From One Woman Called by God: The Lived Experience of Women in Ministry
Called to Women’s Ministry
God called me to women’s ministry in January 2002. Honestly, I would not have known God was specifically calling me to women’s ministry apart from several very specific things connected to that calling.
The first thing that clarified my calling happened after a middle-of-the-night experience where I recognized God speaking specifically to me in a way that I understood He was calling me. When I told my pastor that I thought God was calling me into ministry, he said, “Well Pat, I do too.” I was blown away because I had no clue what this meant, but his confident reply assured me that I wasn’t crazy. In the next moment he told me that the church staff had met the day before and decided to ask me to lead the women’s ministry. This was the second reason that I understood my calling was “women’s ministry.”
I said, “Yes”, and one month later I started Seminary. For the next year, I led the women’s ministry at this huge church. One year later, God gave me a dream that clarified His calling and communicated that I was to teach women the Bible. So, for the past twenty-four years, that is what I have done.
I never once thought about becoming the pastor of a church because that was never my desire or calling. I was always sure God had called me to minister to women. But even still, I faced issues and obstacles in ministry that are specific to a woman in ministry.
Addressing Women Called by God
I need you to hear my heart right now as I address this topic. I love Jesus. I love Scripture. And I love the body of Christ. This is not a blog post about spewing personal resentments or trying to make hardcore, dogmatic theological points that affirm women in ministry or leadership roles.
The last thing I want to be is divisive. I personally do not like negative, attacking, or divisive messages, because I believe it breaks God’s heart when His people treat one another with disrespect, contempt, or disdain. This is one of the reasons I avoid spending much time on social media, because too often I see how ugly Christians can be to one another.
In John 13:34-35 Jesus said,
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another;
as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
By this all will know that you are My disciples,
if you have love for one another."
John 13:34-35
Therefore, this weighty topic calls me to handle it carefully and responsibly. Not only to be careful to not cause further conflict and contention in the body of Christ, but also to honor women in ministry and the men of God called into ministry as well. My intention in writing this is to honor the Word of God, challenge our own and other’s biases, and minister to, encourage, and help women heal who have been dishonored, overlooked, silenced, and/or not helped by those called to equip them to fulfill God’s calling in their life.
Lived Experiences
Since my latest Bible study book, My Maker and Me was published last July, I have been a guest on many Christian podcasts. I have loved connecting with other women in ministry, called by God, and giving themselves to sharing Jesus’ message with others.
Recently, I met one young woman before a podcast, who like me, was called by God and had a Seminary degree. When I told her that I had served on a church staff, both as paid staff and as volunteer staff, she asked a most telling question. “Do you mind if I ask—was it a secretarial position?”
Like me, she knew both the reality of God’s calling on her life and the lived experience of being a woman in ministry.
During another podcast, the male host asked me, “As a woman in ministry, what would you say to other women called into ministry is the hardest thing women face in ministry?” Yikes! I thought, How do I answer this?
The answer that came out of my mouth was, “She better know that she is called and be realistic about the environment she is personally in because stepping into ministry means stepping into a man’s world. But if she knows she’s called, then she needs to follow the Lord and do what He has called her to do.”
These are just a couple of continual instances of many conversations around this topic throughout my ministry life. Finally, I find myself ready to address the proverbial elephant in the room for every woman called into ministry.
What Does the Bible Say About Women In Ministry?
Many Christians want to know what the Bible say about women in ministry.
That is one of the reasons I wanted to open this conversation carefully and biblically. On the June HER Podcast, biblical scholar Dr. Bob Utley will join me in this conversation. Bro. Bob is an internationally gifted and respected biblical scholar and teacher who knows more about the background and culture of the Bible than anyone I personally know.
At the end of this post there will be an opportunity to share questions for Dr. Utley about women in the church, in ministry or leadership roles.
Personal Questions About Women Called By God
This blog post is not like the rest of my posts because I am stepping into something that can be highly controversial in a lot of Christian circles. And as I already stated, I do not want to cause conflict and contention, but we still need to address the biblical role of women in leadership roles. I want to share my own personal questions that have brought me to this point.
Why do committed, devoted women serving faithfully in ministry, so often feel silenced, overlooked, or ignored?
Why do the men’s events in churches often appear to matter more than women’s?
Why can women teach men in Seminary who will one day be “pastors”?
Why would Seminaries take women’s money, time, energy, and efforts to devote their lives to serving Jesus and others and then tell them there’s no leadership role for them in the church?
Why would churches honor and “ordain” male youths and men without any credentials other than a confessed verbal “calling” and at the same time, not honor young women who confess the same thing or even the older women who have credentials and a history of commitment and devotion to the Lord and His mission?
When God called me into ministry, I was clueless. But after eight years in Seminary earning my bachelor’s degree in Christian ministry and two certifications in women’s ministry, I had learned that this was a sensitive topic. So, I wrote my senior paper on women in ministry. I needed to do the biblical research for myself. But now it seems right to open up the discussion to you.
What Are Your Biblical Questions About Women Called Into Ministry?
Email me with your questions at info@onfire-ministries.org.
Text in the email subject line: Question About Women in Ministry
I will present the questions to Dr. Utley on HER Podcast which will air in June 2026.
If you would like to look at some of Dr. Utley’s commentaries about women from the Bible, I am listing links to his commentaries below.
Dear Woman of God,
Do not shrink back.
Do what God has called you to do.
Even when man fails you, God will not.
He will sustain you and equip you to do every good work He planned for you to do.
But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel,
even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.
1 Thessalonians 2:4
Frequently Asked Questions About Women in Ministry
Can women be called by God into ministry? Yes. Throughout Scripture and church history, God has called women into ministry. Pat Domangue was called by God to women's ministry in 2002, confirmed by her pastor and church leadership, leading to 24 years of teaching women the Bible with Seminary training.
What does the Bible say about women in leadership roles in the church? This is a question many Christians wrestle with. Pat addresses biblical questions about women in church leadership in her upcoming HER Podcast conversation with Bible scholar Dr. Bob Utley in June 2026. Dr. Utley's commentaries explore biblical texts on women in ministry, providing historical and cultural context.
What challenges do women in ministry face? Women called into ministry often face unique obstacles including being overlooked for leadership roles, having their calling questioned despite Seminary credentials, and navigating church environments that may not fully support women in ministry. Pat encourages women to follow God's calling even when facing these challenges.
How can I submit questions about women in ministry for the HER Podcast? Email your biblical questions about women in ministry to info@onfire-ministries.orgwith the subject line "Question About Women in Ministry." Dr. Bob Utley will address these questions on the June 2026 HER Podcast episode.
What Seminary training does Pat Domangue have? Pat earned a bachelor's degree in Christian ministry and two certifications in women's ministry over eight years of Seminary training. She wrote her senior paper on women in ministry, conducting biblical research on this topic.
