Women in the Word: A Workshop is an annual, practical, hands-on, two-day conference. The purpose of Women in the Word is to help women who love and teach God’s Word improve their ability to interpret, apply and present Scripture to others.

This is done through large group plenaries and small "Study Group" sessions. The three plenary lectures are designed to deepen understanding of a particular Bible passage and model good handling of a biblical text.

Interspersed among the plenary sessions are unique Study Groups. In these, seven women and a trained leader spend six hours together working through a portion of the Bible. Each participant is required to bring to the Workshop a five-minute summary of a Bible lesson on her pre-assigned passage. 

This is challenging! It’s exhausting! It’s great fun! What a privilege to focus on God’s Word for two days. How refreshing to do so with other women who have a passion for the Bible.

The 2009 Workshop, our fourth, was held on October 2 - 3, 2009 at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Willow Grove, PA, USA, just off PA Turnpike exit 343. (Philadelphia Airport is about 50 minutes away.)   The 2010 Workshop is scheduled for October 1 - 2, 2010. 

The Workshop will cost approximately $90. and this fee covers all conference expenses, including Friday dinner and Saturday lunch. Lodging, if needed, and breakfast are not included. A Pre-Workshop Seminar will be offered at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, October 1, 2010, at an additional cost of $10.

You may contact the Workshop registrar, Diana Frazier (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) for other details. 

A downloadable copy of the 2010 brochure (which includes registration forms) will be available on the website by June 1, 2010.  After that date, click here for your copy :  2010 WiW Brochure

For an illustration of the kind of approach to biblical interpretation this Workshop uses, read Dr. Doug Green’s article, “How to Read Old Testament Narratives,” which is available under “Current Issues” in the “Resources” section of this website.

Read below the Mission Statement and Goals of Women in the Word: A Workshop.

Executive Committee: Janet Nygren, Bethann Tyson, Rosemarie Green, Susan Logan 

Women in the Word: A Workshop 

Mission Statement and Goals

Purpose of the Workshop

The purpose of Women in the Word: A Workshop is to help women who love and teach God’s Word improve their ability to interpret, apply, and present Scripture to others.


Goals of the Workshop

1) To equip women in the local church with sound biblical interpretation skills from a redemptive-historical perspective;

2) To spread a redemptive-historical method of biblical interpretation to a wider audience;

3) To train Study Group leaders so as to best benefit participants;

4) To provide opportunity for participants to practice biblical interpretation skills prior to and during the Workshop itself;

5) To provide participants with the opportunity to network with other women Bible study leaders;

6) To expose women to good resources for further study by providing a bibliography of and opportunity to buy recommended books;
 
7) To provide women seminary students and graduates with the opportunity to equip other women by leading or participating in a Study Group.


Structure of the Workshop

In order to achieve these goals, the Workshop consists of two interspersed parts – large plenary sessions and small study group sessions.

Plenary sessions are dedicated to modeling and teaching principles of biblical interpretation and application from a Reformed redemptive-historical perspective in a way that is clear to participants regardless of their theological training.

Study Group sessions provide women the opportunity to improve their teaching skills by requiring them to give a five-minute presentation on a pre-assigned biblical text. Study groups, consisting of seven or eight women led by a trained leader, listen to and constructively critique the content of each participant’s presentation, incorporating information gleaned from the plenary sessions.


Involvement in the Workshop

Planning Committee members: Women of spiritual integrity and maturity who have been approved and invited by the Committee, understand the distinctives of the redemptive-historic method of biblical interpretation, have participated in a previous WiW Workshop or the British conference, and have a vision for equipping women in the local church with sound Bible interpretation skills.

The Planning Committee is responsible for:

Establishing the date and place for the Workshop

Identifying and inviting the plenary speaker(s) and selecting topics 

Selecting, inviting, and training Study Group Leaders 

Establishing a calendar, budget, and tasks for committee members 

Preparing materials for promoting and conducting the Workshop 

Advertising, registering, and communicating with participants 

Coordinating details for the Workshop (e.g., schedule, food, housing, worship, etc.) 

Assessing how well the goals of the Workshop are being realized by following up with participants 

Identifying and inviting new committee members as needed 


Study Group leaders: Women of spiritual integrity and maturity who ascribe to a Reformed understanding of Scripture, have experience teaching the Bible in a Reformed context, have participated in a previous Workshop or the British conference, and have completed the annual training sessions conducted by the WiW Committee.

Plenary speaker(s): A dynamic speaker, preferably a woman and seminary graduate, trained in the redemptive-historical approach to biblical interpretation, in the Reformed tradition, who can teach and model hermeneutics in a way that is accessible to lay women.

Participants: Any woman engaged in Bible teaching, regardless of prior training, is encouraged to attend. In the case of a waiting list, women with less background or training are given preference.