“I Have Done the Best I Could”: Opportunities and Limitations for Women Ministers in the Church of God—A Pentecostal Denomination

Abstract

When the Pentecostal movement emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century, its emphasis on the restoration of apostolic Christianity, including Spirit-inspired prophecy, provided a rationale for women ministers. Yet this position did not change the common belief that women and men are ontologically different, and thus have different ministerial functions. This article uses the testimony of a female evangelist in the Church of God to explore these positions and the particular ways the Church of God discussed women ministers.