Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 35:3 (Summer 2021)
Article: The Single Woman: Vocational (Dis)Advantage In God’s Mission
Author: Lauren England

PP 35:3 (Summer 2021) p. 7

The Single Woman: Vocational (Dis)Advantage In God’s Mission

Lauren England

Lauren England holds a Master of Arts in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. She is trained as a special education teacher and worked as a youth pastor for eight years, advocating for the role of women in church leadership, preaching, discipling and training young people, and working with refugees and migrants in her community. Lauren lives in Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia, where she works to build bridges between the church and local community.

Women have always played an important part in God’s mission in the world. Indeed, unmarried women throughout history have defied cultural norms to be productive and effective in God’s mission in ways other than marriage and biological parenting. Often throughout history, singleness has been seen as a disqualifier to ministry and mission, for the partnership of a spouse meant you were a more valuable contributor.1 In light of these assumptions, it is important to highlight and discuss the necessary roles, challenges, and gifts that single women make in mission and ministry to further equip and support them.

The Only Way

For women called to mission or ministry, singleness may not always be a choice, nor do all women feel comfortable to name it as a calling. Throughout history, and even today, breaking down traditional gender roles in the church and home is difficult, and, for some, singleness feels like the only way to fulfill their God-given calling. Lottie Moon, a prominent single female missionary in China in the 1800s, saw these barriers set up against single women being allowed to go to the mission field, particularly through a colleague of hers, Martha Crawford.2 Despite being called to the mission field individually, Martha was unable to be sent alone and instead became a solution to the problem of a young male missionary’s singleness.3 Her marriage removed agency and, instead of her concern being for the people to whom she was called, she was worried about outshining her husband.4 The gender roles of the time, and the limitations that children put on women, meant that marriage itself became a barrier for doing ministry for Martha, and this was key to Lottie’s decision not to marry.

Into the twentieth century, the barriers marriage created continued to be a major factor in the decision of singleness for women. Anne West, a prominent Bible translator in the 1960s, also felt that if she were to marry, her husband and family would be her priority, leading her to f...