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Profile of a Dual-Gender Ministry Team:
Evangel Temple, Springfield, Missouri

By Shirley Shedd

Today, more senior pastors are hiring women to serve in pastoral positions traditionally held by men. While they often find that there are many unique strengths and abilities women bring to these roles, they are also choosing to send a message: Women are also called by God, and church ministry is at its strongest when that call is recognized.

One example of such a church is Evangel Temple Assembly of God in Springfield, Missouri. When senior pastor Charles Arsenault was looking for a new associate pastor, he was looking for qualifications, not gender. And Jennifer Gale, after completing a degree at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, was seeking a place of ministry, not just a “token” position on a church staff.

The two needs intersected when Gale went to her district presbyter, Arsenault, for counsel. “The church as a whole has always placed importance on the place of women in ministry,” he said, “but many qualified, credentialed women are frustrated because very few doors of ministry opportunity open for them. With my district position, I saw this as a way to be a role model for using women on the church staff. In addition, this spoke in a positive way to the student bodies of the Assemblies of God schools and other women in the city that there is a place for them in the church.” The movement settled the issue of women in the church years ago,” Arsenault said. “However, as a movement, we still have a long ways to go in implementing women in the church.”

The key for Arsenault in bringing on a woman as associate pastor was that Gale was the most qualified person for the open position. “This decision was also healthy for the church. She brought unique gifts that strengthened the ministry of Evangel Temple.”

There are several areas where a woman’s strengths are often most helpful in a church’s ministry. According to Arsenault, women have a tendency to give more attention to detail. “This immediately lifted the standard of our expectations, especially in special events. Jennifer has a gift of putting together events with a flair and elegance that most men don’t have.” Vance Free, who has been the children’s pastor at Evangel Temple (ET) for the past 10 years, said, “At our first staff retreat after Jennifer came on, we had a nicer atmosphere. She saw to the little details such as having flowers and candy in the rooms. This is not necessarily a male-female issue, but women tend to make things more attractive.”

Women also tend to have more sensitivity to people, including responding more positively to other women, especially in counseling sessions. Female parishioners may feel reticent to talk about certain topics with male pastors. “Having Jennifer on staff has brought a strength to ministries such as MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), women’s ministries and nurseries,” Arsenault said.

However, the portfolio of the associate pastor did not change when Gale came on staff. For example, men’s ministries came under her area of responsibilities. “I was very happy to shift that to Jason [Bowman] when he came on staff,” Gale said, “but I accepted that as part of my portfolio when I became the associate.” Other areas she is responsible for include visitation, adult Christian education, special events, public relations, and assimilation of newcomers into the church body. In addition, Gale conducts the new member orientation sessions that potential members are required to take. She schedules speakers and programs for the Wednesday evening Bible studies.

Recognizing that Gale is an effective speaker, Arsenault gives her opportunity to preach in the pulpit throughout the year. Her gifting in presenting the Word led to her being chosen as the Spiritual Emphasis speaker at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri, in September 2006.

At this point, five women serve on the pastoral staff of nine at Evangel Temple: Gale, Jerene Kay (Senior Adult Ministries), Amanda Lawton (Associate Youth Pastor), Juli Nelson (Educational Development), and Lori Warning (Associate Children’s Pastor). Gale is the only full-time female staff member.

“Jerene has a passion and love for senior adults. She ministers effectively to that part of our congregation,” Arsenault said. “She is a valuable team member. The congregation is blessed by her thoughtful prayers that focus the audience on worshipping God.”

Nelson’s responsibilities include oversight of the elementary level of Christian education. She supervises a special water baptism class. “Children interested in being baptized in water go through a training program so that they understand the significance and commitment of this ordinance of the church,” Nelson said. She is also developing a similar class to help children understand the meaning of communion.

Recently, six members of the pastoral staff plus Arsenault met to discuss and reflect on how Evangel Temple has implemented and benefited from women on the staff. Those present included Gale, Kay, Nelson, Free, Jason Bowman (College/Young Adults Pastor), and Nick Wright (Youth Pastor).

The staff members were quick to affirm Arsenault’s leadership style. “He is willing to break down stereotypes,” Nelson said. “He recognizes and encourages each of us to use our unique abilities. We are given room to function according to our giftings.”

Arsenault strongly believes in delegating, not micromanaging. “Each staff member does his/her own portfolio best. The result is that the body of Christ is strengthened, both staff and church members are empowered, and the entire church is healthier,” he said.

Bowman, who also teaches a New Testament class at Evangel University, said he was thrilled with the opportunity to work in a church that provided a living, practical example of New Testament theology. “The New Testament writers, especially Luke, support the use of women in the ministry,” he said.

Kay, who is the widow of the first pastor of Evangel Temple, noted that ET has a history of using women in the church. Early in its existence, the church elected women to the Board of Elders. “We also use women to take the offering, serve communion, and serve on the prayer team. This attitude toward women has filtered down to the congregation,” Kay said.

Over and over, the pastoral team reiterated that they see the mixture of male and female members on the staff as a sign of a healthy church. Wright said that having both genders on a staff brings the strength of both perspectives in planning for the total ministry of the church. “This enables us to respond to the needs of both the men and women in the church.” For example, Kay noted that there are times when it is just more appropriate for a woman to visit another woman such as in visiting with a new mother.

Free acknowledged that ability to assign visitation duties to the most appropriate staff member has been a positive aspect of having women on staff. He added, “This also helps us keep ourselves in check so we don’t go too far in either direction.”

Nelson pointed out that when the staff models the concept of equality in the church, this speaks against a hierarchical structure. “The pastor organizes and orchestrates, but there are no dictums. The pastor empowers his staff which enables lay people to also be empowered.”

Arsenault noted that as the pastoral staff has grown in numbers, he sees staff members as associates. “This spreads out the work load. We don’t talk about roles, functions, or titles.”

Bowman appreciates the fact that every opinion is equally valid. “I can’t imagine working on a pastoral staff that does not include women. I appreciate the diversity. As a result, more than one-half of the young adult leadership team is female. This was not intentional, but those were the individuals who rose to the top.”

While the Evangel Temple pastoral staff is enthusiastic about their integrated staff, they acknowledged that some churches might not be ready for this. “At the time I hired Jennifer, I knew the church would accept a woman associate pastor,” Arsenault said. He noted that women had had lay leadership roles at Evangel Temple for a number of years. “I knew the church was ready for this step.”

From her perspective, Gale said that she had received only one negative comment from a parishioner after she took the position. After a year, that person came to her and admitted there had been concern at first, but the individual said, “Now I love you!”

A key part of her acceptance was that the church members had enough respect for the pastor and the board of elders that they did not oppose the hiring a female associate. “Any pressure I felt was not related to gender but to performance. This was a new position for me, and I wanted to fulfill the expectations that the pastor, the board, and the congregation had of me,” Gale said.

Free admitted that the male staff members had to learn as they went along how to interact with a woman staff member. “But that was okay. “

The staff also realizes that there need to be some conscious decisions that recognize the gender mix. “We want to have an ethical and moral presentation as a staff, not only in actual policies, but also in the perception of the church members. We recently changed our office hours so there is no time when just one man and one woman are alone together in the office,” Arsenault said.

Another policy strictly adhered to is that one man and one woman will never ride together in the same vehicle, even if they are going to the same place. “We want to avoid even the slightest perception of impropriety,” Arsenault said.

Gale said at first she felt awkward because she knew that the pastor and the previous associate, a male, often went out for coffee to share about church issues. She was sorry the pastor would lose that relationship with his associate. “However, the positive is that now women in the church feel free to ask me to meet with them. That strengthens the whole ministry of the church.”

Because ministry is really a husband-wife team effort, Arsenault encourages his staff members to talk with their spouses about their interaction with others on the staff. “Working on a mixed-gender staff involves a lot of trust on the part of the spouse. Everyone on staff — and their spouses — needs to realize that this is a working relationship, not a personal one.”

Both Bowman and Wright are relatively newly-marrieds. Both now have female associates, but that was a logical decision. “Our wives understand and support our ministry,” Wright said. “In my case, there were 17 girls and three boys in the middle school group. It would not have made sense to have a male associate.”

Arsenault stressed that having a mixed-gender staff means that associates are conscious of the challenges that such a mixture brings. “But the advantages of having women on staff far outweigh any disadvantages.”

As the staff conference concluded, the associates agreed that having both men and women on a church staff is the sign of a psychologically healthy church. “When we can share the power, we are basically healthy as a church,” Nelson said. “Such a mix fosters positive social interaction among the staff as well as in the church as a whole.”

“The bottom line is that we are here to serve each other and the congregation,” Arsenault said. “At Evangel Temple, that means recognizing the importance of both men and women in the body of Christ — in the congregation and on the church staff. We want to send a clear message that women are called and can do as well as men in ministerial positions.”

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