CHRISTIANS FOR BIBLICAL EQUALITY

See schedule o.bringing voices together to consider egalitarian issues at cbe international conferences - in july 2024, cbe's international community gathered in denver for our international conference, "tell her story: women in scripture and history". The event brought together more than 300 christians from across the globe including canada, mexico, serbia, great britain, and asia for a powerful weekend of worship, communion, and learning. Attendees included students, couples, and professionals in secular and ministry fields. Significantly, it also attracted more than twenty attendees from asia: mostly staff members of an international college campus ministry that had been complementarian until recently. Their leadership is working to provide educational opportunities in egalitarian theology.the wide range of lectures proved both thoughtful and inspiring. Newcomers to cbe soaked in biblical and historical materials at their own pace, while seasoned egalitarians engaged with deeper, more challenging scholarship. Together, we confronted the patriarchal assumptions that demean women's gifts, callings, leadership, and achievements both in scripture, history and in ministry, marriage, and service today.one attendee said, "i felt so loved and seen in the best way: academic backbone, the abundance of resources, prayers in different languages, the native [american] community inviting us to worship in their tongue, [and] the number of men there was life-changing for me." another said, "this conference is almost a necessity for anyone within the church who needs the awareness and understanding of a woman's purpose and god's desire to use them."preparing women to lead - cbe awarded $3,000 alvera mickelsen memorial scholarships to six women students pursuing master's degrees. The annual scholarships help women pursuing master's degrees in ministry fields related to preaching, communications, writing, youth ministry, pastoring, or nonprofit work. The lord has shown us that their presence and use of their education and spiritual gifts will help dismantle patriarchal bias and shape the next generation. As an amms applicant told us, "receiving the amms award not only helps financially, but reminds me of the call to continually break barriers and address the unique gaps and gifts female clergy bring to the table alongside male colleagues." as these women become educators, pastors, nonprofit workers, theologians, and ministers, they will have a profound impact in their churches and communities for women's biblical equality. See winners and watch videos of how these scholarships have been a game-changer for women students at cbe.today/ammsstories.creating gender-accurate bible translations - an international team of bible scholars has been translating more than 500+ bible verses (nearly seventy different passages) to improve flawed translations that demean women and foster abuse. Their work will provide exegetically-sound, gender-accurate, and accessible english translations of scripture, as well as commentary explaining the translators' revisions. Providing an accurate bible translation will show more clearly that women and men are equally created in god's image and both are gifted and called to lead and advance the gospel according to god's leading without limits due to bias. Cbe has hired a bible consultant to meet regularly with the team and engage future translators in completing a whole bible translation within 25 years. Our bible consultant will also strategize the best publishing house for cbe's full bible with three years of daily devotionals based on the full bible translation.advancing biblical equality in sub-saharan africa - through cbe's mou collaborations, we have been equipping sub-saharan africa partners and their communities with biblical resources in their languages. These resources help them produce youth and adult curriculum, events, and programs that support women's daily needs, promote shared leadership of women and men, and challenge male-only authority and the abuses suffered by girls and women. Since 2013, cbe has been working with courtship & marriage foundation (comafo) in zimbabwe and shelearns in uganda. Their workshops and conferences challenge patriarchy that has been causing gender-based violence, child marriages, and other injustices suffered by women and their communities. As a result of this healing and transformative work, cbe partners are influential in advancing the gospel and god's equal love for women and men, and girls and boys. Comafo held their women in ministry workshop in september 2024 in association with the evangelical fellowship of zimbabwe (an alliance of 900+ denominations) at acadia dam in zimbabwe with an attendance of 24 women ministers and pastor's wives. It was transformative for both married and single women. The event featured teaching by directors mr. And mrs. Mazonde focusing on essential skills for building and maintaining healthy relationships and marriages, and for handling marital rape in church leaders' marriages. Women shared their experiences in ministry as pastor's wives or as women pastors within a patriarchal church structure. Many women expressed gaining valuable knowledge and tools to enhance their relationships and ministries.shelearns held their annual conference in najjanankubi village, kampala, at the winston main hall in november 2024. There were 231 young adults in attendance with an average age of 17 years old. The conference focused on women and men serving god without limitations based on gal. 3:28. Speakers taught that academic excellence and living a purpose driven life is not limited to boys and men but are god's blessing for both women and girls who were made in his image (gen. 1:27). Pre-and post-survey results showed there was an increase in embracing biblical equality (for women and men) by 15 percent, meeting our standard of raising understanding by a minimum of 10 percent. Notably none of the attendees had a low understanding of biblical equality. This is thanks to shelearns' efforts as they have been working in kampala for several years.