Download this free ebook today: Alliance Women of Influence – a sampling

We are so pleased to honour and celebrate some of the Women of Influence in our denomination through this collection of stories. Of course, we have only been able to focus on a few women–there are so many more. But we hope this will encourage you to recognize, thank God for, and in some way celebrate the women who have been influential in your life. Maybe it’s a good time to write a little thank you note to one of them!

Secondly, we hope this will inspire the writing of many other stories like these. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to continually update our catalogue of influential women? Maybe we’ll have a book to bring to the next Assembly. Please feel free to contribute your stories. Send them to [email protected].

Most of the women whose stories are told here are in full-time ministry, but we also want to acknowledge the countless faithful women who have served and still serve without official title or pay: the women who wipe noses, change diapers and cuddle crying little ones in our nurseries. The women who teach our children their first theology lessons, imprinting truth on young lives through teaching and loving example. The women who make endless pots of coffee, cater meals, wash pots and pans and feed the hungry in our church kitchens. Women who pray for IWs, pastors and the church family faithfully and fervently. Women who bring meals to new moms and the sick. Women who work in church offices, keeping everything organized and supporting pastoral staff. Of course there are men who are involved in some of these tasks, but they have all primarily been the domain of women, who have served humbly without fanfare or recognition. So, we honour and celebrate these women, thousands of them! Without their love and service, ‘in the background’, church as we know it could not exist. Thank you for your on-going ministries.

In this little book, you will observe how influence is spread from one generation to the next and from one circle of friendship to another. Women who are given the opportunity to teach, preach or lead are empowered to spread their impact in broader and more public circles. No less important and effective are the innumerable mentoring relationships, whether official or casual, in which women engage with others and “rub off” on another’s life. Both public and one-to-one ministry are essential aspects of the “iron sharpens iron” of Proverbs 27:17 and of making disciples who make disciples.

Together we want to celebrate women who have used their place of influence to impart truth and impact lives. We hope these stories stir up thankfulness and encourage each of us to follow their example by investing our lives in those around us.

The Women in Leadership Collective Communications Team:

Ruth Shareski, Vicki Bowker, Autumn Goertz, Bekah Hagan Ahenda