Women’s involvement in the mission of the church in Africa

The New Testament provides the background for any discussion on women's involvement in the church. The book of Luke opens with a woman, Anna, worshipping the Lord with prayers and fasting in the temple. She became one of the first two identified witnesses of the dedication of baby Lord Jesus in the temple. After she saw Jesus, she gave thanks to the Lord, and went out to give testimony of him to all who awaited the redemption of Jerusalem (Luke 2:38). God chose to allow Anna to give testimony of the salvation of the Lord. Spence and Excell, commenting on Luke 2:36-38 said, "Woman as well as man was to utter reverent joy on this supreme occasion. Woman, in the person of Anna, might well rejoice; for in the kingdom of God there is "neither male nor female;" all distinction of sex is unknown (Spence and Excell 1988, 55; Odem 2000, and Robert 2004). This paper contends that even into this kind of environment, beyond house church, women have been called to serve in mission.