Women called to pastoral ministry throughout the world deserve to be equipped to fulfill that call. One such woman, Gloria Reyes, faced challenges as a single woman in ministry serving in her local church in Columbia. She wasn’t able to get the guidance she needed to be trained theologically until a local pastor made a space for all leaders to learn.
Because of one pastor’s vision for raising up church leaders, Reyes has been serving as a Wesleyan pastor for over four years. She earned a Master of Divinity degree from Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University in 2017.
“Education opens up doors for us,” said Pastor Reyes. “It opens up new perspectives and opens up spaces.”
Reverends Ankha and Naraa, through a quarterly Bible school in Mongolia, became ordained in The Wesleyan Church (TWC) last September. They are the first women to be ordained by TWC in that country. Equipping women pastors there continues to be a vast need.
Women around the world want and deserve to be ordained. A theological education would give them greater credibility, tools and skills to make a difference in God’s kingdom.
Today, the challenges for theological training include gender barriers, accessibility of training and affordability. Through Amplified Leaders, Global Partners is working to remove these obstacles for female national leaders. Amplified Leaders is gender inclusive, provides opportunities to address the unique theological training needs in each community and focuses on creative and culturally relevant strategies.
“What if every present and future global Wesleyan church was pastored by a trained pastor?” said Bill Peed, global leadership catalyst director.
Access to theological training for women won’t be solved overnight, but through individual’s faithful prayer and partnership, women pastors will continue to be equipped to serve their communities. To multiply leaders like Pastors Reyes, Ankha and Naraa, the 2018 Heart of Missions offering allows Global Partners to serve women who have not yet had access to training.
Pray these challenges of accessibility, affordability and believability for women globally will be removed soon. Learn more about Pastor Reyes’ story and how Amplified Leaders is equipping women pastors at Equip Her.
