{"id":30922,"date":"2022-09-10T15:09:51","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:09:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/restarting-and-refocusing-womens-ministries-for-the-new-normal\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:09:51","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:09:51","slug":"restarting-and-refocusing-womens-ministries-for-the-new-normal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/restarting-and-refocusing-womens-ministries-for-the-new-normal\/","title":{"rendered":"Restarting and Refocusing Women\u2019s Ministries for the New Normal"},"content":{"rendered":"
Rosie Sun – Unsplash <\/p>\n

By Meredith Flynn <\/em><\/p>\n

Like nearly every aspect of church life and ministry, women\u2019s discipleship saw major\u00a0changes\u00a0during the COVID-19 pandemic. Events were canceled, and small groups went online,\u00a0even\u00a0as\u00a0many\u00a0women struggled with mounting anxiety and changing dynamics at home\u00a0and work.\u00a0And the effects of the challenging\u00a0season\u00a0are ongoing. Lifeway\u2019s\u00a0Kelly King\u00a0describes the current ministry climate in terms of ice storms and ice ages.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve experienced a few ice storms in my life, but they come and go in a few days\u2014even though they can leave a lot of destruction,\u201d said the manager of magazines\/devotional publishing and women\u2019s ministry training. \u201cThe pandemic has been more of an ice age because we are still coming out of a long season of having things shut down.\u201d <\/p>\n

As ministries do come back, they\u2019re likely to look different than before the pandemic. Smaller discipleship groups may replace many larger gatherings. King also expects leaders will look for ways not just to reach women, but to shepherd them in the lingering difficult season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to help women face their fears and replace them with confidence that comes from trusting the Lord with their lives, as well as the lives of their families.\u201d \u2014 Kelly King, @LifewayWomen Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many women who need pastoral care. And by that, I mean women need each other for friendship, discipleship, and learning how to trust in Jesus each day,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to help women face their fears and replace them with confidence that comes from trusting the Lord with their lives, as well as the lives of their families.\u201d <\/p>\n

Laying a foundation<\/strong> <\/h3>\n

In her work developing and encouraging leaders, King describes the purpose of a local church\u2019s ministry to women with three E\u2019s: encourage, embrace, and echo.  <\/p>\n

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\u201cI think this is a pattern we see over and over again in the New Testament where people were encouraged to embrace Christ and echo His message to the world,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWomen today need encouragement more than ever, but we must encourage them to embrace the person of Christ and His Word.\u201d That\u2019s how we get to know Jesus more every day, she said. \u201cThe overflow of that embrace is an echo to take the gospel to our world.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWomen today need encouragement more than ever, but we must encourage them to embrace the person of Christ and\u00a0His Word.\u201d \u2014 Kelly King, @LifewayWomen Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

Helping women love God\u2019s Word is a key part of ministry strategy in Illinois, where women\u2019s ministry leader Carmen Halsey starts with a single, focused question in her work with local churches. \u201cThe first question I always ask folks is how are you currently discipling your women?\u201d said the director of leadership development for the Illinois Baptist State Association.  <\/p>\n

Halsey then follows up with a few more questions based on an assessment she first heard from fellow women\u2019s ministry leader Ashley Allen. The questions move outward, from individual discipleship to how women are being mobilized to share the gospel: <\/p>\n

\u2022 How many small group Bible studies does your church have for women? <\/p>\n

\u2022 How many women have come to Christ in the past year through women\u2019s ministry? <\/p>\n

\u2022 Are the women in your ministry currently praying for lost women by name? <\/p>\n

\u2022 Are you praying for God to raise up and send out missionaries from your church? <\/p>\n

Those questions help leaders start to \u201cpeel the onion,\u201d Halsey said, and uncover which layers could be stronger or more effective. The questions aren\u2019t designed to put leaders on the defensive, but to help them know where to lean in. <\/p>\n

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See also  3 Practical Steps for Reaching the Mission Field in Your Neighborhood<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Similarly, King encourages leaders to have a whole-picture view of ministry that includes five emphases: prayer, discipleship, evangelism, missions, and building community. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese should all be part of any ministry within the church, but we often focus on one without the others in our ministry to women,\u201d she said. \u201cWe can focus on gathering for community yet neglect the importance of prayer or evangelism. They all work together and should be at the top of any leader\u2019s heart who is leading holistically.\u201d <\/p>\n

Small groups play big role<\/strong> <\/h3>\n

Jill Finley\u2019s ministry at Bethel Church in Troy, Illinois, has long been focused on investment in and discipleship of women. In the current season, she\u2019s seeing much need for counseling and smaller, focused groups that can help women facing challenging circumstances.  <\/p>\n

\u201cWomen should be counseling women,\u201d said the women\u2019s minister, who has served at Bethel for 20 years. \u201cA lot of what I do is discipleship and counseling of women, and it\u2019s been particularly important during this season of COVID.\u201d <\/p>\n

When life\u00a0transformation\u00a0is the ultimate goal, smaller\u00a0groups\u00a0are key.\u00a0 Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

Former ministry models may have placed emphasis on big attendance numbers, Finley said, but \u201cit was less about transformation, more about participation.\u201d When life transformation is the ultimate goal, as it is at her church, smaller groups are key.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to see\u2014I want to see\u2014women transformed,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd you do that in smaller numbers, in small groups, one on one, in mentoring relationships where you really live life out together.\u201d This fall, Bethel offered several small group Bible study opportunities, including a group focused on anxiety. That group was the best attended of all the studies, Finley said.  <\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things I continue to see happening is that women are gathering in smaller groups around tables in homes,\u201d King said. \u201cThey are inviting conversations into the process and desiring women to find community, friendship, and mentoring relationships.\u201d <\/p>\n

She anticipates as women return to church and local ministries, small groups will continue play an important role in discipleship, as will technology. Online Bible studies will still be popular, she said, but leaders may be tasked with finding ways to serve online and in-person audiences. Soul care will be important.<\/p>\n

"I believe there is a lot of grief to process, both in the grief of losing people to the virus, but also the grief that comes from unmet expectations.\u201d \u2014 Kelly King, @LifewayWomen Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

\u201cI believe there is a lot of grief to process, both in the grief of losing people to the virus, but also the grief that comes from unmet expectations,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think leaders are going to need some real help in dealing with their personal walk with Christ and tending to their own souls. We must have some honest conversations about loss, fear, and anxiety that were already a concern before the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Meredith Flynn<\/h2>\n

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Meredith is a freelance writer in Springfield, Illinois.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n