(This article originally appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of The ECHO Magazine.)
Deb Hinkle began the Women in Ministry Leadership program at LBC in the mid-’90s.
Deb Hinkle’s life purpose statement says a lot about her calling: “Leading and equipping others to apply God’s Word for their transformation.”
It was this purpose that led her to accept the role of starting and leading the Women in Ministry Leadership program at Lancaster Bible College because it aligned with her God-given gifts, talents and passions.
As a WML major at LBC, I had the privilege to sit down with Deb and ask her more about the history of this program that started with just a half-dozen students and is now entering its 28th year.
AMANDA DAVIS: What inspired you to start the WML major?
DEB HINKLE: Dr. James Ayers (’80) saw a need for it. When he talked to me, I was immediately on board because I have always believed that God created men and women to be partners in ministry. When we compete, then someone has to be on top, and when someone is on top, then someone else is on the bottom. When you complete each other, you’re working more side by side. When Jim came to me with what he wanted, I was like, “Yeah! I am all over that!”
AMANDA: When did you start the WML major?
DEB: It started in the mid to late ‘90s. The very first course for the WML program was in the spring of 1996, and I taught that course. It was called “Managing Marriage and Ministry.”
AMANDA: What lessons did you learn from starting the WML major and/or running it?
DEB: I feel what I learned really helped me hone my beliefs on women in ministry and really zero in on what courses were needed to be taught—what was foundational and important—and even though I settled in my own heart and mind, it solidified things that I wanted to teach the women. That was something I felt like I needed to learn before I could teach. I feel like God brought me through a process of humility, and I learned to hold things with an open hand. I also learned how to speak truth with grace when I would give an answer for why this program is important. I love to see how God has raised up [the students] in the work they are doing, and I can come alongside them. That was a benefit that I did not see right away, so that’s been awesome.
AMANDA: What is the most important thing you would tell a young woman interested in ministry?
DEB: I would say to women in general: Be confident in your calling and believe that you are called—that God calls you into His mission. Embrace that in a way that you believe you are a part of that mission and building His kingdom. Be encouraged by the women from Scripture and the women who have gone before you to prepare a way for you. This is a paraphrase and not a true interpretation, but Philippians 1:6 says, “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will see it through to completion until the day of Christ.” So being confident that He is working in you, and if He has called you, that He’s going to complete not only what He’s doing in you personally but also how He wants to use you in His kingdom.
AMANDA: What advice would you give someone considering women’s ministry?
DEB: Settle in your own heart the theology of what you believe about women in leadership roles. Women need to be able to articulate what the Bible says and explain what their interpretation and application is of the passages. The issue is not always so much the passages themselves but how you interpret and apply them. My first piece of advice is it may still be evolving in your mind, but at least have some sense of how you can articulate what you believe, because you are going to be challenged—no question about that.
My second thing is, you’re never going to walk perfectly with the Lord, but make sure you are giving Him space to work in your life. It is a posture of surrender and humility where He’s working in your life. Make sure that you are growing in your faith so that you are able to receive what God is doing in your life because our whole entire lives is a process of growth where God is saying, “My most important goal for you is to transform you into the image of my Son.” You can only do that if you learn rhythms of listening and silence and journaling and paying attention internally to who you are and paying attention to your emotions, and how God wants to use those in your life.
The third thing is, continue to be a learner. Keep reading, keep growing, keep listening to podcasts, keep talking to people who can speak into your life, or just the various ways that you’re going to keep growing [so] that you’re not going to be stagnant from a skill standpoint. You need to keep growing in your character, but then you need to keep growing in your skills.
AMANDA: What advice would you give a current WML major as they are preparing to go out into the world of ministry?
DEB: Have enough confidence in yourself that you are able, with humility, to do your job and do it well. If you are going to go into church ministry, whatever your area is, learn how to be “Team Church.” For instance, you’re not in a corner by yourself. Learn that you are contributing to the whole, and be able to do that. Women tend to be collaborative, so don’t be afraid to help collaboration. This has been true for me, I read widely, and I was able to intelligently speak into leadership conversations that were not just in the area in ministry I was supposed to oversee. I would encourage, that when you are doing your other classes, those are just as important as your WML classes because they are giving you the broader foundation.
Amanda Davis (’24) is a Women in Ministry Leadership major who is continuing at LBC | Capital for a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies through the college’s 4+1 program. She desires to “teach the Bible to women and give them practical tools to study the Bible for themselves t deepen their relationship with the Lord. … The other WML peers I have met are fierce women warriors for the kingdom of God, and their passion for the Lord is inspiring to me.”