20 Quotes About New Testament Women in Ministry

MsDora, former teacher and Christian counselor is also an avid Bible student and loves to share Bible facts for learning and fun activities.

“The Greek word for woman is used 214 times in the New Testament, 104 of these times in the Acts and the Epistles.” This, according to Leroy Birney, Doctor of Theology (International University, 1987) is a clue to the importance of their role in the New Testament Church.

The Apostle Paul counseled in Ephesians 4:12, that every Christian believer (male and female) is a minister of the gospel. In addition to those who have accepted church leadership as a vocation, all have been given gifts (spiritual abilities), the use of which helps individuals to become mature Christians while they intentionally serve in their areas of giftedness.

The following quotes provide a sampling of New Testament women who participated in ministry, according to the abilities they were given. It is easy to gain attention in the ministry of teaching, evangelism and in other speaking roles, but the church also needs the quiet practitioners of faith and compassion to model Christianity. Givers and helpers often render tremendous service without ever being heard. Everyone is needed for the church to function effectively.

Be encouraged by the mention of these New Testament women in ministry, to discover and use your God-given ability for your personal development, and for the joy and satisfaction of fulfilling your Kingdom assignment.

Compassion

1. "There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James . . . who also followed [Jesus] and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee." —Mark 15:40 NKJV

2. "In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor." —Acts 9:36 NIV

3. "Rufus . . . his mother has been a mother to me [Paul] too." —Romans 16:13 ERV

Evangelism

4. "Then the woman left her water jar and went back to town. She told the people there . . . “Come see him. Maybe he is the Messiah.” So the people left the town and went to see Jesus." —John 4:28-30 ERV

5. "Euodia and Syntyche . . . worked hard with me [Paul] in telling people the Good News . . . Their names are written in the book of life." —Philippians 4:2,3 ERV

Faith

6. [Elizabeth to Mary]: "Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!" —Luke 1:45 NIV

7. "I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you [Timothy], which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also." —2 Timothy 1:5 NKJV

Giving

8. "[Jesus] called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” —Mark 12:42-44 NKJV

9. "There were also some women with [Jesus] . . . One of them was Mary, who was called Magdalene . . . Also with these women were Joanna, the wife of Chuza (the manager of Herod’s property), Susanna, and many other women. These women used their own money to help Jesus and his apostles." — Luke 8:2,3 ERV

Helping

10. "Phoebe . . . She has helped me [Paul] very much, and she has helped many others too . . . Priscilla and Aquila, who have worked together with me for Christ Jesus . . . Mary. She worked very hard for you . . . Tryphaena and Tryphosa, women who work very hard for the Lord . . . My dear friend Persis. She has also worked very hard for the Lord." —Romans 16:1-3, 6, 12 ERV

Hospitality

11. "Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them." —Matthew 8: 14, 15 NKJV

12. "Now it happened as they went that [Jesus] entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house." ­—Luke 10:38 NKJV

13. "There was a woman there named Lydia from the city of Thyatira…She was a worshiper of the true God…She invited us into her home. She said, 'If you think I am a true believer in the Lord Jesus, come stay in my house.' She persuaded us to stay with her." —Acts 16:14 ERV

Intercession

14. "A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” . . . The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said . . . Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." —Matthew 15:22, 25, 28 NIV

15. "[Peter] came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many [men and women] were gathered together praying. And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. —Acts 12:12,13 NKJV

Mentoring

16. "The older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things—that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed." —Titus 2:3-5 NKJV

Teaching

17. "Anna, a prophetess, was there at the Temple . . . She was now 84 years old . . . She worshiped God by fasting and praying day and night. . . . She praised God and talked about Jesus to all those who were waiting for God to free Jerusalem." —Luke 2:36-38 ERV

18. "When Aquila and Priscilla heard [Apollos] him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately." —(Acts 18:26) NKJV

Testifying

19. "And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” —John 4:39 NKJV

20. "So Mary Magdalene went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and related to them what he had told her." —John 20:18 GNT

© 2022 Dora Weithers