Women's Leadership Education in KUC

The Women's Ministry Department of the Korean Union Conference is coordinating an active and fruitful work each year. Each church in the union follows the International Women's Day of Prayer in March and Women's Ministry Emphasis Week in June.

Professional Women's Meeting in the KUC

Through these efforts, each church is providing spiritual discipline, leadership education and evangelistic work for women. Especially in the area of preaching in which women have not been allowed to participate, significant change in thinking is happening. Many churches, which previously did not allow women to preach at Sabbath worship, are providing such opportunities. One church which had not had any female preacher for nearly 100 years recently asked a woman to take the pulpit. These changes are reflective of the hard work that many women have done to change the prevailing attitudes in the Korean church.

In addition, a "School for Mother" has been run in churches with the goal of training women to be more effective and caring mothers and to lead their unbelieving husbands to the faith. About 200 women attended this training program and graduated about 150. On April 23, a professional women's meeting was held at KUC auditorium.

Participants of Retreat for Families of Female Pastors in Korea

Professional women such as doctors, college professors, pastors, and counselors discussed how they could contribute to the work of God and what type of structural changes were needed for women to take a more active part in church work. For example, the attendees called for change in attitudes as well as structural improvements that would lead to more female leaders being elected to union and local conference offices and committees.

On June 6-8, KUC hosted a retreat for families of female pastors. It focused on spiritual discipline for female pastors and healthy family life. Also, the retreat reaffirmed the calling of the pastors and discussed the unique ministry opportunities that these pastors face. Participants of the retreat suggested that female pastors receive equal respect and benefits as male pastors. The Korean Union Conference has 828 pastors among whom only 18 are women.

In each local conference of the union there is at least one women's evangelism team. During the first half of this year, these teams held four evangelistic meetings that led to 13 baptisms.

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Young Ja Nam, Director of Family/Women's/Shepherdess Ministries