Ladies of Virtue

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ‘Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all. Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Proverbs 31:28-30

 

WHAT WE’RE ABOUT:

Ladies of Virtue is the Women’s Ministry of Covenant Life Ministries. We aim to awaken women, to God, through the gospel, to make them aware of their responsibilities so they can take them up with joy and confidence in Christ’s divine calling.  The picture of Women’s Ministry we desire to create is one in which ladies are striving to live gospel-centered lives, supported by other godly women who eagerly exhort others to trust fully in God’s Word. Real leaders follow God. And women leaders know that the way God intended us to lead is through submission and example. “Sub-Mission.” Add a hyphen to the word and we get a whole new layer of depth that lends itself to some soul-searching. “Submission,” has generally been understood as domination and powerlessness. But the word has an entirely different connotation within the context of Scripture; it is symbolic of nothing less than the heart, life, and cross of Christ. The over-arching mission of all women, single or married, is to be a submitted follower of Christ, imaging Him as we share our lives together and invite others to do likewise.

 

GET THE WOMEN:

You’re going to see a lot of principles from Jesus’ ministry that we incorporate at Covenant Life Ministries. It is always about Jesus and we will offer no exceptions. We will always keep Jesus’ call to go and make disciples at the forefront of our mission because we are not the only women He loves. He loves the women who are not yet in our midst.

 

THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN:

This is a woman who has character, strength, competence and ability, she is priceless. She diligently serves her family in love and respect with the multitude of gifts and talents God has blessed her with. She not only serves her immediate family, but “opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy” (Proverb 31:20). She influences those around her spiritually, primarily through fearless tranquility and holiness and prayer. She looks to Jesus as her supreme example in nature, thought, speech, and conduct. She devotes her life to the glory and fame of Christ. She is a woman who loves God, trusts God, worships God, and serves God. She is beautiful in and out. She doesn’t need a platform to preach a sermon, her whole life preaches. She is a sermon. She understands that men and women are created equal, and that equal does not mean exactly alike. She understands the particular functions of Biblical manhood and womanhood, and understands their relationship with one another, not as arbitrary or chauvinistic or discriminatory constraints on freedom, but as wise and gracious prescriptions from God on how men and women [in relation to each other] are to shadow God’s nature and existence. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are absolutely equal in every way, sharing all attributes and qualities, yet there is a difference of role and function between them.

 

JESUS IS OUR ROLE MODEL:

We not only look to Jesus as our great Savior, but we look to Him as our great role model. Jesus is the only perfect man to ever live. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” –Matthew 1129; “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” –John 13:15; “Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.” –1 John 2:6. Jesus is our true role model but to better understand our role as Christian women we can look to many great examples in the Bible for reference. For example, Ruth for her faith and trust, Esther for her courage and strength, Mary (Martha’s sister) for her ability to listen and learn, Phoebe as a servant and helper, Priscilla who taught with her husband, the Virtuous Woman in Proverbs 31, are all women we can learn from and study out to understand what a true Christian woman looks like. But first and foremost, we must look to Jesus as our supreme example; form His relationship with God the Father, to His relationship with men, women, and children, both repentant and unrepentant.

 

A WARTIME MINDSET AND A WARTIME LIFESTYLE:

There are unique aspects to and experiences of a female disciple of Christ. In regards to men, women are called to different roles and responsibilities, seasons and stages than men are. But in this, we will make much of Jesus rather than more of femininity. We will make more of Jesus and less of our emotions and experiences. We as women, cannot let our emotions, experiences, and culture define or limit our understanding or acceptance of the truth found in Scripture. Rather we must understand fully that the Bible is truth, and we must follow that truth and not our own, and use our experiences in such a way as to expound on that truth rather than letting our experiences be the truth. As we do so, Jesus will surely show us how much He makes of us. He died for us, He freed us to a life of bold and redemptive living, and He commands us to invite the rest of the ladies of the world to come meet Him and become His beloved disciples.

 

WHAT WE DO:

The Ladies of Virtue come together at the beginning of every year for our annual Ladies of Virtue Conference. Women travel from all over the country to come together in worship of Jesus. We teach and exhort women to mature in Biblical womanhood. It is a time for us as women to go deeper—to share our lives together and walk together as we follow after Jesus.

 

*Click to enter our Ladies of Virtue Conference site for upcoming events, blogs, and resources.*