The Persecution of Women in the Church

[Sister Alvear]

Women were major participants in the life of the early Church (Acts 1:14 - 15). Ministries which flowed from the gifts of the Spirit were open to them: they were leaders in the Church (Rom 16:1-2, 6, 12), they taught (Acts 18:26), they prophesied (1 Cor 11:5), and performed the functions of deacons (Rom 16:1).
A deacon to us in Brazil is a young preacher not someone sitting on some deacon board trying to tell the pastor what to do...