Your Women Did Prophesy

The book Your Women Did Prophesy documents evidence for biblical and historical precedent for womens participation in preaching and prophesying ministries. It cites specifi c activities of women as recorded in the New Testament, apocryphal writings, and a selection of early church fathers that refer to the fi rst two centuries. The focus of the book is on the activity of women rather than on opinions expressed about the role of women. This book uses the historical critical method of interpretation applied to ancient primary sources. The attempt has been to view these sources in light of their contexts with comment from secondary sources. It refl ects upon preaching issues and practices of today as they grow out of the research. The fi ndings are of a rich heritage of women preachers within the Christian tradition. To date, the church has neglected this aspect of its history. To the extent that the church includes women in the foundation of the teaching and preaching ministries, the stronger and more balanced the structure of the church will be. Clergy and laywomen particularly benefi t from an inclusive church in that their own rootedness in the faith is strengthened by knowledge of these foremothers. The whole church will benefi t from this knowledge as it will begin to see itself as growing in wholeness as refl ected in creation (Gen. 1:27). The information contained in this book is suitable for studies in the local church. It is also useful for preaching, as it enlarges the churchs concept of women in the scripture.