Women as Prophets, Preachers, and Pastors?

The Greek word for “prophecy” in Acts 2:17 is propheteuo (προφητεύω), which means “to prophesy” or “to speak forth.” More broadly, the noun form propheteia (προφητεία) denotes the gift or act of prophecy itself.

Prophecy in the New Testament operates as a Spirit-empowered capacity to communicate divine messages to the community. The one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. (1 Cor 14:1–5) Unlike speaking in tongues, which addresses God directly, the one who prophesies edifies the church. (1 Cor 14:1–5) Prophets do not seem to have occupied an “office” as such, but were known more informally, through the exercise of their gifts, as persons to whom God had given special revelations and who communicated them to the church.[1]

Women as Prophets, Preachers, and Pastors

The biblical and early church evidence demonstrates that women exercised prophetic ministry alongside men. The evidence of the NT further indicates that this prophetic role was not exclusively reserved for men, but included women as well. References to women prophesying, though not as numerous as references to men, are distributed throughout the NT in a way that suggests a general acceptance of prophetesses in the early church.[1]

Female prophets like Mary the mother of Jesus who proclaimed the Magnificat in Luke 1:46–55, to Anna the prophet who lived in the temple and held the infant Jesus in her arms, to the four daughters of Philip who “prophesied,” to Paul’s assumptions in 1 Corinthians 11 that women are prophesying and praying in church just like men[2] demonstrate women’s active participation in prophetic ministry.

Regarding pastoral authority, in their prophetic ministries women exercised roles of public expression and influence in the early church just as men did. They were viewed by the church as having received inspired messages from God which they proclaimed to the church—at times in the context of Christian worship. Possessing the gift of prophecy, they were undoubtedly persons of influence and would have been instrumental in determining the direction of the church.[1]

While barred from the Levitical priesthood, they were free to engage in a prophetic ministry. Among women prophets were Miriam (Ex 15:20), Deborah (Judg 4:4; 5:7, 12), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14) and Noadiah (Neh 6:14).[3] The distinction between prophecy and formal pastoral office is crucial—women prophesied and exercised spiritual authority through that gift, though institutional pastoral roles developed differently over time.

[1] Gary Selby, “Women and Prophecy in the Corinthian Church,” in Essays on Women in Earliest Christianity, ed. Carroll D. Osburn (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2007), 2:305–306.
[2] Beth Allison Barr, Becoming the Pastor’s Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman's Path to Ministry (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2025), 19.
[3] Donald G. Bloesch, The Church: Sacraments, Worship, Ministry, Mission (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 219.