Women in Leadership

In the Vineyard Movement, we believe that women are equally gifted and called by God,  and that they can hold the same authority as men. 

We hold this conviction with a high view of Scripture. In other words, we believe the entire Bible is inspired by God and carries authority. At the same time, we seek to avoid two common pitfalls: ignoring historical and literary context by reading passages only “on the surface,” or dismissing parts of Scripture simply because we find them difficult or uncomfortable. At times, this means holding seemingly contradictory truths in tension. Often, however, what appear to be contradictions arise from misinterpretation or a lack of nuance.

We also read the Old Testament in light of the New Testament. Jesus is the clearest and fullest revelation of God. The Old Testament points to Him, the Gospels testify about Him, and the Epistles (including Paul’s letters) apply His life and teaching to the church.

From our perspective, even passages that do not seem to apply directly to our present context (such as food sacrificed to idols) still point to eternal principles that remain true. As readers of the Bible and followers of Jesus, we continually seek to understand how these principles move from the “then and there” into our “here and now.” This requires both a thoughtful and robust hermeneutic—a developed approach to interpreting Scripture—and a posture of humility, especially when engaging topics like women and leadership that carry a long history of controversy and pain. 

We believe the biblical vision for men and women is to be a kingdom of prophets, priests, and kings—established in the Garden of Eden, distorted by the Fall, promised throughout the Old Testament, and fulfilled in the New Testament.

The document below comes from a study conducted by a church that previously did not allow women to hold equal authority with men in church leadership. This study ultimately concluded that “the practice of excluding women from ecclesiastical office [church leadership] cannot be conclusively defended on biblical grounds… [and that] the most obvious teaching of Scripture is that both qualified male and female members of the church should serve [as leaders, specifically] in the offices of elder, minister, and evangelist.”

To be clear, the document is not from the Vineyard Movement, and we do not define ourselves by every presupposition or conclusion it contains. We share it because we believe it represents one of the most comprehensive, clear, and concise surveys on this topic that we have encountered, and because it grounds its conclusions in careful engagement with Scripture.

We hope this resource is helpful as you engage in healthy and honest conversation around this subject. We’re also glad to continue the dialogue, so please feel free to reach out.