“… For I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed …” (2 Timothy 1:12).
March 8th was International Women’s Day. I’m using it as an opportunity to think about what it means to be an evangelical woman in today’s world.
An evangelical woman is one who believes in the evangel—the gospel—the Good News that God so loves the world that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross to make atonement for sin. And that anyone and everyone, anywhere and everywhere, who trusts Jesus Christ to be their Savior will not perish in an empty, meaningless existence, then go to hell when they die, but will be forgiven of their sin, be reconciled to God, and have eternal life—which is a personal relationship with God now, and a heavenly home when they die.
The term, “evangelical feminism,” was a new one to me when I was asked to write about it several years ago. I wasn’t sure what it meant. So I have taken the liberty of defining it with more clarity than just an evangelical woman. An evangelical feminist is a woman who is a strong, bold, free-spirited leader inside and outside of her home, unashamed of her faith in God, His Word, His Son, and His gospel. With that definition, I would identify myself as an evangelical feminist.
I was raised in a strong evangelical home where women were respected, honored, and who held significant positions of leadership. My maternal great-great-aunt ran off an invading Yankee soldier, running him through with her hat-pin. While my maternal grandmother bore five children, buried one, and managed a missionary’s home in Tsingkiangpu, China, she was also a nurse and supervised a women’s medical clinic. My paternal grandmother not only raised four children, but taught a weekly Bible class, and helped my grandfather run a large, successful dairy farm. My mother-in-law was not only the official first Lady of several churches as the wife of a pastor, she raised four incredibly successful sons while at the same time keeping a full time job on 5th Avenue in New York City as a dental hygienist.
Evangelical feminists today, if I am defining the term rightly, are rooted in the women of the Bible, beginning with Eve, who was given equal dominion over the earth with Adam; Sarah, whose faith, along with that of her husband, Abraham, was extraordinary, enabling her to bear a son at 90 years of age—a son who became one of the patriarchs of the Jewish people; Hagar, a single mother who had a personal relationship with God, and raised her son, Ishmael, to become the father of many nations; Rahab, whose bold, courageous act of faith saved her entire household from God’s judgment; Ruth, who committed herself to support her mother-in-law, left everything behind to begin a new life and became the great-great grandmother of King David; Deborah, who was so bold in battle, the generals would not face the enemy without her; Jael, who single-handedly defeated an enemy none of the generals had been able to overcome; and on it goes until we come to the Virgin Mary, singled out by God for her purity, integrity, piety, and humility to be the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ … and Mary Magdalene, a woman with a sinful past, who was commissioned by the risen Lord Jesus Christ Himself to be the first evangelist to the world.
So if “evangelical feminism” means women who know what they believe, who are strong in their convictions, who are bold in their actions, who are courageous to stand up and speak out for Jesus Christ while being godly wives and mothers, then I celebrate them today. And I would be honored to be counted in their number.
Anne Graham Lotz, founder of AnGeL ministries, has proclaimed God’s Word worldwide for more than 30 years. Her newest book, Wounded by God’s People, is available at AnneGrahamLotz.com
Janet Perez Eckles 
Shawn Akers 
Abby Trivett 
