Pentecostal Mission Must Put Rural Women Inside the Decision

Rural women often hold together several systems at once. They cultivate, trade, conserve seed, collect water, care for children and older people, sustain prayer networks, teach faith, organise mutual assistance and keep congregations functioning through seasons of scarcity. Churches frequently praise this faithfulness. Praise, however, can become a respectful way of leaving power unchanged.

The decisive question is not whether rural women are visible during a special service. It is whether they help decide how church land is used, which ministries receive money, how climate risk is addressed, who owns productive assets, which learners receive training, what safeguards govern programmes and how leaders are chosen and held accountable.

Pentecostal testimony speaks of the Spirit poured upon daughters and sons. That confession should become institutional practice. Women who carry the work should not remain outside the decision.

The United Nations observes the International Day of Rural Women on 15 October. Its 2026 theme, Rural Women Farmers Caring for Mother Nature, recognises women's work in food systems, biodiversity, land and climate resilience. UN Women's statement calls for enforceable rights to land, water and natural resources, equal access to finance, markets, technology and services, freedom from violence, and meaningful influence over decisions. UN Women

The observance falls within the United Nations International Year of the Woman Farmer. FAO says the year is intended to make women's work across…