Men and Women in the Church
Many, if not all of our ministries have men and women serving together to build up the church. What does it look like? Our Children’s Ministry has intentionally designed their ministry to live this out. We interview Pastor Jeremy and various volunteers in the ministry as they share how men and women work together to love and serve the church by teaching and sharing the gospel with our children.
Pastor Jeremy: Men and women work together in Children’s Ministry
God designed children to be raised by both a father and a mother. Together, parents complement one another to provide a safe and nurturing environment for children to grow up in the knowledge and love of our Lord. Similarly, God intends for godly men and women in a church to teach His truths and model His character to the next generation. Therefore, the Sunday School experience is greatly enriched by having both male and female teachers.
Firstly, children receive instruction and care from fatherly and motherly figures, just like in their home.
Secondly, children see the beauty of men and women serving the Lord together. They will learn from a young age that God has called both men and women to serve in church and work together for His glory. Lord willing, our boys and girls will aspire to serve as Sunday School teachers when they are baptised and received into church membership.
Thirdly, our male and female teachers complement one another in the way that they interact with the children. Female teachers are able to connect with girls who are shy or prefer a female teacher to connect with. The ladies are also able to assist little girls who need to use the restroom. The boys tend to respond well to our male teachers, and the men demonstrate care and respect of women as they serve in the team.
We give thanks that we have over 20 men and 40 women serving in our Sunday School. This enables us to have at least one male and one female teacher in each class.
We are always recruiting teachers and helpers for our Nursery and Sunday School, hall monitors and helpers for the check-in and registration table. If you are interested to find out more, contact me (jeremy@gracebaptistchurch.sg), Siew Ting (siewting@gracebaptistchurch.sg) or the team (kidsmin@gracebaptistchurch.sg).
Teachers: United by a common love for the children
Sarah Lim, who teaches the 9-10 year olds
As part of the Children's Ministry, you often see men and women teaching Sunday school together. They work hand-in-hand to build relationships with the children, share the gospel, support them in learning about Jesus, and pray with or for their needs and requests.
Some of the children are of the age where they stick to their gender camps. It is helpful for them to see at a young age what healthy interactions across different genders could look like. Men and women are called to work together for God's glory. You also start to see the kids working together in games and activities, if both the men and women teachers work together and encourage such teamwork.
On a more practical level, the diverse strengths and interests of men and women can also help relate and support a diverse range of kids. For example, my husband Jonny can capture the attention of large groups very well and is able to keep them engaged with dynamic storytelling and drawings. Whereas for myself, I am better able to connect with them on a 1-on-1 or smaller group basis, where I can patiently engage and also pick up emotional cues faster to navigate different situations.
Huang Wei Quan, who teaches the 7-8 year olds
Each week, our teaching teams are made up of both men and women, and I have seen how their different strengths complement one another in the classroom. Male teachers often excel in engaging the children through games and energetic play, and many children respond well to their presence and authority. Female teachers tend to bring strong emotional sensitivity and are often more attuned to the relational dynamics among the children. These diverse strengths enrich our discussions as a team, as we regularly collaborate to better understand and care for our class through both perspectives.
This partnership between men and women has brought a more holistic and balanced approach to our Sunday School ministry. Together, we reflect different facets of God’s love — through play, nurture, discipline, and empathy. Despite our varying viewpoints and emphases, we are united by a common purpose: to teach the Word faithfully and model Christ to the children. It is our shared desire that every child will come to know God and trust in Jesus for salvation. This unity in diversity strengthens the church and ultimately brings glory to God.
Sheryl Tay, who teaches the 9-10 year olds
In the Children’s Ministry, men and women are often partnered to serve on the same Sunday. Beyond practical reasons (such as accompanying children to the toilet), I believe this reflects gospel partnership. When children see men and women serving together with mutual respect and strengths that complement each other (e.g. in some cases, the men are stronger at classroom management while the women may be more sensitive to emotional needs), it shows them what working together for the sake of the gospel may look like.
God is glorified when the body of Christ uses the gifts He has given to build one another up — in this case, to point the children to Jesus.