Ellen White and the Role of Women in the Church

3. Women in the Gospel Ministry

Ellen White was clear that women can and should “labor in the gospel ministry.” Her statement, as it appears in Evangelism, reads, “There are women who should labor in the gospel ministry. In many respects they would do more good than the ministers who neglect to visit the flock of God.” ⁶ Women who do such labor, especially full-time, were to be paid fairly for their work from the tithe. “The tithe should go to those who labor in word and doctrine, be they men or women.” ⁷ She added, “Seventh-day Adventists are not in any way to belittle woman’s work.” ⁸ EWRWC 4.1

From statements such as these, some have concluded that Mrs. White called for elimination of any role distinction between men and women in the ministry of the Adventist Church. They infer that, since she clearly urged fairness in the treatment of women workers, this should be understood to include ordination to the gospel ministry irrespective of gender. EWRWC 4.2

Did Mrs. White intend that such a use be made of her statements? In the absence of a statement from her addressing the issue directly, absolute proof may be beyond us. But we can gather evidence from her statements that may help us to determine more precisely what she was and was not saying. EWRWC 4.3

Personal Ministry. First, we must let Mrs. White tell us what kind of work she is talking about when she says, “There are women who should labor in the gospel ministry.” ⁹ The statement comes from Manuscript 43a, 1898 (Manuscript Release #330), which opens with this paragraph: EWRWC 4.4

Some matters have been presented to me in regard to the laborers who are seeking to do all in their power to win souls to Jesus Christ. The ministers are paid for their work, and this is well. And if the Lord gives the wife as well as the husband the burden of labor, and if she devotes her time and her strength to visiting from family to family, opening the Scriptures to them, although the hands of ordination have not been laid upon her, she is accomplishing a work that is in the line of ministry. Should her labors be counted as nought, and her husband’s salary be no more than that of the servant of God whose wife does not give herself to the work, but remains at home to care for her family? ¹⁰

The subject under discussion is the pay of ministers’ wives, and the kind of work they are doing is described: visiting homes and opening the Scriptures to the families. Further, Mrs. White dismisses the matter of ordination as irrelevant to the issue, rather than seeing it as a remedy to the injustice regarding pay. Her point is simply that these ministers’ wives, who are functioning as what we would call Bible Instructors, are “accomplishing a work that is in the line of ministry,” and they should be paid for it. EWRWC 4.5

Later in the same document she again refers to this visitation-oriented work these women were doing and includes an implied rebuke to the ministers who were not doing it. EWRWC 5.1

If women do the work that is not the most agreeable to many of those who labor in word and doctrine, and if their works testify that they are accomplishing a work that has been manifestly neglected, should not such labor be looked upon as being as rich in results as the work of the ordained ministers? Should it not command the hire of the laborer? ¹¹ EWRWC 5.2

It is in this setting that Mrs. White’s statement, “There are women who should labor in the gospel ministry,” appears. The sentence that follows it again underscores the nature of the work she envisioned for these women: “In many respects they would do more good than the ministers who neglect to visit the flock of God.” Immediately she adds, “Husband and wife may unite in this work, and when it is possible, they should. The way is open for consecrated women.” ¹² EWRWC 5.3

So it seems that she is not calling for women to have role-interchangeability with men, but rather a complementary ministry that focuses on personal work. Her statements seem primarily to deal with ministers’ wives, encouraging a husband-wife ministry. She noted the lack of ordination for the woman, but gave no indication that she was calling for that status to change. On the other hand, she left no doubt that the status of the pay issue should change: EWRWC 5.4

This question is not for men to settle. The Lord has settled it. You are to do your duty to the women who labor in the gospel, whose work testifies that they are essential to carry the truth into families. Their work is just the work that must be done. In many respects a woman can impart knowledge to her sisters that a man cannot. The cause would suffer great loss without this kind of labor. Again and again the Lord has shown me that women teachers are just as greatly needed to do the work to which He has appointed them as are men. They should not be compelled by the sentiments and rules of others to depend upon donations for their payment, any more than should the ministers. ¹³

In another place Mrs. White talked about the same problem, and named some of the women she was concerned for as well as describing their work: EWRWC 5.5

There are ministers’ wives, Srs. Start, Haskell, Wilson and Robinson, who have been devoted, earnest, whole-souled workers, giving Bible readings and praying with families, helping along by personal efforts just as successfully as their husbands. These women give their whole time, and are told that they receive nothing for their labors because their husbands receive wages...I will feel it my duty to create a fund from my tithe money, to pay these women who are accomplishing just as essential work as the ministers are doing, and this tithe I will reserve for work in the same line as that of ministers, hunting for souls, fishing for souls...These sisters are giving their time to educating those newly come to the faith ...¹⁴

As nearly as I can tell, this is the kind of “gospel ministry” that Ellen White envisioned women doing. In all the places that I have seen where she defines or describes gospel ministry for women, she does so in terms of this personal work, especially directed toward other women and families. She seems to have been thinking especially, though perhaps not exclusively, about the wives of ministers and their opportunities for service. She believes that the ordained ministers should also “visit the flock of God,” but she sees in women a special suitability to this work. EWRWC 6.1