SkepticismSkepticism


GILLIAN BRICKEY WM President


G


reetings in the name of the Lord! I am thrilled to serve our ARP women as this year’s president of


ARP Women’s Ministries. Over this year, I will be writing articles for the ARP Maga- zine about what I discovered as I grew from skeptic to advocate for ARP Women’s Min- istries. That’s right, I was a SKEPTIC, and I didn’t outgrow my skepticism overnight. I genuinely asked the Lord to show me what was so special about ARP WM that it would be around for over 100 years. As it says in Proverbs 2:6, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” I wanted to know ARP Women’s Ministry to understand it. I was curious!


Part of my skepticism comes from how my husband and I serve the Lord in ca- reer ministry. We serve as full-time staff with World Witness and have experienced church life in other countries. Relative to the U.S., few churches overseas have organized programs outside of Sunday worship. Around the world, gathering for       brothers and sisters in Rwanda gather on Sundays often after walking through muddy roads for miles. Even in Spain, where evangelical churches meet in store- fronts, many drive as much as an hour to their nearest congregation, and no one would imagine going to church for busi- ness networking or social status. Being a Christian is costly. But if their church does have programs, they’re for children, WOMEN, and seniors. However, while they may not have


formal programs, they DO serve the mem- bers of their congregations during the


Knowing, loving, serving, Jesus ARPWM January/February 2026 19


  meeting? When they adopt a church calendar to coordinate their efforts? In light of that  to serve the Lord faithfully through our churches, presbyteries, and denomination.   Over the next several issues of the ARP Magazine, I will use my little presidential articles


 presbyterial, and local levels, beginning here with a little about our history. Back when I was asked to serve as president for our presbyterial board, I began digging into our history. On my husband’s bookshelf I found a series of red books about the history  book called,Woman’s Work in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. - nized local women’s ministries began in 1818. They were initially deemed “missionary soci- eties” with an organized goal to support missionaries and local service projects. In 2025, we  - ginning of our ARP history, women have been gathering for the sake of organized service. 


Creek Church in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. They “had organized themselves for ‘Home Mission Service.’ Their motto was, ‘Despise not the day of small things’” (Wom- an’s Work, 3). From there, other local women’s societies began to organize, calling them- selves “Ladies’ Missionary Society” or the “Woman’s Benevolent Society.” Each group was formed for the purpose of serving their churches, communities, and missionaries. “In 1873 the Due West Female Benev- olent Society was organized with nine members. The purpose of this society was ‘To help anyone in need; to supply food and medicine for the sick; and to aid wor- thy young men in preparation for the Gos- pel ministry.’”


“In 1898 Synod gave woman’s work


formal recognition and appointed a General Superintendent of Woman’s Work.” In 1907 the first presbyterial board was formed, and on November 12, 1915 the first Synod-wide woman’s organization was formed. The first meeting was held during the week of General Synod. Over the next year, I will use this little spot in our ARP magazine to highlight the work and traditions that our ARP Women’s Ministry still carries on at three levels: syn- odical (denominational), presbyterial (re- gional), and the local church. I hope that by the end of the year, others will have a refreshed vision and appreciation for the organized work of women among our churches and above 


Women’s Ministries


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