Part 4 Add Reaching Arms (outreach)

Do You Want to Build a Women's Ministry? Series

Julia Bettencourt

Originally posted January 29, 2016

We have been working our way to building a women's ministry. So far we have talked about the foundation, the work involved, and the vision it entails.

Next we are taking a look at the outreach a women's ministry can have.

When we build a snowman we start with the base and add a face to that. Next we attach something to be our snowman's arms. Usually it is some sticks or thin branches. One thing we don't do is just push those sticks flat up against our snowman body. We want the sticks to resemble arms so we attach them with the tips sticking outward from each side of our snowman.

That is what we want to do in our women's ministry. We want to have our arms reach outward. In women's ministry we want to extend our arms to others. We should want to spread the witness of Christ. We can't spread God's love by keeping it to ourselves.

We can't be welcoming to the ladies that don't attend our women's ministry activities if we don't make it a point to reach out to them in some way. When we have the idea that we keep our women's ministry inward or as an island unto itself, several things can happen.

Inward ministries have consequences

Clicks can emerge.
Friendships are limited.
Stagnation may evolve.
Some ladies may feel excluded.
New ladies may feel like they are intruding.
Ladies will begin to take sides on various matters.
The cause of Christ becomes limited.
Spiritual gifts are overlooked.
A limited few end up running things completely.
News ideas and input from those on the "outside" (whether good or bad) isn't accepted.
Gossip can become "normal" behavior.
Bitterness can fester.
Spiritual growth can become stunted.
Women's ministry becomes more of a "club" than a ministry.
Women's ministry can become unwelcoming.

We have to be so careful to include others in women's ministry. It cannot be full of clicks and inward thinking.

We cannot just share fellowship among ourselves. We need to reach out to those women who don't attend and to all of the people in our church in general. We need to have a welcoming attitude when it comes to our women's groups in our local churches.

Have a community outreach

Our reaching arms should encompass our community too. How involved is your women's group in your community? There are some things we can do to improve that involvement.

Be Aware of Community Workings

Be aware of what is in your community.

What businesses are located in your county?
What reputable non-profits have found a place in your community?
What about nursing homes, women's shelters, and missions?
Do you know what makes a home or base in your community?

Be aware of all city and county events.
- Get a community calendar by checking with your city or county.
- You may want to check with your Chamber of Commerce.
- Don't schedule women's ministry activities the same day as big events in your area if it can be avoided.
- Don't cause unnecessary conflict.
Look for areas of need in your community.

There are always going to be needs that arise which your women's ministry can have a part in filling.
Are their needy families such as those who have lost jobs or perhaps are the victims of house fires?
Are there projects in your community that need help for important causes such as walks or runs for cancer?

Perhaps you want to take part in ministering to a nursing home or fill needs of a women's shelter. Give your ladies the opportunity to be involved in these type of things even if it is only on a small scale. Our women's ministries need to work at getting our feet in the door of our communities.

Have a Missions outreach

Another area of outreach that our reaching arms can help support is missions.

Be Aware of Needs

Are there mission projects in which your ladies could be involved?
Are there mission trips in which some of your ladies may want to participate?
Are there missionaries that your church supports that have specific needs that your women's group can fill or even make as a matter of prayer?

Maybe your group would like to start a missionary prayer effort. Your women's group may want to send letters or packages to some of your missionary families. Maybe your women's ministry will decide to start a missionary closet.

How about having your women's ministry group collect a love offering for a specific mission related need? There are so many ways to get your ladies involved in missions.

Think about how your ladies can reach out their arms individually. We all have the opportunity to reach outward just by sharing our own stories and testimonies of how Christ changed our lives. We need to know how to witness to others. We need to learn to share our blessings and our testimonies.

Outreaching Arms are important

It is so important that our women's ministries begin using their arms to reach out to women in general. We need to reach out to those within our church and within our communities.

You may have to work on promoting your women's ministry and work on finding ways to invite women to be a part of what is going on in your group.

Stretching out our arms is so important in how we build a women's ministry. It is how we carry the Gospel and how we share love for others. We need to learn to serve and care for others like Christ did.

Our arms have to be welcoming, easy to extend, and have open and willing hands. We must work at it and make a priority of sharing Christ with reaching arms.

Read Part 5 - Add Some Character! of this article series next!!

Find the links to all of this series here.

Find more training helps in the Leader Training Index.

See the Leader Essentials.