“Was Paul disappointed when the Holy Spirit led him to a group of praying women? Did he fear the feminization of the church in Philippi? Was he looking for a few good men to take over this new ministry that was overloaded with women?

Some years later, from a Roman prison cell, Paul gave his answer in a letter he wrote to his friends in Philippi. “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” (Philippians 1:3–5, emphasis added). As the Philippian believers read his letter aloud, they knew who Paul had in mind—the founding mothers of the Philippian church who partnered with him in the gospel ‘from the first day.'”