Teaching Women and Children

"The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children." Titus 2:3-4 (KJV) One of the most overlooked ministries in the Church today is the teaching ministry of older Christian women to younger Christian women. Paul told Titus, a young pastor, that this was to be a standard practice in the church. The older women were to teach the younger women how to love their husbands, how to love their children, how to be sober and discreet and chaste, how to keep their homes, how to be good. This is not optional. It is part of God's design for how the faith is passed from one generation to the next.

Why does God command older women to teach younger women? Because some things are better taught woman to woman. A young wife may not feel comfortable asking her pastor about struggles in her marriage. A new mother may need practical advice from someone who has walked the road before her. A young Christian may need an older woman to pray with her through a hard decision.

These mentoring relationships are precious and powerful.

If you are an older woman reading this — by which I mean any woman who has walked with Christ longer than someone younger — you have something to give. You do not need to be a Bible school graduate. You do not need to be a pastor's wife. You do not need to have all the answers.

You only need to have walked with the Lord, to know your Bible, and to be willing to pour into the next generation.

If you are a younger woman, seek out an older sister in the Lord. Ask her to meet with you, perhaps once a month or once a week. Ask her your questions. Learn from her life. Pray with her. The Bible tells us that in a multitude of counselors there is safety. Do not try to walk the Christian life alone.

The Bible gives us many examples of women teaching women and children. Consider Deborah in the book of Judges. She was a prophetess who judged Israel in a time of great darkness. She sat under a palm tree, and the people came up to her for judgment. She also led the nation into battle with the warrior Barak, because Barak would not go unless she went with him. Deborah was a mother in Israel — that was how she described herself in her song of victory. She taught the people the ways of the Lord, and she showed courage in battle. God uses women as teachers and leaders in His people.

Consider Priscilla again. When she and her husband Aquila heard Apollos teaching in the synagogue — Apollos was an eloquent man who knew the scriptures but had not yet heard the full message of Jesus and the baptism of the Holy Spirit — they took him aside and expounded to him the way of God more perfectly. Priscilla taught Apollos. She did so quietly, alongside her husband, not in a public setting, but her knowledge of the scriptures was deep enough to teach a gifted preacher. Many young men have been helped along their way by a godly woman who took the time to explain something they did not yet understand.

Consider Naomi and Ruth. When Ruth returned with Naomi to Bethlehem, she followed Naomi's instructions carefully. Naomi taught her about the ways of the Israelites. Naomi taught her how to approach Boaz in the matter of kinsman redemption. Ruth obeyed Naomi, and the result was her marriage to Boaz and her place in the genealogy of King David and of Jesus Christ. A young woman who listens to the wise counsel of an older godly woman is set on a path of blessing.

In the history of the East African Revival, women were central to the spread of the gospel. Women like Blasio Kigozi's wife, and many others whose names are not recorded in books but are written in heaven, gathered other women for fellowship, Bible study, and prayer. They went from village to village, house to house, telling other women about Jesus and about the walking in the light.

Their simple, faithful testimony reshaped the Church in East Africa.

Think also of Mary Slessor, who went as a missionary from Scotland to Calabar in present-day Nigeria in the 1800s. She learned the language of the people. She lived among them. She taught the women that twin babies should not be killed as had been the custom. She taught them about Jesus. She raised abandoned children as her own. Her impact on the region was so great that she is still remembered today. One small, determined Scottish woman changed the lives of thousands of African women and children.

Or consider Mama Mary Stuart, who came from Ireland to Uganda in the early 1900s and founded Gayaza High School in 1905. She believed that African girls deserved a Christian education as much as African boys. She built a school where girls could learn the scriptures, develop their minds, and prepare for godly womanhood. A century later, Gayaza is still a leading school, and its alumni are found in every sphere of Ugandan life.

You do not have to cross an ocean to be a teacher of women and children. You can do it in your church, in your neighborhood, in your family. Let me suggest some practical ways.

Start with children. Volunteer in the Sunday School. The stories you tell, the verses you teach, the love you show will shape little ones for a lifetime. Do not think that teaching children is less important than teaching adults. Jesus said that of such is the kingdom of heaven.

Start a small women's fellowship. It does not need to be big. Gather three or four women in your home. Read a chapter of the Bible. Discuss it. Pray together. Share your joys and your burdens.

Over time, invite others to join. Some of the strongest women's ministries in the world began with two or three women meeting in a small room.

Disciple one younger woman. Look around your church. Who is a new believer, or a young wife, or a new mother, who could benefit from a godly older sister? Ask the Lord whom you should invest in. Then invite her for tea. Ask her questions. Share what you have learned. Walk with her for a season.

Teach with your life first. Paul told Titus that the older women must be in behavior as becometh holiness. You cannot teach what you are not. If you are to teach younger women to love their husbands, you must love yours. If you are to teach them to manage their children, you must manage yours. This is not about being perfect. It is about walking the walk, repenting when you fall, and being genuine.

Use what God has put in your hand. Maybe you have a gift for hospitality — teach the young women to welcome others. Maybe you have a gift for prayer — teach them to intercede. Maybe you have a gift for the scriptures — teach them the Word. Maybe you have a gift for encouragement — teach them to build up rather than tear down. God has given each one of us something. Do not bury your talent. Invest it.

A Prayer Father, raise up in our churches women who teach women, and older women who pour into younger women. Help me to receive gladly from those who are further along, and to give willingly to those coming after me. Give me wisdom, humility, and love. Let the faith passed down from Lois to Eunice to Timothy be passed down in our generation as well.

Make me a mother in Israel, whatever my age, for the sake of Your Kingdom. In the name of Jesus, Amen.