March 02, 2011

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13,14 (KJV)

It's time to get our Women's Ministry in gear! I hope you are ready to get on board the Women's Ministry Train and take the trip with me.

Now we all know that when a lot of people get on board for something together it doesn't always all go smoothly. I wonder what a train full of just ladies would be like?

We all have different backgrounds, personalities, temperaments, likes, dislikes, and "baggage" that we carry along with us. I'm not promising that it will always be a smooth ride, but I do know that it will be worth taking the trip.

Look around you. Can you imagine all of us squeezed into a train car and facing the prospect of a long trip together? I can see some of you now. You've got your earphones plugged into your ears, singing along with your tunes in your own little world. Some of you are probably going to curl up with a book. Many of you are talking on your cell phones or texting.

Others are looking anxiously out the window wondering what's up ahead. Some are scared and afraid of the ride and are holding on for dear life. And some of you---well, most of you are talking, talking, talking with excited voices. A few of you are overly excited at just the prospect of the trip. I can hear a few moans mingled with some laughter in the air now!

Face it. God made us all different but there's no reason why we can't all band together as Christian women and head in the same direction. We can allow our differences to tear us apart or we can use them to help make us stronger. We all have different strengths and weaknesses, and God has a way of using those to make us better as a group.

So, before we even start, I don't want any of you to miss the trip just because you think you don't fit in with the others on the train. Please don't let anything hold you back. Everyone is welcome to come along and get on board with us! We need all types of women of different ages, personalities, and yes even different little quirks to make this an exciting and fulfilling ride.

All Aboard for Participation!

Your women's ministry needs you. Please don't sit around and wait for it to grow or to see what direction it takes before you start attending and participating. Don't hesitate to get on board. It won't grow without you and if you are really concerned about the direction it's going to take, then be involved and help steer it in the right direction.

You hold the key to at least part of what direction your church women's ministry goes based on whether you participate or not.

All Aboard for Encouragement!

There's nothing like the power of encouragement, especially from other Christian women within your local church. You know each other's needs and who better to pray for them and to give encouragement and support than to each other?

And what better way to get to know each other more and be the prayer support and the sister in Christ you should be to each other than to spend time together? We have the opportunity to attend meetings, Bible studies, and activities together. We need each other for encouragement.

All Aboard for Investment!

We are not talking about financial investment, although I'm sure that's not discouraged, but a real investment of time and of yourself towards your church women's ministry is needed. There are going to be times when everyone will need to pitch in for activities and functions and even for prayer support.

What will your investment be? We are not asking anyone to do it all but to function as in any other part of the church by giving of your gifts and talents so that the whole body of the church functions properly.

All Aboard for Fellowship!

One thing we don't need on our train is a disruptive spirit. Everyone needs to get along. That's not to say we won't all disagree from time to time, but as Christian women we should have the maturity to get along and be walking in fellowship with each other.

Bickering, fighting, gossiping, and bitterness even between just two ladies in a church group can tear up and drag down everyone involved. Even just one lady who harbors bitterness in her heart can bring down the whole group.

Disruptive spirits will defeat the whole purpose of our women's ministry, so I encourage you to build up friendships between each other and pray for each other. Have you ever noticed that's it's harder to get mad at someone if you continually encourage them and continually bring them before the Lord in prayer?

Also, if you already harbor bitterness in some way, take care of it. Don't let that grow within you or be a detriment to our women's ministry.

All Aboard for Moving Forward!

We want our Women's Ministry Train to take us somewhere. We can't just stay as we are. We have to be an active women's ministry in order to survive and in order for the younger girls to want to have anything to do with it when they grow into young women.

Sure, there are foundations and steppingstones already in place for us to build upon, but if we stand still we will never get anywhere and we want to make progress.

All Aboard for Excitement!

It should be exciting for us to step on our Women's Ministry Train and see what God has in store for us. We don't know what blessings the Lord has just waiting for us around the bend. What can we accomplish? How can we change our church and community for the better? What can we accomplish through our women's ministry for the sake of eternity?

The disciples turned the world upside down with the preaching of the Word. Even though we may not be preachers and stand behind a pulpit every week, even as women, we are still to spread the Gospel. Look around you. Do you see all the strong, vital, enthusiastic ladies among us?

Think about even those in our church that aren't present. What a group! Now think what we can accomplish through each other and with God's help to be an outreach of our church.

I encourage you to get excited and spread the word about our women's ministry!

FINAL THOUGHTS

Women's Ministry can have an impact on any local church. Why shouldn't ours? We can do this. Through our women's ministry, we can improve our relationships with each other.

We can improve our prayer lives. We can improve our Bible study. We can improve the way we mentor and teach the younger girls in our church. We can improve our community. We can improve our relationships with each other and with our spouses. We can improve the support we have among each other as women. We can even improve our laughter and emotional states.

In the long run we can improve our church as a whole because when we as women are doing our part to further the cause of Christ, we will see results. There's such potential among us. Can you see where our train is headed? I hope you'll all be part of the ride.

We need each other to go full steam ahead.

In our verses in Philippians 3:13,14, Paul is talking about how he had to let go of those things that were holding him back and just keep going forward. That's what we all have to do, not only in our individual Christian lives, but when it comes to our women's ministry as well.

So, are you on board?

Copyright ©2023 Julia Bettencourt

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