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Here at Small Church Ministry one of our main goals is to encourage, inspire, and equip small churches to do ministry the best way they can. We believe having a ministry to women is a key element in the life of your small church. In this article, we will help you find ways to start celebrating women’s ministry in your church and in your community. So let’s dive in!
What Makes Celebrating Women’s Ministry Meaningful?
What do we mean by ‘celebrating’ women’s ministry? Simply put, it means making a way for ministry to women to flourish in your small church. Promoting it from the pulpit, and providing various opportunities for fellowship, spiritual nourishment, connection, service, and growth are vital to the overall health of the church family.
Mental health professionals agree that women need emotional connections, friendships, support, and encouragement in order to thrive. When we provide ways for the women in our churches to meet and fulfill these needs we are not only showing that we value them, but we are helping to support the overall health of our church. It is a proven fact that a thriving women’s ministry has a great impact on the emotional ‘temperature’ of a church family! It can inspire others and provide a welcoming environment for visitors.
The most meaningful thing is that you are doing just what Jesus modeled for us in His earthly ministry, valuing women both in the church family and in ministry and partnering with them to promote the good news of Christ!
6 Meaningful Ways To Start Celebrating Women’s Ministry
1. Women’s Day
Some denominations and churches sponsor a yearly Women’s Day or Women’s Focus in their service. They encourage women of all ages to participate in the service from leading worship, to special music, to scripture readings to bringing a message. A day of celebrating women who are in Christ and following God’s call for their lives.
You could invite a female missionary in to speak or have some of the women’s ministry leaders share testimonies of what is happening at the church in the lives of the women involved.
Encourage the younger girls to be a part of it. They could sing a special song, share a scripture verse or reading, make special art with the theme, ‘I am thankful for who God made me’ or have them help with the offering or by being greeters at the front door. There are so many ways to involve them and allow them to see that your church values the role that they play in the family of God!
2. Women’s Ministry Fair
Schedule a community ‘Women’s Fair’. Invite different women’s businesses and ministries in your community to set up a display at your event, places where the women of your church could volunteer or partner with in some other way, to encourage and support others in your community.
Some examples could include:
- An unhoused shelter that could share the needs of the women they encounter
- A battered women’s ministry
- A young mother’s program.
- A representative of a local mom’s group to share what they do.
Among the displays, have a table for your church’s own opportunities for women to be involved and supported. This could be a Bible study group, a display of upcoming events for the year, or a table with volunteer opportunities to serve within the church. Ask a representative from the worship team to be there or someone from the children’s ministry. You could make a display with a clothesline strung along the wall with cards attached with clothespins for each volunteer opportunity you have.
Consider creating a church prayer chain flyer, or what about having a prayer ‘booth’ at the event with someone present to pray with people on the spot? You could provide prayer cards for those who would rather leave a written request. After the event, gather your women together to pray for the requests, another opportunity for connection!
By making this an all-community event, you are demonstrating that your small church celebrates women and supports them while supporting your community as well! You may even find some women who are attending your event who are looking for a church home, and this may be the invitation they are looking for!
Some more ideas for your event could include making your Ministry Fair a celebratory atmosphere by decorating with bright colors, banners, and balloons. Have upbeat worship music in the background, making it fun and inviting. Have a space for coffee and refreshments. What about a table with free books? You could ask your pastor if they have some books they might be willing to donate. You could also ask the women in your church to bring in some books a few weeks prior to your event. You can also order bulk devotional booklets for an affordable price from places like CTA, Inc. one of our ministry partners.
Be sure to have greeters at the door. It’s always nice to provide a small gift bag for those who attend, this is a great place to include information about your church.
Have fun. Make it a celebration women’s style!
3. Mother’s Day Panel Discussion
This year for Mother’s Day, consider having a panel discussion for your service. Invite 3 or 4 mothers of various ages to represent different phases of motherhood. A young mom or even a mom-to-be, a mother with children at home, a mother with teens or college kids, and a mother with adult children and now grandchildren. Give time for sharing personal testimonies of God’s hand in their lives through each phase. Have an emcee asking questions, demonstrating how each phase of motherhood has different challenges.
Make sure to give the questions to each mother before the event so they have time to think about their answers. Having clear guidelines in place for your panel will help things to flow smoothly, such as, how long you have for the panel discussion, time limits for answers, and etiquette about interrupting others or staying on topic.
At the end of the panel invite the pastor to conclude the service with a time of prayer for the panel members and some closing remarks.
4. Providing Opportunities And Making Them Known
One of the easiest ways you can celebrate women’s ministry in your small church is just to provide opportunities for it. Do you have a small group or women’s Bible study that meets? Make sure to promote that, some may not even know it exists! Make creative announcements, ask the pastor to speak about it from the pulpit. Make a private Facebook page so members can connect, make flyers, and place them on your information table, or ask one of the women in your church to make a bulletin board display.
Send small reports to your church leadership each quarter as to what your women’s ministry is doing, service projects, testimonies of lives being changed, answers to prayer, etc. Many times, lack of communication is one of the reasons that the women’s ministry is not promoted and celebrated because people and church leadership simply don’t know the wonderful things that are happening!
If your small church is not able to have a regular meeting for women then try to host monthly or quarterly gatherings. Ask for volunteers to head up a gathering; something as simple as a coffee and chat gathering, or a potluck meal, or a meet-up at a park for a walk, but just some way to gather together and develop relationships!
Don’t forget there are tons of ideas for women’s events on our Small Church Ministry website. Please take advantage of all of these resources, they can really make your planning so much easier!
5. Women’s Retreat
A women’s retreat can provide an excellent time of refreshing and renewal for the women in your church. It can be as simple as a one-day retreat at your church location or a day away at a determined location. Some churches or denominations host a weekend retreat at a conference center or hotel. Check with your church leadership to see if there is one available for your group. What about checking with other churches in your area and see if they have one that you could attend or work together to host one?
We have lots of ideas and step-by-step resources for hosting your own retreat on our website. This is an excellent opportunity to help your women grow spiritually, inspire them to serve the Lord, help them to develop deeper relationships with others in your group, and give them time to be seen and valued.
6. Host A Planning Party
Want to know the best way to serve and celebrate the women in your church? Ask them. The Small Church Ministry’s best and most tried and true resource is our Planning Parties, gathering of your women to celebrate them, see them, and hear their ideas for what they want to see in your small church.
This covers a variety of subjects from opportunities for serving your community to outreach to spiritual nourishment and fellowship ideas. In this party atmosphere, you will provide fun, connection and a time where some who are not likely to speak out, have a chance to write and contribute their ideas on a simple post-it note! It is time for all voices to be heard!
This event can literally breathe new life into a women’s ministry that has been going for a long time from being a kick-off event to a brand new ministry.
Please, we invite you to look at this incredible resource!
When Is The Best Time To Start Celebrating?
I can tell you that now is the best time to start celebrating. Just by reading this article and thinking about the subject is proof that you are participating! Get in touch with the leadership and other women in your church and talk about it. Ask the questions, how can we do this, or how can we do it better? Look and evaluate your current women’s ministry and see where you can fine tune and celebrate it better.
Some churches traditionally celebrate Women’s Day or Women’s History Month in March, but whenever you take the step to value and see the women in your small church is the right time!
Celebrating Your Women’s Ministry Is Impactful
So you see, celebrating women’s ministry in your small church can really have a big impact. We hope that you will try some of these ideas and see how the women in your church respond.
Remember, that a church with a healthy and vibrant women’s ministry can:
- Provide an emotionally healthy atmosphere for your small church
- Help to promote spiritual growth, not only in the women of your church but in the families of your church
- Allows visitors to your church and in your community to see that your small church honors and values women
- Makes a safe space for women to share with each other and support each other
- Encourages young girls to see the Biblical model of older or more mature Christian women mentoring and supporting other women
We are excited to see what you do. We love hearing about your events and Planning Parties, so don’t forget to share pictures and testimonies in our Facebook group. It’s a way of encouraging others to go ahead and try it, and it encourages and inspires us, at the Small Church Ministry, to keep doing what we’re doing!
Read More:
5 Tips For Effectively Equipping Women’s Ministry Leaders
