March 17, 2023

…teachers of good things Titus 2:3

You all probably know what “being green” means when it comes to an environmentally friendly world.

I was mulling over all that green stuff and how it can be related to women’s ministry. I’m thinking we should strive for a GREEN women’s ministry. It needs to be environmentally friendly or more like it—people friendly. It has to last. It has to grow. It has to be passed down to the next generation.

We have to be careful with women’s ministry. We have to adopt the attitude that women’s ministry needs protected, loved, and its merits encouraged.

I’m not talking about women’s ministry programs that need protection or that need to grow. But we must always have the attitude to teach and share with other women. That doesn’t necessarily mean scheduled Bible Studies, events, or anything like that. It just means for us as women to share what we have learned on our faith journey so those other women around us and those young ladies of the next generation have something to hold onto for the future.

Our women’s ministry kind of GREEN is when we pass our environmentally friendly attitude of our faith on to other women. Go ahead! Share your joys. Share your heartaches. Share your skills. Share God’s Word. Share your love. Share God’s love. That’s what women’s ministry is. It’s sharing! And we want that sharing to go on to the next generation of women.

Let’s take a look at how we can be green in women’s ministry. I’ve made a little acrostic for you with the word GREEN.

• Grow
• Revitalize
• Equip
• Encourage
• Navigate

GROW

First, we have to grow our women’s ministry. I’m not talking just about numbers when it comes to events and Bible Studies and all those things, but we have to plant seeds of women’s ministry. We have to be making those gardens of kindness, thoughtfulness, friendships, and relationships.

We must work to plant the seed of God’s Word in the hearts of other women. We must tend to those women and young ladies we have been entrusted with by being vigilant gardeners of God’s Word and His love. We have to jump in and teach and mentor other women if we want our ministry to grow.

REVITALIZE

It is so easy to become complacent when it comes to ministering to other women. Maybe they don’t show up at events. Maybe it seems they don’t care about your church or ministry. Maybe they seem to not care about God’s Word. Titus 2 tells us to teach other women. It doesn’t say only if they listen or only if they care. Does it? We just have to keep plodding along and doing what God lays on our hearts.

It may be we have to go about ministering in a different way. Maybe try new ways of doing things. Maybe plan more. Or maybe plan less. Maybe do a little more praying. Maybe develop a fresh attitude. Sometimes we have to give our ministry outlet a little revitalizing.

Spend some time in prayer and step back and look at what you are doing and how you are ministering to other women with fresh eyes and a fresh attitude.

EQUIP

I think about those verses in Titus 2:2-5, where it is talking about how we should be teaching and sharing with other women. It talks about the “aged women” teaching the younger women. There are so many levels on which we can share. We need to teach life skills, God’s Word, and so forth. I love what it says in Titus 2:3. It says, “teachers of good things”. Wow! Oh, to be labeled as a teacher of good things. Teaching those good things is what women’s ministry is all about.

And if we aren’t teaching other women and those younger women growing up in our churches, then how are they ever going to be equipped for life? We are part of their story, and we can have an impact.

At the end of verse 5 in Titus 2, it says we should be doing these things, “…that the word of God be not blasphemed.” Everything we do as a Christian, even teaching and sharing with other women, always comes back to honoring and glorifying God.

Remember what it says in Matthew 5:16?

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (KJV)

Equipping those women that we are teaching, all revolves back to glorifying God in the end.

ENCOURAGE

Women’s ministry is not just about teaching, but it is about encouraging as well. All Christians should be encouragers—man or woman, boy or girl.

I think about all the different types of women I’ve met through women’s ministry over the years. What a variety! What challenges and difficulties so many of them have in their lives. So many women are hurting. So many women are tired just from everyday life and the cares and heartaches that wear them down. And what about the joys in those women’s lives? We have to celebrate that too. That encourages others as well. And sometimes women just need to be acknowledged that they exist and that they matter.

We all need to be encouraged, no matter if we are at a high or a low in life. Our women’s ministry has to have encouragement as a key ingredient.

Encouragement matters!

NAVIGATE

Did you ever think that navigation was going to be a part of being a women’s ministry leader? Well, if you haven’t figured it out yet, it comes with the territory.

When you are working with a lot of women from a lot of backgrounds, from different walks in life, some with kids, some without, some older, some younger, and so forth, it can get a little tricky. There will be some navigating involved and sometimes even some negotiation.

Please don’t do it alone! Get help to chart your plans. First, rely on the Lord. He is the ultimate compass. Get into God’s Word and let that guide you. Get into your prayer closet to help you focus. And rely on the help of the Holy Spirit. And get other women to help you!

Navigating the waters of women’s ministry isn’t always easy, but if you work at it a little bit, things usually come together. You may need to take some time to chart out your plans. You may need to do a little leg work. You may need to do a little praying (or a lot). But navigating those unforeseen ups and downs in women’s ministry becomes a little easier as you move forward.

FINAL THOUGHTS

We can do that environmentally green thing by just being responsible people for the beautiful world that God made for us. And that’s an important thing to do, but as a women’s leader, we can develop a GREEN attitude as well. Sharing and teaching other women can be such a beautiful thing!

I hope these five things I’ve talked about will encourage you to put your heart into being GREEN when it comes to how you minister to other women.

Grow, Revitalize, Equip, Encourage, and Navigate.

In the end, we want a people-friendly environment in our women’s ministry. We want it to be full of love. We want it to have longevity. We want to keep it a beautiful thing. And we want to be those teachers of good things.

Our goal should be that we want to be able to pass a well-kept and welldone women’s ministry down to the next generation of Christian women.

So, are you ready for a GREEN women’s ministry?

Copyright ©2023 Julia Bettencourt

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