My friend Kim and I have enjoyed “doing women’s ministry” together for 13 years now. It was most fun when we were in the same church in the same town and could get in the same car and run to Party City or a Lifeway bookstore together. But it’s still fun 900 miles apart. We just do it a little differently…
One of our most cherished traditions back in the day was getting in the car after a ladies event–be it a morning brunch, a weekend retreat, or a Friday night fellowship–and going to the local Sonic to split a chili cheese coney and some tots. She’d sip her Dr. Pepper and I’d drink my diet coke while we stuck our forks into that coney and talked about the event. We rarely got to eat our fill at the event itself, since we were busy emceeing or greeting guests or handling situations in the childcare area or thanking the other ladies for decorating so beautifully. Can you relate?
So after cleaning up, divvying up the remaining food among the team members, and turning out all the lights and locking the doors, we’d sit in our car at Sonic and debrief. “Do you think everyone had a good time?” “I noticed the woman with the five small kids came. Do you think she felt welcomed?” “Didn’t Susan do a great job with the decorations?” “What do you think we should do differently next time?” “Why do you suppose none of the ladies from that one small group came?” “Did you notice that Barbara was there? I’ve never seen her at a women’s event before; I’m so glad she came.” “The speaker did a great job. Did you notice how the special music tied in perfectly to her message?” “Who should we get to speak next year?” And on and on and on…
Ministry can be hard work. Whether you’re teaching a women’s Bible study or planning crafts for your MOPS group, mentoring a younger woman or taking senior adult women to lunch, decorating for a ladies’ luncheon or booking rooms for a Bible conference, there’s a great deal of work involved. Sure, ministry is highly rewarding and definitely an investment worth our time and energy, but if we try to navigate this path alone, we can burn out and grow discouraged.
That’s why having a Sonic buddy is so important. Do you have someone with whom you discuss the ups and downs of ministry? Do you have someone to bounce things off of so that the “stupid ideas” get wiped off the slate before they ever materialize into real mistakes? And do you have someone to enjoy the victories with — a new woman came to an event, a lady used her talents and gifts in ministry for the first time, the salvation message was shared with lost people, someone prayed to ask Jesus to be their Lord and Savior? Shared success is oh so sweet!
I hope you have your own Sonic buddy, whether you actually drive to Sonic and share a cheese coney or just stand around in the parking lot for a little while after everyone else has gone home to recap the event. If you don’t, ask God to send you one. And if you do, I’d love to hear about her and how you share your ministry together.
Meanwhile, I’d like to invite you to “go to Sonic with me.” I’m in the process of revamping my twice-a-month newsletter. My goal is to make it something that will really meet some needs and answer some questions for women in ministry. It’s not just a newsletter for Women’s Ministry Directors, but for anyone who does anything in women’s ministry — MOPS, women’s Bible studies, blogging, small support groups, Moms In Touch, Christian aerobics, speaking at events, event planning, you name it!
The newsletter will offer tangible and practical tips, resources, and answers for women’s ministry. But I want the newsletter to be a two-way conversation. So here’s the offer :
I’m giving away $5 gift cards to Sonic (a great value if used during happy hour!) to anyone who meets the following three criteria:
- You have to tell me what you do in women’s ministry. You don’t have to lead anything necessarily, but you must participate in women’s ministry in some way. Just name it in your comment.
- You need to subscribe to my newsletter by leaving your e-mail address in the subscription box in the right hand column of this blog. Then you’ll have to follow through with the link that is sent to your e-mail. Again, I promise this newsletter will be short, sweet, simple, and chocked full of good stuff for women in ministry.
- You need to leave me a comment on this post telling me what you’d like to see discussed in an upcoming edition of the newsletter. For instance, the next issue provides two great resources for biblically counseling women. What other resources would you like? What question do you want answered? What sticky situation do you need to navigate?
So that’s it. I’ll contact you via e-mail to get your mailing address so I can send you your gift card. This is a great deal, because I’m giving away as many as qualify. There’s no drawing involved! So tell your friends about it too.
See you at Sonic!
Great idea! I wish I had a Sonic friend with whom I could share a cheese coney! 😉
Women's ministry…I minister to the elderly women in our church. I call them, send them cards, bake bread for them, etc. I get along better with them than I do women around my age…no drama!
I'm signing up for your newsletter.
What would I like to see in an upcoming newsletter? Learning to be around people in a church family once again, after being hurt by them. Forgiveness has taken place, but trust has been destroyed. No pressure, right? 😉
Beth, Thanks for signing up for the newsletter. I think ministering to our older women is a wonderful ministry. So glad to hear that you serve in that way. And I think your idea for the newsletter is an important one. Unfortunately, most of us eventually suffer a little hurt at the hand of the church we love so much. We'll definitely address that topic in an upcoming newsletter.
I have a friend that we really got to know each other through out womens bible study. I consider her a mentor and someone to hold me accountable. I would love to see more on how to be that mentor to others and be the woman God wants me to be. I have signed up for your newsletter yeah!!!
Kay, first I want to thank you for stopping by my blog and for your kind comment!
Having been in women's ministry leadership for many years, I can wholeheartedly agree that having a "Sonic" buddy is absolutely wonderful. I had the most wonderful buddy (she's now with the Lord)……we were like two peas in a pod….what a blessing and I really miss her!
The Lord has had me on a little different path over the last several years so I've taken a break from ministry leadership and focused on mentoring. You know…let the "older" woman teach the younger….I never thought myself "older" until now and feel so honored and blessed to pour what He has given me into others.
I feel that the younger sisters in the Lord are looking for women who are "real" and will share their struggles in life and testify to the faithfulness of God through every situation…..we've been through some stuff and have seen God bring us through….If He'll do it for me, He'll do it for you!
I'm not sure I have any particular topic or subject to suggest for the news letter at this time. But, would love to receive it to share your thoughts and ideas with others. So I'm in!!
HE IS FAITHFUL!
Blessings!
Jackie
Hello Kay! Long story short on my role in ministry is I took Command of the first ALL female company in the Army! I don't have all my Soldier's yet, but will have at least 80 women. As the leader I have the ability to actively open up opportunities for my Soldiers to attend events. One of many things is I am starting a company bible study and identified my partner (one of my NCO's) in this, but neither one of us have any real experience in this realm.
I've alrady found myself counseling Soldiers on a myriad of issues. I basically need any and all advice on women's ministry as possible! 🙂
Maybe a good starting point would be insight on identifying where to start with a new group of women when you are not sure where everyone is in their walk with the Lord? Or the best way to approach starting up a new group? ALso, I will be meeting with my male BN Chaplain abou doing a women's retreat…any advice on planning one or any neat things to incorporate into it would be fantastic!
~Kelly~
Kay … This is brilliant. I laughed out loud at this one: "Do you have someone to bounce things off of so that the "stupid ideas" get wiped off the slate before they ever materialize into real mistakes?"
Thanks be to God, I do have some great people in my life that keep me from doing stupid things. Or at they least TRY to. Because, in fact, I continue to do dumb stuff. 🙂
Some of my Sonic buddies aren't here in my everyday life, but we are able to converse over the phone from time to time about ministry and writing and so on. I also have some very close friends here who offer that kind of love, interaction and support. And I have a husband who is very involved. I'm grateful for that.