In Women’s Ministry at Mars Hill, the primary leadership position at the local church is Women’s Ministry Coordinator. How do you identify the right person for this role?

At Mars Hill Church, we’re looking for a few good women. Actually, we’re looking for a lot of good women: women who love Jesus, the church, and other women.

When Jesus said he would build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18), women were included. Women are important to the church because Jesus redeems them and includes them. We’re looking for Jesus-loving women, and some of them will become Women’s Ministry Coordinators.

In Women’s Ministry at Mars Hill, the primary leadership position at the local church is Women’s Ministry Coordinator. The coordinator is part visionary, part administrator, part event planner, part teacher, part counselor, and all servant. She’s not sinless, but she’s pretty special.

When Jesus said he would build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18), women were included.

Character

What kind of woman is God calling to serve the women in your church? Here are some of the character qualifications of a great Women’s Ministry Coordinator. She:

• Has an active and vital relationship with Jesus
• Seeks growth in being a Godly woman
• Shows evidence of ongoing knowledge and confession of sin leading to repentance, forgiveness, and redemption

• Is a Titus 2 woman: humble, self-controlled, pure, kind, a diligent worker, reverent, not given to gossip, able to teach, imitate-able (a good example to others), not enslaved to sin, not given to thoughtless speech, able to lovingly correct other women, and discerning

• Has a servant heart

• Is respectful of and submitted to her husband and her pastors
• Has a healthy marriage and family, if married; pure, accountable, healthy relationships, if not married

• Is flexible—able to respond to leadership directives in a timely manner
• Is a deacon—either approved or in process

Skills

What skills and abilities prepare a woman for the Women’s Ministry Coordinator position? A qualified woman will benefit greatly from the following:

• Ability to articulate the gospel

• Ability to resolve conflict and confront sin with gospel truth

• Ability to organize, discern, and problem-solve creatively
• Ability to speak to a group and communicate clearly

• Ability to support and articulate a complementarian perspective
• Ability, passion, and bandwidth to serve the church with broad availability
• Ability to gather, lead, and delegate to the ground war team
• Ability to articulate her story and the truth of Jesus’ redemptive work in her life (Redemption Group or Counseling in Community training is beneficial)

Responsibilities

At a local Mars Hill Church, the Women’s Ministry Coordinator has specific duties and responsibilities. While she may not exercise every one every day, some of these responsibilities are:

• Serve the pastors at the local church, receive direction, and work to fulfill pastoral directives for womenʼs ministry
• Identify key women to be part of a women’s leadership team, representing various ministry areas within the church and diversity in age and life stage
• Oversee air war: recurring and special events such as retreats and training days, teaching, media, and theological oversight
• Oversee ground war: training, equipping, discipleship of leaders, while ensuring that the Womenʼs Midweek Study, missional activities, and monthly meetings are managed and implemented by other skilled leaders
• Work with pastors to coordinate leadership training and development for womenʼs ministry leads and team members
• Provide theological oversight for womenʼs ministry, resource speakers, and direct teaching
• Provide coaching, assessment, and accountability of women leaders
• Serve as a liaison between Womenʼs Ministry Director and staff to provide communication to the local church

Application process

How do you find a great Women’s Ministry Coordinator? Here’s how we handle the application process for the Coordinator position at Mars Hill Church:

• With the help of the local church pastor, determine the needs of the women’s ministry within the church and the leadership style required
• List major goals and tasks that a Women’s Ministry Coordinator will oversee
• Have the applicant complete the MHC Women’s Ministry Coordinator Application, and use this as a basis for determining qualifications of the applicant.
• Require references from two Mars Hill pastors who know her well, two Mars Hill members who know her well, and, (if married) her husband or (if single) her community group leader.

Interview process

Once the application is complete, an interview process follows.

• Meet with the applicant to discuss the process, roles, and expectations.
• Have a Womenʼs Ministry Coordinator job description available for her review. Assess the applicant based on the character qualifications and needs of the church. Check references and complete a background check.
• The interview should be done in such a way as to gain a broad understanding of her knowledge in terms of theology, doctrine, and ministry philosophy. Additionally, assess the character of applicants, looking at idolatry, confession, and repentance.
• Document answers to questions, noting flags or follow-up items, and compile for communication with the local pastor.
• Make clear that her objective will be to build a team of women leaders who will help build women’s ministry at the church. Reinforce that she should be able to gather and lead a team and oversee teaching and special events while ensuring that the weekly rhythm of Women’s Ministry at the church is managed and implemented by other skilled leaders.

Approval

Once a candidate has been determined to be competent and called for the role of the Women’s Ministry Coordinator by the Women’s Ministry Director, pastoral approval must be gained. The Women’s Ministry Coordinator typically reports to the Executive Pastor but also works closely with the Biblical Living Pastor and the Director of Community Groups. 


Once a candidate has been qualified and approved by the pastoral staff, the Women’s Ministry Director will set up an initial meeting to answer questions and offer resources. Ongoing contact with the Director and other coordinators takes place in an online group and is reinforced with regular contact via phone and email or in person.

A Women’s Ministry Coordinator should be able to gather and lead a team and oversee teaching and special events.

A relational process

Seems like a big process? Yes and not really. Most of this process is highly relational, between brothers and sisters in Christ who likely know each other well because they’ve served the local church together for a while. There should already be mutual respect.

The Coordinator role isn’t a position that is advertised and answered by a stranger. This woman has probably been contributing already and has been noticed by leadership because of her faithful example, capacity to serve, and love for Jesus.

Elisabeth Elliot wrote, “The fact that I am a woman doesn’t make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian does make me a different kind of woman.” This kind of woman isn’t sinless. She isn’t always strong. She makes mistakes, and she knows she needs Jesus every moment of every day.

It’s Jesus who makes her good; he fills her with his Holy Spirit and strengthens her to serve his church. The church is looking for a lot of good women leaders. Are you one of them?

Download a free copy of the MHC Women’s Ministry Coordinator Application