Women In Leadership

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Women In Leadership

The Free Methodist Church in Canada’s position on women in leadership

The FMCIC’s position on women in leadership is a fully egalitarian posture. The Study Commission on Doctrine (SCOD) wholeheartedly affirms the denomination’s position on women in ministry, and further recommends that leaders across the denomination explore the barriers that continue to hinder women, and find ways of removing those barriers to release women for more effective leadership and ministry through the Free Methodist Church.

The Women in Leadership (WIL) Team

In 2019, a team was assembled to study the experiences of women in leadership positions in the FMCIC and make recommendations to national leadership based upon their research. The following principles were established as key to the preservation and full expression of our Free Methodist doctrine:

Proclaiming our Free Methodist ethos as it pertains to Women in Leadership.
Modelling our Free Methodist character and beliefs allowing for better pathways and opportunities for Women in Leadership.
Sustaining our unique Free Methodist culture as it relates to Women in Leadership to truly live out our doctrine.

You can access the WIL full report using the button below.

Position Papers

The following documents have been published by the Study Commission on Doctrine (SCOD) of the Free Methodist Church In Canada, and much of the material found here has been written either by the SCOD or other Free Methodists. You can download a PDF of any of these papers below.

Please note that a reference to a writer’s work in a footnote or bibliography is not a blanket endorsement by the Free Methodist Church of that writer’s perspective.

How I Changed My Mind about Women in Leadership

Book Review by John Vlainic

Jesus Transforms Cultural Norms: Luke 10:38-42

Pastor Hilkka Aavasalmi

Women in Ministry

Various Authors

Wesleyan Perspectives on Women in Ministry

Karen Strand Winslow, Ph.D.

Reading the Bible as a Whole: Coming to Grips with 1 Timothy 2:12

John W. Vlainic

Why the Bible Does Not Prohibit Women Leaders

Bishop Kendall

Resources

Sermons & Series

Explore videos, Bible studies, and practical tools designed to strengthen confidence, deepen theological understanding, and foster meaningful conversations around shared leadership.

PDF and Media Resources

View or download any of the following PDF, video, and web resources.

(PDF) History of Women in Free Methodist Ministry

A brief timeline of the history of women in ministry for our movement - from Methodist, to Free Methodist, to Canadian Free Methodist

(PDF) Les femmes dans le ministère méthodiste libre

Chronologie de l'histoire des femmes dans le ministère au sein de notre mouvement - des méthodistes aux méthodistes libres, puis aux méthodistes libres canadiens

Visual Museum of Women in Christianity

The purpose of this collaborative project is to create a curated, permanent visual exhibit of women in the history, ministry, and piety of early, Byzantine, and medieval Christianity for researchers, educators, and interested laypersons.

(Webpage) Advocates for Women in Leadership

Visit the Advocates for Women in Leadership (AWL) website. AWL is a group of female leaders in the Free Methodist Church USA (FMCUSA) who are passionate about creating a culture of equality, opportunity, and safety for women in FM churches.

(Video) Bible Translations Matter: How the Ways We Read Scripture Shape Our Theology

With Bible scholars Dr. Laura J. Hunt, Dr. Karen Strand Winslow, and Dr. Josef Sykora

(Video) FMCIC Online Forum – March 5, 2025

We talk with Dennis and Wilda Camplin, who spent almost 50 years serving in the FMCIC. Their lives were models of the Free Methodist egalitarian belief and they created pathways and opportunities for many women into Pastoral leadership.

(Video) FMCIC Online Forum – October 3, 2024

In an interview with Keitha Ogbogu and Lincoln Alexander, we get a Gen Z perspective about the challenges and benefits of internships between males and females.

(Video) FMCIC Online Forum – February 15, 2024

We hear from Jay Mowchenko and Ellen Duffield about how men and women can work alongside one another as image bearers instead of yielding to the cautionary practise of pushing one gender to the side, unintentionally communicating inferiority or danger.