Churches of Christ Lifting Restrictions on Girls & Women: Handouts, Videos, Other Works

Several Churches of Christ published materials associated with lifting prohibitions on girls and women in the church. This article introduces some of them.

Wiley Clarkson’s Directory

Wiley Clarkson wrote and maintains “A Directory of Gender Inclusive and Egalitarian Churches in the Church of Christ Heritage,” Where The Spirit Leads, wherethespiritleads.org/‌gender_inclusive_churches.htm, listing congregations that are more inclusive to participation by women — in areas such as in the assembly, teaching, preaching, and the eldership. His list includes links to the website of many listed churches. Some include statements, videos, study guides, and other material the congregation’s leadership wrote or published during their consideration of lifting all or some restrictions on girls and women.

Unpublished or Disappearing

Over 100 Churches of Christ congregations have made such changes. Many of them published materials but either did not make them available on their website or deleted or unlinked this material at some point. It would be helpful if these congregations maintained such materials on their website, as it is helpful to other congregations.

The List

Below is a table listing the URL(s) for some of such materials published by Churches of Christ.

These are not listed here to advocate that the scriptural analysis offered is correct or incorrect but to point out examples of processes used and materials published by Churches of Christ over the years.

Congregation	Link to Materials Published Online
Sycamore View Church of Christ in Memphis, TN	sycamoreview.org/grs
Glenwood Church of Christ in Tyler, TX	glenwoodchurch.com/resources/women-in-the-church
Manhattan Church of Christ in New York, NY	communitywithoutbarriers.com/
Fourth Avenue Church of Christ in Franklin, TN	s3.amazonaws.com/FACCWeb_Documents/FourthAvenueandWomeninWorshipandMinistry.pdf
Culver Palms Church of Christ	s3.amazonaws.com/media.cloversites.com/ee/eeed267e-ce1b-4ffc-a7b3-13455eba7247/documents/Women_and_the_Ministry_of_Preaching_at_Culver_Palms_Church_of_Christ.pdf   s3.amazonaws.com/media.cloversites.com/ee/eeed267e-ce1b-4ffc-a7b3-13455eba7247/documents/FaithAndGender.pdf
Springfield Church of Christ in Springfield, VA	springfieldchurchofchrist.org/participation.html
North Lake Church of Christ in Atlanta, GA	northlake.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/NLstatementgender.pdf
University Church of Christ in Malibu, CA	digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/leaven/vol20/iss2/5/
Highland Oaks Church of Christ in Dallas, TX	hocc.org/study-on-utilizing-the-giftedness-of-women-at-high   subsplash.com/highlandoakschurchofchri/media/mi/+792h773   subsplash.com/highlandoakschurchofchri/media/mi/+ypq8v2f
North Atlanta Church of Christ	nacofc.org/inclusion-gender   static1.squarespace.com/static/5b876b140dbda3e050a18c98/t/5d9bdcad7107a66f2b9cea71/1570495662046/Elders+Statement+in+Spanish.pdf
North Davis Church of Christ in Arlington, TX	northdavischurch.org/content.cfm?id=3134
Heritage Church of Christ in Fort Worth, TX	heritagechurchofchrist.org/gender-roles
Highland Church of Christ in Abilene, TX	highlandchurch.org/discernment-resources/
Stamford Church of Christ, Stamford, CT	https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/argcbpk1y2vksebet88fd/Sons-and-Daughters-April-2014-Word-document.doc?rlkey=76b3pelsrabq95l2roccji8rq&e=1&dl=0
Bering Drive Church of Christ in Houston, TX	beringfamily.org/egalitarian-story/
Woodmont Hills Church of Christ in Nashville, TN	files.constantcontact.com/ce67987a001/a1c78ab5-4214-476e-a984-b40d16ea9a74.pdf   vimeo.com/showcase/10034982

If you know of other such materials, please add a comment to this article with a link to the materials or send a message via the Contact page. I will add materials when I become aware of them.

**************************************

******************

*************

---

For a discussion regarding scripture relative to female elders, including “husband one wife,” see Steve Gardner, “10 Churches of Christ Where Women Speak in the Assembly: Female Elders (Part 2),”  Authentic Theology (April 3, 2019).

For a discussion regarding scripture on women serving in the assembly, see Steve Gardner, “20 Passages Asking Women to Speak, Teach, Lead, and Have Authority Over Men, In the Assembly  and Elsewhere,” Authentic Theology (September 3, 2018).

For a discussion regarding harm to young girls by congregations prohibiting women from leadership roles in the church, see Steve Gardner, “Church of Christ Practice Harms Girls Long-Term, Suggests 2018 Study,” Authentic Theology (November 28, 2018).

***

Several Churches of Christ who lifted all or some restrictions on girls and women in their congregation published materials regarding their change (handouts, videos, etc.). This article includes a table with links to some such materials. If you know of other materials, please let me know.