Once again, I was inspired by one of Dr. Thom Rainer’s articles and how it relates specifically to women’s ministry leaders. Read his article first. Then come back and read about the relevant connection for women’s ministry.
Is your ministry in a slump? Has it ever been in one? Consider trying some of these ideas as you seek to grow ministry with women.
1. They sought the advice of a leader outside their specific church.
It’s so helpful to ask someone who is not a regular part of what we do to give insight on how the ministries we provide are perceived by someone who is not familiar with who we are. We always want to reach those we have not reached before so this can be very helpful to keep us open to new ideas.
2. They refocused on the vision of the church.
If we are not aware of the purpose of our church, then we don’t really have a supporting focused purpose for our women’s ministry. Be diligent about knowing and supporting the overall direction of the church, and then make sure each aspect of the women’s ministry supports that purpose.
3. They led the church to more outwardly focused ministries.
How are you encouraging the women in your ministry to reach outside the church to connect with the needy and the lost? If we only focus on those who are involved, we become “me” centered. We must lead our women to be looking outward.
4. They sought a trusted confidant to evaluate their leadership.
Just because someone has been a leader for a while, don’t assume they are to continue in that role without evaluating. Ask them to pray and seek God’s direction before committing to continued leadership. Also, evaluate where you are lacking in leadership and ask God to fill in those gaps for a well-rounded ministry.
5. They spent more time in prayer.
We just finished a meeting with new women’s ministry leaders and the answer we gave them to so many of their questions was to pray! We kind of laughed at the repetitiveness of this, but we also showed them that this is the first and continued step in effective ministry.
6. They became more consistent in their time reading the Bible.
If our leaders are not involved in ongoing Bible study, then how can we encourage other women to thirst for the Word. We must be talking about what we are hearing from His Word, so others will catch the excitement of life change through the Word.
7. They became more intentional about connecting with their members.
It seems daunting to try to connect with all of the women in your ministries, but what if you set a goal of connecting with two women a week outside of your leadership team. Then what if you encourage those on your leadership team to do the same? You will get to know so many others who might fall through the cracks otherwise.
8. They set aside time on the calendar during the week to dream.
When do you ever take time to dream about where God is leading you and your ministry? We are sometimes way too busy just getting the task done to see where God is at work and joining Him there.
What do you do when the ministry God has called you to seems to be in a downward nose dive? Share your experiences in the comments so we can learn from each other.
Chris Adams is senior lead women’s ministry specialist at Lifeway Christian Resources in Nashville, Tenn. Learn more about Chris here.
