A thread on my experience of being a Women in Ministry:

Hi! I am a Senior Pastor, and I lead a church of about 90 people in West Michigan. Prior to this I was a missionary/Associate Pastor on the Pine Ridge Reservation [in SD]. I am ordained and I have my Master of Divinity.

I was called to ministry when I was 15 years old. I came home from a youth convention and told my parents, youth leaders, and church I felt called to be a pastor.

My youth leaders responded by, “saying it’s about time. We’ve known for a while you were called to lead.”

My pastor, who was a man, helped me find opportunities in the church to lead and teach.

My parents told me from a young age I could be whatever I wanted to be and that included being a pastor. They have supported me from the beginning and my dad will be the first person to defend a woman’s biblical right to preach and teach.

My faith tradition is Church of God, Anderson, IN. It is Wesleyan Holiness in roots and since it was started in the late 1800’s, women have held the same leadership roles as men.

One of our theologians named CE Brown wrote, “As a matter of fact, the prevalence of women preachers is a fair measure of the spirituality of a church, country, or age. As the church grows more apostolic and more deeply spiritual, women preachers and workers abound in the church"

My dad recently send my a picture of the marriage certificate of my great-great aunt and uncle from 1926. The pastor who married them was a Mrs. A. S. Pulsipher. Women pastors have been a part of my family and church for generations.

I have never had a woman senior pastor. I don’t remember the first time I heard a woman preach. Every pastor I had until I graduated from high school was a man and they did every thing they could to encourage me as a young woman called to ministry.

My church hired me with a congregational vote of 100%. When they hired me I was a 32 year old, tattooed, single woman who preached her first sermon to the church on Hagar on Palm Sunday. And they saw how God called me to serve them without a doubt.

This is not a thread to convince you why I should be a pastor because I don’t need your approval. My church affirms my position, my faith tradition affirms my place, my family and friends see God’s hand on me in ministry, and most of all God has called me.

I tweet about being a pastor because I want to normalize women in positions of leadership in the church. I want people to see God at work. I want people to see not all pastors are men some of us are shepherdesses leading our flocks.