outshone Aquila, he appeared to have no problem with his precious gifted wife and appeared to work together harmoniously with her as the two were inseparable in scripture.  When they went on a mission trip with Paul to Syria, Cenchreae, and Ephesus where they relocated their ministry, they listened to Apollos preach boldly in Ephesus. Afterward, they took him aside so Priscilla & her husband taught Apollos, (a man.) “They expounded unto him the way of God more carefully.” What was the result of Apollos being trained not just in John’s baptism but the baptism of the Holy Spirit by Priscilla and Aquila? Apollos was then called an apostle that some Corinthians actually put above Peter and Paul. In addition, in Romans 16:4 Paul said “They (Priscilla and Aquila) risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.” Again, we see this wife and husband team risking their lives for Paul and possibly multiple men and women in multiple churches that are in return “grateful to them.” Eventually having their lives ended like most apostles, July 8th is the day set apart for them in the martyrology of the Roman Church when it is said the faithful couple were led out beyond the walls and beheaded for their faith. Examples of whose name was first in the text: (Acts 18:2: A & P fled Rome, 18: P & A go on a missions trip to Syria with Paul, 26: P & A taught apostle Apollos; Romans 16:3: P & A Church leaders who risked lives for Paul; 1 Corinthians 16:19 A & P greetings; 2 Timothy 4:19: P & A greetings.)

 

14. Mary

Again referring to the female minister, the "mother-load" of “Romans 16” briefly mentions a Mary as a woman in the church who worked very hard for her fellow believers.

 

15. Tryphena and 16. Tryphosa

Sisters, possibly twins, were greeted by Paul in Romans 16:12 “Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord.” These two sisters whose names mean dainty and delicate were not just church attenders, there were many church attenders. Paul is greeting the people “who work hard in the Lord.” They are the heavy lifters of the faith working within the church regardless of their quite delicate names.

 

17. Persis

In Romans 16 it lists “another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.” I want to highlight the words worked, not attended, and not just worked but worked very hard. She was someone honored and respected by Paul. Otherwise, there would be no need to point out her accomplishments. We will end our names of women mentioned by Paul as close personal friends of his in the early church here even though there are more listed in the “mother-load” of Romans the “Sweet 16.”

 

18. Lois and 19. Eunice

It is in Acts 1:6 and 2 Timothy 1:5 that we find records of these women, but what a strong commendation the Apostle Paul gives to them.  In 2 Timothy 1:5, Paul writes: “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” These women were responsible for passing their faith on to the next generation. They were mentors in the faith to Timothy, a trusted companion in the ministry alongside Paul. The compelling feature of the scriptural record of Eunice and Lois is their religious influence on Timothy. 

 

20. Lydia

The purple cloth lady; that’s about all most people know when they hear the name, Lydia. But, Luke, the author of Acts, records that Paul’s first ministry encounter in Philippi was not with a Macedonian man, but with a group of women, a group which included Lydia, a woman originally from Thyatira who was a business owner and a God worshiper. I suggest we are given this information because Luke uses her as an example of a significant woman. Women in the first-century Roman world, like Lydia, were entering the public sphere in business and as patrons, and they impacted the early church in those roles as well. Lydia was a seller of purple, that is, she was a businesswoman who sold luxury textiles dyed purple. It was only the wealthy elite who wore garments dyed purple or trimmed with purple. The expenses involved in her occupation as a merchant of luxury textiles indicate she was a woman of some wealth. Lydia’s wealth is also indicated by the fact that she seems to have been the owner and mistress of her own home. Acts 16:15. which begins with, “When she and her household (ho oikos autēs) were baptized. . .”—makes it clear that it was HER household. Furthermore, Lydia uses her own initiative and doesn’t consult a male relative, when she offers the missionaries hospitality, which they accept. There is no mention of a husband or a father in her story. This is unusual as women in Bible times were often identified by their relationship to a man: a father, a husband, an adult son, or even a brother. It is likely Lydia had no surviving adult male relatives. She was probably widowed or perhaps divorced. Divorce was easy under Roman law and it was common, and in most cases, it did not result in any sense of scandal or stigma. Whatever her marital status, Lydia’s home was relatively spacious. It was large enough to accommodate Paul and his fellow missionaries (who included Silas, Timothy, and possibly Luke and others) as well as her own household. Her home was also large enough to hold church meetings. It was in Lydia’s home that the church at Philippi first gathered, Acts 16:40. Lydia’s hospitality and her benefaction of Paul and his ministry required courage. Having a group of foreign men stay in her house might potentially cause scandal. Hosting meetings where they worshiped a new Jewish messiah, and not an emperor or any of the ancient and respected pagan gods, could have ruined her reputation and her business. Receiving Paul and Silas into her home after they were released from prison and asked to leave town, was brave, Acts 16:40. After Paul and Silas left the town, the church met in her home. As she was personally mentored by Paul and Silas we can assume she was not just a host but a newly appointed leader in this new church over men and women in Philippi. You will find future letters of encouragement to Lydia’s church in the book of Philippians.

 

21. Euodia and 22. Syntyche

In Philippians 4:1-3 Paul said “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.” Both are women who Paul said, “contended at my side” in the cause of the gospel. Here it does not say they followed him, or helped him but fought alongside him in the preaching of the gospel. I am reminded of Eve being taken out of Adam’s rib, his side, not his foot, or his back, but his side. The way he references men and women in this verse portrays an intimate camaraderie with Paul's brothers and sisters together in Christ as friends working alongside him in the ministry; both men and women. Also, I would like to draw attention to the fact that it seems these two ladies may be having a problem with each other and need a little help from a brother. I love this because it shows that the women of the Bible are human, just like the men. That humanness does not disqualify them but endears them even more to each other. Sometimes there are higher standards put on women than on men when it comes to holiness and more. This should not be so. We are all sinners saved by grace and therefore are “in process” and a woman does not need to be “perfect” to be in ministry just like a man does not need to be “perfect.” Jesus is the only perfect one in the equation.  

 

23. Mary Magdalene

There is a lot to say about Mary Magdalene. She was in the upper room on the day of Pentecost and prayed in tongues when she was filled with the Holy Spirit. In so doing she was given power from on high to be a witness to everyone, everywhere along with the other men and women present. But here I want to focus on how she was chosen by God to be the first person to share the resurrection, with men. Mark 16:9-14,“When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it. Afterward, Jesus appeared in a different form to the two of them while they were walking in the country. These returned and reported it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.”

 

24. The unnamed “Woman at the Well”

Again, a familiar story to most about Jesus sitting with a woman at the well, a sinner. It is interesting to point out he chooses to share a special secret with her in John 4:25-28, "The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” Jesus shares with this Samaritan sinner woman that he is the Messiah in a very matter-of-fact direct way. He has not been going around saying I am the Messiah. This is a really big deal that he picks her to tell this. It reminds me of the verse "I choose the foolish things of this world to confound the wise." He finds her worthy of this information not to just hold on to and believe in the quietness of the four walls of her home, but instead, without any training, any more knowledge than just finding salvation in Jesus, literally minutes after her interaction with him, she in verse 28 "Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people…” She then tells the men and women of her town about Jesus, and was transformed from a woman hiding from them out of shame by going to the well in the middle of the day, to going up to men and women face to face and bringing them to Jesus.” She led them as an evangelist.

 

25. Johanna and (a bonus 26. Susanna)

 Luke 8:3 “Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, who ministered unto Jesus and the disciples of their substance.” Even Jesus and the 12 disciples had women who ministered to them.

Let us all reflect on the whole of scripture and not just pick out confusing one-off verses to prove a point. (In my blog www.shepreaches.blogspot.com I address many of these difficult verses about women to bring to light what they mean in the original Greek and how they have been misinterpreted to keep daughters of God from proclaiming the gospel for all time - not a God thing, sounds more like satan concept who would want to silence 1/2 of creation from preaching the gospel. Know the truth, and the truth will set you, and everyone else free, to preach.

Mombo Galloway

University of the Nations - Kona

Youth With A Mission