How to Lead a Women's Ministry Program

A good women's ministry program will allot time for volunteer work.

A women's ministry program provides friendship as well as a strengthening of faith. So it is important to lead this group in a way that promotes trust, reliability, spiritual growth, love, understanding and encouragement in each member. Women's ministries also provide a way to volunteer for worthy causes like soup kitchens, bread giveaways and church functions. Having a successful women's ministry gives its leader a sense of direction and a fulfilling life full of love, peace and joy.

Instructions

1. 

   A daily prayer life is essential to having an effective ministry.

   Have a vision for your ministry and pray about it. Prayer is the single most important aspect to starting a women's ministry. Knowing that God is with you and supports you in this task gives you more strength than you could possibly get on your own. Remember the Bible verse Matthew 19:26: "Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Accessing the power of prayer is not in you, but rather in God who is being prayed to. God answers prayers that are in agreement with His will. If you are in His will, you will know it.

2. 

   Have your pastor's blessing on your ministry.

   Talk to your pastor and get approval for the ministry. Create a six month to a year outline of what it is you want to accomplish with the women during that time. Create a name for your ministry and a purpose statement. If you are approved for your ministry, utilize the church bulletin to introduce your new ministry and have a sign-up sheet available in the foyer for those wishing to attend. Limit the group to five to six women. Stress this point in the bulletin by stating that only the first seven women will be able to join. Set a meeting place, time and date for your first meeting.

3. 

   Widows have specific ministry needs.

   Go to a local Christian bookstore or find one online that provides topics of study that you feel your group is most likely to be interested in or create a topic yourself. If it your ministry is geared toward widowed ladies or women whose husbands are in a nursing home, a good Bible study subject would be how to deal with the struggles associated with their situation. If it is a group of married ladies, the subject might be on how to be the best wife you can be. Find two or three good Bible studies and present them to the group to see what interests them the most.

4. 

   Good leadership allows time for others to talk.

   Facilitate your group functions. Start by introducing yourself, if this is a group of women that you are unfamiliar with. Explain the purpose of the ministry. Do this within the first couple of minutes of your first meeting. Pass out any information of upcoming events that you have already in place and allow the women to take a look at the Bible studies to choose from. If the decision of Bible study becomes an issue, take a vote and use the one with the most votes. A facilitator basically determines the direction of the conversation and successfully leads it toward the intended point the study is trying to get across.

5. 

   Give a member the responsibility of taking photos for the group.

   Delegate responsibilities. To keep momentum and attendance up you need to delegate responsibilities to other member in the ministry program. For instance, give one member the job of providing refreshments for the next meeting and another member the responsibility of bringing snacks. Ask one to make courtesy calls to the other members reminding them of the next meeting. Ask the members if there are ministries they would enjoy doing and then search out local churches that give people opportunity to minister in this chosen way. Remember that leading does not mean you must do everything.

6. Give members the chance to minister inside and outside the church. Look for other churches, such as inner city ministries, that work with the poor. Some churches help with food, transportation and even the teaching of basic computer skills to those less fortunate. Call a few inner city churches to see what your group can do to help or ask your pastor if he knows of ministries needing extra volunteers.

7. Train another leader and multiply. Teach someone to take over the group for a week when you need a break. Ask your trainee to attend leadership seminars with you and give her the same opportunities to learn as you have yourself. When you and the trainee feel the time is right, have your trainee branch off and start another women's ministry.

Tips & Warnings

• At the initial meeting, it is a good idea to have a confidentially form signed by each of the group that states that what is said in the group stays in the group. The only time anyone should stray from this is when something is said that would cause a member to think that great harm could come to someone if it is kept silent.

References

• All About Prayer: Power of Prayer - Supernatural
• Biblos.com: Matthew 19:26
• SmallGroups.com: Small Groups: A Small Group Leader's Most Important Job; Jim Egli; February 15, 2010
• Community4me.com: Group Dynamics and Community Building; Small Group Facilitation Basics; Jerry Hampton; 2000-2006