MINISTERS
OF BEAUTY

Topics: Beauty; Calling; Caring; Encouragement; Evangelism; Giving; Ministry; Respect; Self-image; Service; Stewardship; Talents; Witnessing

References: Matthew 25:14–30; Luke 19:11–27; Romans 12:4–8; 1 Corinthians 9:22; 1 Peter 4:10

Once a month, a group of professionals armed with blow dryers, scissors, nail polish—and love—venture forth to serve those less fortunate than themselves.

Hairdressers in the Marketplace (HIM), a ministry of Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago, offers monthly Day of Beauty sessions in which needy women receive free haircuts and manicures. HIM volunteers also go to nursing homes for the poor, homeless shelters, and facilities for the mentally disabled to provide free services.

Hairstylist Teresa Russo-Cox founded HIM in 1998 after unsuccessfully trying numerous volunteer positions at Willow Creek. None felt like the right fit for her. She asked God, “Why did you give me a talent that’s so much about vanity? How can I serve you?”

She says God answered those prayers with a vision for a group that not only communicates God’s love and care to women in need but also reaches out to stylists. “That’s what sets us apart from other ministries that offer haircuts to the poor,” says Teresa. “We focus on evangelism to the beauty industry, which is filled with so much darkness. Its underlying message is all about external things—glamour and glitz. I want to bring the light of God’s Word into our industry.”

Some “clients” surprise the HIM volunteers. At one Day of Beauty event in 2006, teen girls going through drug and alcohol rehab told Melissa they hadn’t ever had “sober” fun before. “They had never experienced that,” Melissa says.

“I had no self-esteem,” says Doreen, who was invited to a Day of Beauty after she and her two preschool children left her alcoholic, abusive husband. “That day gave me a boost on the outside, but it helped me on the inside too. I felt beautiful, special, and deserving.”

—Keri Wyatt Kent, “Pampered with a Purpose,” Today’s Christian Woman (November–December 2006)

PART 13: HEAVEN AND HELL