I have been trying for several days to log in. I guess I am not as computer literate as I thought. At any rate, here I am....thanks Pastor Deanna and Ronnelle.
I am a PW of some 14 years. We have a growing ministry and I have a lot of questions regarding my role in the ministry. I love teaching the Word of God. However I seem to have some challenges in rallying the women of the church together. There seems to be a lethargic air over the ministry. This is a small town and most of the members of our church are "Unchurched" prior to attending with us. I feel really frustrated most of the time, but I really don't know what to do. Any suggestions?
I know this was a introduction but I am so full of questions and I really do "Need Help" as my name suggests.
Have you ever looked into the Alpha course? It's a great way to teach "unchurched" people the basics of Christianity and it really bonds people with each other and with the church...
We're having great success with that right now, and I love that the majority of them have kids, which is growing my ministry, too . It's so much fun to teach the Bible stories to kids - and adults - who are hearing them for the first time!!
Thanks Puppetmaster for the suggestion. I have not heard of the Alpha course. I would be interested in obtaining it, tho. Would a Christian Bookstore carry it?
I'm not sure if you could buy it in a Christian bookstore, but I know you can find info online. Just Google "Alpha Course," and you will find their main web site as well as sites from churches all over the place who are using it!!
I just finished browsing the website. It looks pretty interesting. I'll mention it to my dh (does that stand for darling husband?) and see what he thinks.
With relation to women's ministries, I'd also suggest a weekly time to meet with them. You don't have to plan something big every week. In my case, I teach a class on Sun. AM and encourage all of the women to attend it. Although all don't, a majority do. It's my weekly "rallying point." It's my weekly connection with them. I wouldn't trade it for the world.
How exactly do you "rally" them? Remember it has been extremely hard to gt the women motivated to do much of anything. It might just be me---->I may not be the world's greatest motivational speaker....
First let me tell you it usually doesn't happen overnight. It takes time to develop a co-hesive group, especially if you are coming into a church or group that needs healing or such, and you are the new pw. Not exactly sure of your situation.
Anyway, I tend to be a "rally-er" by nature, that's just one of my gifts is gathering and motivating people. But I would say, even if you are not that way by nature, you can still accomplish this in different ways.
Be honest with the women that you sense there needs to be a greater bonding in women's ministries, and that you believe you can go on to do great things. If some of your group members - especially the ones of more influence - need healing or they must develop a greater trust in your leadership before you move forward this may take a little time. Be willing to take the time...be patient.
Begin with just one activity a month where you can spend time together. I think a good balance of social & spiritual activities is good. You might want to start with something as simple as - gather everybody for breakfast at a restaurant one Saturday morning. Develop greater relationships through just spending time together and then in a few months after some of those are strengthened, plan a women's ministries event where you will invite friends from outside the church...this can be a more formal setting or casual if you wish. We do both. We might do a victorian tea and break out the china, but then the next month we might do a pajama party and just hang out. Either are great things to bring friends to.
More than anything your ladies are looking for someone to care. Our churches are filled with women -- the greatest demographic of anyone in our churches...the majority group in our churches is women. We are pastoring the biggest group in the church. What an honor!!
Deanna is right, it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, a tenacious spirit, lots of prayer, and encouragement!
We started a new work late last year. We began with two families besides ours. So, basically, I had two ladies. They were faithful (still are), would do anything I asked. I planned events and services, we'd invite and invest in other women encouraging them to come, only to show up, prepare and have only ourselves there. Now, that may sound discouraging, but I have to admit I am not one to give up and throw in the towel, I told the ladies, its 7 pm, time to start, come on. We went on through the entire night like there were a thousand women there! I preached my guts out. Even when we began to grow and have other women come to church, they were not inclined to attend women's events. I managed to get a group of twenty to attend a Women's Christmas Social that I hosted in my home, but they acted like they were at the dentist! (Not everyone, but a majority.) Still, I pushed on, told the two that would show up to prophesy to the atmosphere, to make declarations, and to pray.
In January, I did a vision casting for the year- with those two women! Then we began. Shortly after that we began to see a change. We had several new families begin to come to the church and the women in those families began to attend women's events immediately. They didn't just sit there, they participated! It has been amazing, and one of the components we are using, "Feminine Fire", as well as our Mother's Day service have been instrumental in more growth!
I know I mentioned consumers and producers here before, but we are finally attracting more producers than consumers- and the producers are using the invite, invest, and involve equation to reach outside of the four walls of our church! I am now building my WOP (Women of Purpose) Ministry Team. What is awesome is I had planned in January to have a WOP Ministry Team commissioning dinner in July when we would celebrate and anoint the team God had put together, and because of diligent prayer and tenacity, it all began to fall into place, and by the looks of my WOP MT applications, this team is going to be incredible!
So, Needs Help- don’t be discouraged. God has a plan, just pray, listen and obey. Focus on those who are diligent or who want to be involved. The others will either come along, or God will attract new women to the vision He has given you for the women's ministry.
I won't kid you; it is A LOT of work. But keep your eyes on the prize!
I want you all to know what a BLESSING it is that the Lord directed me to this site!!!! I am SO excited just to find someone to talk to, to get direction from, who loves God. (Man, how refreshing!!!) THank you all. You are such a blessing from God to me!!
My husband started the ministry about 14 years ago. It was just us (he, I and 3 children). THen the Lord began to bless. Now the membership is about 200 adults, with about 110-120 active. We have a slew of children. THe Lord has blessed us to build a Family Life Center(which we fondly call the Transformation Center). THe children of the church and in the neighborhoods come each Wednesday night for a Bible lesson, snacks, and basketball (older teens) and the younger ones watch a Chrisitian video. The police have advised the pastor that juvenile delinquency goes down in the town during those 2 hours!!!!! We feel that we are making a difference...but I digress.
Maybe my challenge is patience. We (the Women) meet once a month to discuss issues that we face. We eat and fellowship during these times. There are usually about 10 or so women who attend faithfully. We also have a conference each year. This is our 3rd, one scheduled for July 8-9. The Women will come out, but there is no enthusiasm, no excitement, no real interest from what I can discern. This is what concerns me. They are saved women, who I feel love the ministry also. But the attitude is "I'm ok if we do, and I'm ok if we don't".
I tend to make excuses for the women. I think that everyone is so busy with jobs, families, etc. But my dh (does that mean darling husband?) says that everyone is busy and that we need to understand sacrifice and commitment.
Thanks Pastor Tara for your incite...I can so identify with what you are saying. I will continue to pray and enable those women who have shown themselves faithful and interested. I feel that I am not doing everything wrong, after reading your response. I would also like more info on the "Femine Fire"
One of the things that Pastor Tara mentioned is that it takes a tenacious spirit and a lot of prayer. She also mentioned that she prophesied and declared what God could do instead of just talking about what was the current reality. My dh preached a message yesterday from Ezekiel about the valley of dry bones. The title was, "Speak Life". I think that she is so on point with what she said, and it was a confirmation for me about how God has been dealing with me. My children asked me a few weeks ago, "Mommy what will we do if no one come to church?" My answer was, we will preach and prophesy to the chairs. I said all this to say, as the leader, you have to be the most excited person about the womens ministry. Pray and seek God for a vision for the womens ministry, and possibly a name for it if y ou do not already have one. Once you have a clear vision for the ministry, God will give you the best way to communicate that vision. Pastors Deanna and Tara already mentioned some great options. Once you a have a clear sense of the vision, give it your all and work with what you have. I think that this will help the women to come together to work toward a common purpose and goal.
It seems like your church is already doing some great things, and that you have a good core group of women to build upon. That in itself is a major blessing. Be encouraged, you can do this!
I was in prayer this morning and realized that I am giving God my all...what I didn't have (until this wonderful site) was someone to encourage me. I had no barometer. Because of that I never know if I am doing ok or if I am a make a mess of things. I really appreciate your incite about the excitement. I think that I can do better in that regard myself. I may have let my enthusiasm level drop because of their reactions....but I have to hold the course. I will do this.
THanks again! I pray that God will bless you ladies for your wisdom that you are willing to share and that He will especially bless Pastor Deanna for bringing us all together. It feels so good to be included in such a powerful group.
. It's so much fun to teach the Bible stories to kids - and adults - who are hearing them for the first time!!
