Even today, some church leaders tell Christian women that God wants them to stay at home. But what does the Bible really say?

In the small town of Berryville, in northwest Arkansas, members of the board at First Baptist Church voted in February 1997 to close their church-run day-care center. They made the abrupt decision not because the facility was too expensive to operate or because they didn’t have enough children enrolled. The official reason, as stated in a letter that was mailed to parents, was that church leaders felt their day-care center was encouraging women to work outside the home.

“God intended for the home to be the center of a mother’s world,” the letter from First Baptist stated, adding that working moms “neglect their children, damage their marriages and set a bad example.” First Baptist’s day-care center board, under the direction of the pastor, also noted in their letter that families should learn to get by on the husband’s single income.”