Who Was the First Woman Missionary in the Bible?
If you’re wondering who was the first woman missionary in the Bible, you may have heard of Priscilla, Mary Ann Higgs, or Elizabeth Cady Stanton. However, you might not have heard of Charlotte White Rowe, who became famous for her controversial missiology and her critique of the role of money in mission. She ended up working on her own in India for a decade before she returned to London to seek financial assistance. Regardless, she was a neglected figure in early gender studies and history of missions. This reclaimed version corrects many of those inaccuracies and reveals the life of one of history’s first female missionaries.
Priscilla
Priscilla is mentioned in Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians and 2 Timothy. She and her husband Aquila were close friends of Paul and were founding members of the Christian church. Their friendship is recorded in Paul’s letters. Priscilla seems to have been more dominant in their marriage, but she remained loyal to her husband and God. In addition to helping Paul spread the gospel, Priscilla was trusted by Paul to oversee the infant church. She used her business skills to help further the gospel.
Priscilla was the first women missionary in the Bible. She and Aquila met Paul as he travelled to Corinth. The two women had previously worked together in a tent-making and leather-working business, and later joined him in his gospel ministry. While Paul was preaching the gospel in Corinth, Priscilla and Aquila were also working as missionaries.
Priscilla and Aquila were devoted Christians who taught the teachings of Jesus to people around them. They also established their own church in their home and became leaders of the Christian community. Both Priscilla and Aquilla eventually became experts in Jesus’ teachings.
While there are differences between women and men in the New Testament, there are a few commonalities between the men and women. The Lord used many godly women in the early church, and many churches owed them thanks for their sacrifice. Some women even raised their sons to be preachers and others gave their lives for the Gospel.
The New Testament accounts also mention Priscilla and Aquila as two important figures in the early Christian churches. In fact, Paul acknowledges the influence of Priscilla and Aquila, and the women were often credited with instructing Apollos, a famous evangelist of the first century.
Mary Ann Higgs
Mary Ann Higgs was the first woman to be named a missionary in the Bible. She was born in Gloucestershire and was the daughter of William Higgs and Amy Higgs. She died at an early age and is buried in Kingston-on-Thames. Her husband, William Willis Higgs, was a coachbuilder.
Higgs had been living in Berkshire for several years when her husband died there. When he died, his Will was proved and passed to his wife, Mary, and son, Joseph. The will also left all of his property to his children. It was proved in the Lord Bishop of Sarum’s court. Higgs had two acres of land in Cold Ash, in the parish of Thatcham.
Mary Ann Higgs’s family name includes the names of her brothers and sisters. The first recorded name for Mary Ann Higgs was Mary Ann, after she was baptized there. The Higgs family was wealthy and the Higgs family was affluent.
Mary Ann Higgs and her husband were both farmers and affluent family. Her husband died in 1852 and she moved to the country. Her son William Higgs later joined her, and the two had several children. Their sons were also missionaries.
Higgs’ parents were Congregational ministers, and she and her husband wrote letters to prominent Victorian journalist W.T. Stead to ask him to translate the Bible into modern English. A committee of 25 people was appointed to translate it. Half of them were women, and they included a number of men from other professions. Higgs was a member of the committee for the Gospel of Mark.
Higgs became a missionary in the Bible after she received training from the Bible Society. She also became the president of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society. She was an advocate of missions and worked hard to improve the status of women in the world. She also wrote several books about women’s work in foreign countries.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an early reformer, abolitionist, and temperance advocate. She met her husband Henry at her cousin Gerrit Smith’s house. They were married in 1848 and had seven children. During her life, she fought for equal rights for women and was an abolitionist. She also worked to make marriage more equal for women. Her efforts culminated with the formation of the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869. This organization was focused on ensuring equal rights for women, especially through education, legal identity, and greater independence.
Stanton graduated from Johnstown Academy at age 16, and then attended the Troy Female Seminary, a seminary exclusively for women. While there, she experienced a breakdown at the seminary and became disillusioned with organized religion. During this time, she met Henry Brewster Stanton in Peterboro, New York. He was an abolitionist who shared her values and beliefs.
The Woman’s Bible was a controversial book when it first came out. Stanton’s book, a commentary on the Bible by a woman, sought to change the way women were portrayed in the Bible. It was an ambitious, bold, and risky endeavor for a woman of her time. Its impact is still felt, even today. Prior to the publication of her commentary, higher criticism entered the American scene. This paved the way for less literal interpretations of the Bible.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a rebel against the gender norms of her time. The fashionable fashions of the time were ill-suited for her. She refused to wear the pantaloons that were common during that time. She was an outspoken activist for women’s rights, and her writings became widely read.
Priscilla was a leather tent maker
Priscilla and Aquila were Jewish friends of the apostle Paul and were involved in his evangelism work. They met Paul in Corinth, where they were living after fleeing the racist purge under the Roman emperor Claudius. They provided Paul with meaningful employment, which facilitated his missionary activities.
Prisca and Aquila were both tent makers, a lucrative profession in the early church. They were apparently partners in a leather-tent making company and employed other workers. Paul had applied to work as a journeyman tentmaker in a shop in Corinth, and he was led by the women to work for them. During his time in Corinth, he refers to them as fellow workers in Christ Jesus.
Priscilla was a multi-talented woman who was known as a leather tent maker. She was also a Christian evangelist. She even corrected Apollos on the gospel and baptism. In this way, she foreshadowed the equality of women in Christianity. She was equal to Aquila and possessed superior knowledge in hospitality, theology, and tent-making.
When Paul first traveled to the Greek and Jewish cities, he met Aquila and Priscilla. They were tentmakers by trade, and they welcomed Paul and Aquila to their home. The two women were able to help Paul while he was on his missionary journeys. Paul was able to support himself financially by working with them. Later, he was able to move in with them to Jerusalem.
Priscilla and Aquila had been believers long before Paul met them. As a result, they became Paul’s partners in ministry. They had a huge influence on the Ephesus church and assisted him during his stay there. They also taught Apollos, a major evangelist of the first century, on the gospel.
Lydia
Before meeting Jesus, Lydia was a businesswoman, but she soon converted, baptizing her family and establishing the first church in Europe. Her hospitality and generosity inspired other believers and paved the way for the spread of Christianity. She even hosted traveling ministers to her home, giving them a place to worship and share their faith. Her story is inspiring to women today, and it shows that even though we are not as strong as Lydia, we can still live the life Jesus modeled.
Lydia was one of the few women in the Bible who had a great heart for the Lord. She invited Paul and Silas to stay in her home, and didn’t let fear of repercussions stop her from doing so. When they were released from prison, she welcomed them into her home and continued to host the church that had been meeting in her home.
Unlike other missionaries, Lydia was the first woman to be baptized and converted to Christianity. It was a great honor for her to be the first woman to share her faith with others. She exhibited such faith in God that she baptized her entire household and became a missionary herself.
Lydia’s conversion marked a new epoch in the Bible. Until that time, the gospel had not spread much further west than Asia Minor. Paul had originally planned to stay in Asia, but God shifted his plans and called him to Macedonia. Lydia is thus the first woman recorded as a convert in Europe.
Lydia is a small character in the Bible, but her contribution to early Christianity is important. Her story is recorded in the book of Acts. Although her biography is scanty, Bible scholars have concluded that her life and ministry were unique among women of that day. The fact that she was a practicing Jew and converted to Christianity makes her unique in the ancient world.