As I think about planning for next year, I was really inspired by how Nehemiah planned to rebuild a wall. Your church ministry year may have gone well in 2025, and you may not necessarily need to “rebuild a wall.” However, I have been teaching this past year on the essentials of women’s ministry by using Nehemiah chapters 1–6 as the foundation, so I want to encourage you to think through what Nehemiah did in his preparation for rebuilding the wall as you plan for 2026.
- Seek the Lord. In chapter one, we see Nehemiah praying and fasting. I think it is vitally important that as a leader, before we do any planning, to get our hearts in the right place. Nehemiah spent time praying, fasting, and confessing to the Lord. He sought the Lord’s approval. We as leaders have to get our hearts in the right place as well. He did not just do these things for an hour, but you see that he did it for a number of days (Neh. 1:4). We focus not only on ourselves, but we seek the Lord on behalf of those in our ministry as well. Verse 10 reminds us that the ministry is about God. He is the One who redeemed them by His great power and His strong hand, and those in ministry are His servants and His people.
- Evaluate the past year. In chapter two, Nehemiah looked at what happened to the wall. He did it quietly and didn’t tell anyone what God had laid on his heart to do for Jerusalem. Sometimes as leaders, we often hear about all the things that have gone wrong, or we get “pats on the back” for a job well done. It would be good to hear from those who are not necessarily the loudest or the most prominent, but also those who were or were not part of the ministry. Take some time to hear from those who have not been heard or who are missing from the table. Also, see what has aligned with your vision and mission statements. Are you accomplishing those things that you had set out to do for this next year?
- Vision and Mission. After Nehemiah had evaluated the past year, in verse 17, he shared his vision. He helped them to see what had been taken with the wall, and then, he shared the vision of rebuilding the wall. Take time to consider your vision and mission statement. Do you need to revise it? What areas were a miss? What areas did you and your team succeed in fulfilling the vision and mission of your ministry?
- Plan for 2026. You will want to consider what your vision and mission is as you plan for next year. We at Lifeway Women hope that women who come for training at Lifeway will become more competent in the following four areas in their ministries: spiritual formation, discipleship, community/connection, and missions/evangelism.
As you consider planning for 2026, look at your calendar to see where your mission and vision are being implemented. Look at it from a quarterly standpoint. Do you have on your calendar something that fulfills what you have planned for your women? Don’t just do what you have always done. Anything that has to do with your ministry should be about fulfilling that vision and mission.
In terms of the four areas mentioned earlier, here some questions for you to consider as well as some resources we have coming out at from Lifeway Women this year.
Spiritual Formation
Questions:
- Which of the spiritual disciplines will we focus on this year? (prayer, worship, service, Bible study, confession, stewardship, fasting, etc.)
- Are the women in your ministry growing in these areas, and how are you encouraging and equipping them to do that this year?
- Will you be doing a Bible study or planning an event that can help in these disciplines? (Prayer groups, worship night, service projects, etc.)
Resources:
Very Good Bible study (April 2026)
Discipleship
Questions:
- Do you have a pathway of discipleship at your church? (If not, we will have some assessment tools and resources from Lifeway that will launch in June—a webpage dedicated to helping churches with discipleship: women, men, children, youth, groups.)
- Do you have opportunities for mentoring that can take place organically and planned?
- Are women growing in their understandings of Scripture through the Bible studies?
Resources:
Deep Discipleship—Group Starter Kit
See for Yourself Bible study (March 2026)
Community/Connection
Questions:
- What ways will you connect newcomers, old timers, and those left out to the community?
- Did our groups cultivate authentic relationships and accountability?
- Are women building friendships beyond scheduled events and in their local community?
Resources:
Friends and Sisters Bible study (June 2026)
Missions/Evangelism
Questions:
- Have you planned any service projects that cultivate a missional heart?
- Have you planned opportunities to equip them for evangelism and missions?
- Consider projects that are intergenerational, intercultural, local, and international.
Resources:
Melody of Grace Bible study (July 2026)
A Short Guide to Evangelism and Missions
About Alicia Wong
Alicia Wong serves as the women’s ministry specialist for Lifeway Women and as an associate professor of Women’s Ministry at Gateway Seminary in Ontario, CA. She has served as a missionary with IMB and NAMB and has been teaching in seminaries and local churches on the topics of Missions and Ministry to Women for over twenty-five years. She is a graduate of Gateway Seminary (M.A. in Intercultural Studies and Christian Counseling) and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div. and Ed.D.). She desires to see women be firmly rooted in biblical truth, built up in Christ, and established in their faith so that they may share the good news with others to the ends of the earth.
Get to know Alicia Wong in this episode of the Marked Podcast. Read more from Alicia in our Leading Well blog series.
