Gender Inclusive

 Churches of Christ

Last update:  01/11/12

The churches listed below have all opened their doors to more inclusive participation by women in the worship, leadership, ministries, and teaching.  Each congregation has decided through much study how inclusive they would like to be.  Some congregations are inclusive only in the worship and teaching ministries while others have removed all barriers to women being able to use the gifts they have received from God. 

The guide lines I developed for listing these churches are as follows:

a) does this church use women in the worship to help lead worship by leading prayer, giving communion talks, leading singing, etc?

b) are women used to their fullest capabilities to teach all age groups regardless of gender in bible classes?

c) do women serve in leadership positions such as pulpit minister, worship leader, deacon, and elder?

d) does the church publish a clear statement of purpose to be an egalitarian church or gender inclusive church on their web site?

e) Is a woman serving only in the position of Children’s Minister or Women's Minister and none of the above apply?

If the answer to one or more questions is YES, then I include the church on my list.  However, if the only YES answer is selection (e), I do not list that congregation.  I have chosen to not list churches where the only position for a female is the children's or women's minister because many churches that presently have these staff positions do not allow women to serve or participate in any other part of worship, teaching, or leadership.

I have tried to accurately describe the gender inclusiveness of each church listed.  The information may or may not be completely accurate and will be updated should better information become available.  If you are a member of any of the listed congregations and feel the description is not accurate, please contact me.  If you are a member of a gender inclusive Church of Christ as described above and wish to have your congregation listed, please contact me so that I may list your congregation.  Be sure to state in the subject line of your email "Gender Inclusive Church of Christ" and include a brief description of the congregation. The goal of this list is to collect as many links to gender inclusive Churches of Christ as possible so that Christians who consider gender equality and inclusion in the church important can find churches where the Galations 3:26-28 approach to worship, work in the church, teaching, and leadership is important. If you know of a gender inclusive Church of Christ that does not have a web site, I will list it on my page once I confirmed the accuracy of the information.

admin@wherethespiritleads.org

italicized sentences with quotations marks are taken directly from the church's website or excerpted from an email

Alabama

 

Cahaba Valley Church Birmingham, AL.  Rev. George Hollis , Pastor and Preaching Minister

"is a simple church, located down a narrow lane. It’s a place where we hope you can feel at home with us as we seek God’s will, and as we love and serve God’s people together."  An early leader in the gender equality and inclusive movement, it is fully inclusive at al levels of ministry, service, and leadership.

 

 

California

 

Culver Palms Church of Christ, Los Angeles, CA.    Mark Manassee, Sr. Minister

       

         Quoted from their web site:  "God calls men and women to use their gifts in all aspects of the church's life."

        Co-Host, with Pepperdine University, of the Women in Ministry Network conference "Equal to the Task: Men & Women in Partnership,"

                Saturday, January 21, 2012 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM at the Culver Palms Church of Christ

 

Pasadena Church of Christ , Pasadena, CA

"We are a more progressive Church of Christ that is gender inclusive. We try to live out our Christian walks without the legalism and fundamentalism that has given so many Churches of Christ a bad name. We want a second chance to live out our calling in a fresh way that is enlivened by God's Holy Spirit...diligently trying to follow Him." The level of gender inclusiveness cannot be determined from their website.

 

 

Connecticut

 

Stamford Church of Christ in Stamford, CT.   Dale Pauls, Senior Pulpit Minister

"is a multi-racial, gender-inclusive Church of Christ. We honor as our spiritual heritage those attempts that began in America early in the 19th century to restore the life and spirit of Christianity as envisioned by Jesus and his apostles."  Another early leader in the full equality and inclusion of women in all areas of church service, ministry, and leadership

 

 

Georgia

 

Northlake Church of Christ, Atlanta, Georgia  Carson Reed, Senior Minister

"Because we believe that every person has gifts to serve the church and the world, we welcome both men and women to participate in all ministries and in our worship assemblies. If you would like to learn more"

 

 

Maryland

 

Church of Christ in Columbia, Maryland  Charlie Robinson, minister

"We are a gender inclusive, a capella fellowship, who welcome all who are searching, heal those who are hurting, support those who are growing, celebrate with those who are changing, and disciple those who are maturing."  At the present time, this congregation does not include women in their leadership but advertises gender inclusion at other levels of church service and involvement.

 

 

Massachusetts

 

Pittsfield Church of Christ, Pittsfield, MA   Russell Moody II and Charles Young, ministers

"Our assemblies are intentionally relaxed. Our leadership seeks to utilize the giftedness of all our members. This means that men, women and children may be participating in our worship under the oversight of our elders. We understand the passages in both I Timothy and I Corinthians (often cited to limit women's participation) to be a corrective of chaotic circumstances. When "decency and order" and "edification" are the norm, everyone is encouraged to participate."

 

 

Michigan

 

Troy Church of Christ, Troy, MI. 

"After many years of studying and prayerfully reflecting on women’s roles in our public gatherings, our church family concluded that part of being true to Scripture was to include women in various capacities while embracing unity and peace. The result is that both men and women share in the responsibilities of serving during our assembly through Communion, Bible Reading, Prayer and Testimony." 

 

Missouri

 

 

East Sunshine Church of Christ, Springfield, MO    Jay Baker - Coordinating Minister

 

"Male and Female Participation— While it is non-traditional in many Churches of Christ for women to participate in public roles in worship, at East Sunshine women participate in a variety of ways that we believe are biblical. We believe that men and women are gifted by the Holy Spirit in a way that builds up the church and brings praise to God. In the New Testament, both men and women used their gifts in the worship assembly for these purposes"

 

Mid-County Church of Christ, Richmond Heights, MO  Jeff Kryder - Senior Minister

"Mid-County Church is a place where people from the Saint Louis area can learn about and experience a life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ."

Mid-County is a congregation where women take part in leading worship and teaching adult bible classes.

 

 

North Carolina

 

Providence Road Church of Christ, Charlotte, NC   Jeff Walling, Senior Minister

Providence Road has two unique services.  The early service is a traditional service.  The late service is a contemporary service which includes female participation in the service as noted by an online video on their web site explaining their services.

 

 

New Jersey

 

NEW: ADDED ON 11/24/11

Monmouth Church of Christ, Tinton Falls, NJ    

Received via email from Ashok Bruno, Elder, Monmouth Church of Christ:   "We allow women  to serve as deacons, welcome the congregation, read scripture, and make announcements."  The following link is to a MS Word 97 document on their web site regarding the role of women at Monmouth  http://www.monmouthchurch.org/Reference/Misc/Role%20of%20Women.doc.  I have converted the document to html for those who do not have access to MS Word 97: Role of Women 

New Mexico

 

Los Alamos Church of Christ, Los Alamos, NM     Tim Stidham  Pulpit Minister
 

"Roles of Service in the Assembly. Service in worship is not limited to those formally recognized as ministers or elders. We believe in the priesthood of all believers. You will see Christian men and women from various walks of life taking active roles such as reading Scripture, preparing us for communion, and participating in prayers. We want to include all members in our worship in ways that are, biblical, orderly and meaningful."

 

New York

 

Manhattan Church of Christ New York, NY    Dr. Thomas Robinson, Senior Minister

"A community of people on a spiritual journey together. We are striving to grow in devotion to God and in service to people."  Not fully gender inclusive at leadership level at this time but was one of the leaders in including females in most areas of church service, ministry, worship, and teaching. They have gender equality and inclusive teaching material on their resources page.

 

West Islip Church of Christ, West Islip, New York   Jesse Pettengill, minister

"is dedicated to serving the community and spreading the ministry of Jesus. We praise God joyfully and reflectively in worship services designed to let everyone participate—men and women, young and old." This congregation is an early leader in the gender equality and gender inclusive movement.  It had the first husband and wife preaching team in the churches of Christ.  West Islip is fully inclusive at all levels of church involvement and leadership.

 

Oregon

 

Agape Church of Christ, Portland, Oregon   Ron Clark, preaching minister.

A fully gender inclusive church that is focused on outreach and empowering people, especially women, to do ministry. 
 

Texas

Bering Drive Church of Christ Houston, Texas. Dr. Jeff Christian, Preaching Minister

A fully gender inclusive church with "a mission to bring people into a relationship with God, in a community of Jesus' disciples, seeking Biblical, nondenominational Christianity, and serving others in the compassion and power of the Holy Spirit."

 

Burke Road Church, Pasedena, TX  Ken Boggs, preaching minister

This church has male and female deacons listed on their website.

 

 

Canyon Creek Church of Christ Temple, Texas  Michael Fortson, Minister.

Excerpted from an email I receive from Michael Fortson: "We have women ministry leaders, women teach mixed adult classes, women have made announcements, women sing solos and sing on our praise team, voice prayers in small groups, lead prayer on Wednesday nights, and make Wednesday night devotional talks.  We sing both accapella and instrumental, but more instrumental.  We have long been considered the more progressive and non-traditional church of Christ in our area."

 

Highland Church of Christ Abilene, Texas    Jonathan Storment, preaching minister

Highland Church of Christ is not totally inclusive at this time but it does have several women ministers on staff and women are utilized in the worship. 
 

Heights Church of Christ  Houston, TX    Dr. Lynn Mitchell, preacher     Ann Bayliss, co-preacher

"We welcome Ann Bayliss, our new co-preacher, to Heights Church of Christ!"  This is a fully egalitarian Church of Christ.

 

Mercy Street Church of Christ Abilene, Texas.   Stan Baldwin, minister

The Mercy Street Church of Christ is a new church planting that is a multi-racial, multi-cultural, gender-inclusive Church of Christ.  Read about this Church of Christ in an article published by the ReporterNews.com, an online news site for Abilene, Texas.

 

Plymouth Park Church of Christ  Irving, Texas   John Ketchersid, minister

An ecumenical, gender-inclusive, kingdom-centered body of Christians serving the city of Irving, TX.  This congregation is fully gender inclusive at all levels of service, ministry, and leadership.

 

Southwest Central Church of Christ, Houston, Texas.  Steve Sandifer - Pastoral Care Minister

A gender inclusive church where women are utilized in both the worship and on ministry teams.  Steve Sandifer, the Pastoral Care Minister, has published a book documenting the development of the deaconate from pre-New Testament times to the present. The book is titled Deacons- Male and Female. 

 

Sunset Ridge Church of Christ, San Antonio, Texas.  John Harp, Senior Minister

 

From their website: "We are a gift-inclusive church, meaning leadership in worship is not limited to men or those formally recognized as ministers or elders. You will see both men and women taking an active role using their gifts such as leading singing, reading Scripture, presiding over and serving communion, and participating in prayers. We strive to include all members in our worship in ways that we believe are biblical, orderly and meaningful." 

 

added on 11/30/11

Tahoka Church of Christ, Tahoka, TX.  Steve Bonner, Minister

Verified through a member of the Tahoka Church of Christ:  Women have been included in the worship by serving communion, making announcements, and reading Scripture.