According to Darrin Patrick, what’s missing in mission is men who will church plant. In Melbourne, the call has gone out to men to lead the charge. That’s not to say women are unimportant – Piper acknowledges that women have been faithful in mission all along, even as he argues that changing the world will require a mighty movement of men. But as you look at the history of missions, it’s the stories of Hudson Taylor, William Carey or David Livingstone that feature. It appears that it was men who changed the world; hence if the world is to be changed today, it is again, men, who are needed.
Lausanne has therefore done us a great favor this month with their series of articles on the contribution of women to missions. Leanne Dzubinski shows how two missionary women’s opposition of foot-binding led to unprecedented evangelism in China and changed Chinese social policy in one generation. Loun-Ling Tan highlights the many, varied and entrepreneurial contributions of non-western women. Audra Grace Shelby shares her own experiences among Yemeni women. Rachel Rajagopal helps us to see the significant ministry that happens out of the spotlight. These inspiring stories are well worth reading, digesting and incorporating into our understanding of how God has worked in his world in the past, praying that today he may continue to move in such a transformational way.
Categories: Woman Written by Tamie
Tamie Davis
Tamie Davis is an Aussie living in Tanzania, writing at meetjesusatuni.com.
Meet Jesus at uni 
I’ll have to dig out my old texts but when I studied missions in my undergrad I remember learning that women’s contribution to missions exceeded that of men’s early on for the simple reason that men who went into tribal communities were often killed while women were spared. I even remember one woman who may have nearly taken on a Chinese appearance and culture rendering her indistinguishable from the natives.