Women's Evangelistic Society

Definition and Meaning

The Korean term yeojeondohoe (女傳道會) means "a society of women who spread the gospel." Within a local church, women members organize themselves to carry out evangelism, support for missions, relief (helping neighbors in need), and church service. It is the counterpart of the Men's Missionary Society, the association of male church members. The society has officers such as a president, vice president, general secretary, recording secretary, and treasurer, and it funds its work through members' dues and offerings.

Biblical and Historical Background

Women's Evangelistic Societies cite the service of women recorded in the New Testament as their basis. Luke 8:1–3 records that a number of women ministered to Jesus and the disciples out of their own resources. Tabitha (Dorcas) in Acts 9:36 was known for her good works and almsdeeds, and Lydia in Acts 16:14–15 welcomed Paul and his companions into her home. Romans 16:1–2 mentions Phoebe, a servant of the church.

Historically, these societies are connected to the women's foreign missionary society movement in nineteenth-century North American churches. The Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church (organized in 1869) sent women missionaries such as Mary Scranton to Korea (then Joseon). In the early Korean church, women evangelists known as "Bible women" (jeondo buin) went from house to house sharing the gospel. The first Presbyterian Women's Evangelistic Society is said to have been organized in 1898 at Neoldarigol Church in Pyongyang. These societies later grew into regional and national federations.

Practice in the Korean Church

Names and Organization by Denomination

• Presbyterian and Holiness churches generally use the name "Women's Evangelistic Society." Local church societies form federations at the presbytery level, which in turn join together in national federations at the General Assembly level. The National Women's Evangelistic Society Federation of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Tonghap) is a representative example.
• The Korean Methodist Church uses the name "Women's Missionary Society." Its organization extends through federations at the district and annual conference levels to a national federation.
• Baptist and Full Gospel denominations also frequently use the name "Women's Missionary Society."

In the Local Church

• Members are divided into several groups by age, such as the "First Women's Evangelistic Society" and the "Second Women's Evangelistic Society." Unmarried women usually belong to the young adults' department, while married women or women above a certain age join the Women's Evangelistic Society.
• The society takes responsibility for preparing Sunday lunch, preparing for seasonal observances, pastoral visitation of the sick and new members (visiting members in their homes or in the hospital to care for them), supporting missionaries and churches that are not yet self-supporting, and holding bazaars.
• Many churches hold an annual dedication service led by the Women's Evangelistic Society.
• The society's officers are commonly kwonsa (lay exhorters) or deacons.

The national federations have carried out work such as sending missionaries overseas and training women leaders. In some denominations, they are also said to have served as a channel for women members to make their voices heard in discussions of women's ordination.