The role of women in revival

In 1983, the insurance money from a robbery gave Tony and me the opportunity to travel to the Far East.  While we were there, we spent four days at Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho’s church in Korea, at that time the largest church in the world with around 350,000 members.  We learned many lessons from our time there.  One morning, we were wandering through the administrative building, when someone approached us offering an interview with Dr. Cho.  During our 20 minutes with him, one of three things he said to us was, “You will never see revival in the West until you are willing to use your women.” 

A small group of women with whom I work closely, recently looked at revivals from the perspective of women.  One of the things that struck us was that moves of God that seem to last for decades rather than being a quick flash in the pan, use women in strategic roles.  Examples include John Wesley and Methodism, Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians, or more recently, the Pentecostal movement that started in Azusa Street.  (Other common features include a small group structure and the development of an infrastructure.)  China, of course, is the same way.   Over 80% of the churches there are started by women.

Could it be that the classic church attitude toward women here in the West is preventing God from moving in power?