I write this sitting at my dining room table aware of the mountain of laundry in the basement, a dishwasher full of dishes that need to be put away, my baby napping in her crib and my toddler who is dancing all over the house thinking she’s a character from the “Greatest Showman.” To add to the confusion our dog is barking at something outside the window. My life is crazy and messy! I’m busy all the time! Does this sound familiar? We are women on a mission with a never ending to–do list. Time is valuable and needs to be use wisely.
I’ve never been a fan of doing something just for the sake of doing it. It needs to be something I like to do, need to do, or am passionate about. The same holds true for women’s ministries. Women are astute. They can tell when we are doing it because it is required versus something we actually love. So how do we fall in love with women’s ministries? Following is how we transformed our group from a stagnant, poorly attended one to a thriving one.
The first thing we did was invite the women to a meeting held at a convenient time for them. They were asked to share:
- How often they’d like to meet.
- What day and time worked best.
- What would they be interested in doing or learning?
It’s sounds so simple and it really is! Once this meeting was held, we planned out the entire season of women’s ministries.
In my current appointment at the Camden Kroc center, we have a number of different opportunities for the women to gather. We do a Mom’s Café once a month which includes moms from our after school children program, plus a good mix of members of the Kroc center and corps. This program is in both Spanish and English. We have “The Gathering” once a month using program help from Territorial headquarters. We also hold a weekly women’s sewing class for those who like to sew or want to learn. Finally, we have a women’s ministries group of corps members and their friends. It’s important to note that all of these groups meet at different times and days during the month. When planning possible activities you need to assess what works for your group.
Not every women’s ministries group has to fit into a cookie–cutter mold. You can be creative and make it into something beautiful and successful. And don’t forget to pray, pray for God to give you the wisdom and the vision for the ministry. He never fails us.
