Part 3 Make a Face! (Vision)

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

Julia Bettencourt

Originally posted January 28, 2016

Up to this point we have discussed a foundation and the need for lots of helping hands to build a women's ministry.

What is the first thing you do when you have formed a snowman? It's all rolled and those big snowballs are stacked on top of each other. What comes next? We make a face!

People don't use coal for snowmen eyes much these days but normally some small rocks. We may use small rocks as well to form a mouth and perhaps a carrot for a nose. Sometimes we have to be creative to find something to make a face with for our snowmen. Until we do though, what we have made so far is basically just big snowballs. A face makes a snowman come alive.

We have to add a face to our women's ministry too. It needs to come alive!

Add Some Eyes

Normally we begin by adding the eyes first on a snowman. That's because if they aren't placed in the appropriate place, the rest of our snowman's face will become distorted.

We are going to start with the eyes in building our women's ministry too. When we get our eyes adjusted, the rest of the face of women's ministry will be aligned correctly.

So, how do we do that? First, we consider how Jesus would see things. Jesus looked at the world with love and compassion so that is a good place to start.

We definitely have to have compassion and love when it comes to women's ministry. We will be dealing with people, more specifically, women. Those women will come in all sorts of packages. They each will have different personalities, have different needs, and be at different stages of life. We are going to have to really see them.

One thing I notice when I think about how Jesus saw people is that when He looked at them, He saw their needs. The thing is, it didn't stop at Jesus just seeing people and their needs or where they were at in life, but He went further and did something about what He saw. He responded in some way.

How Jesus Responded

When Jesus saw Zacchaeus up in that tree He told him to come down. Jesus told Zacchaeus that He was going to his house that very day. (Luke 19) Jesus was aware that Zacchaeus needed that one-on-one attention.
When Jesus passed by and saw Matthew, He said "Follow me". (Matthew 9:9) Jesus knew Matthew needed a Savior to follow.
When Jesus turned to see the lady who had touched His garment and was healed, He didn't just look at her. Remember how He talked to her? (Mark 5) He gave her comfort.
When Jesus saw the people and was "moved with compassion", He sat down and taught them. He knew they needed a Shepherd. (Mark 6:34)
When Jesus saw the people and was "moved with compassion", He healed the sick. (Matthew 14:14)
When Jesus saw the people were hungry, He fed them. (Matthew 15)
When Jesus saw the woman at the well, He talked to her. He didn't ignore her just because she was a Samaritan. He met her need of Living Water. (John 4)

Looking through the eyes of Jesus will help our women's ministry focus. We will start seeing our ladies and become aware of not only needs, but who those woman are as individuals. Things will become less about us as leaders and more about others.

Seeing through the eyes of Christ will help us as we look down the road too. We need a vision for our women's ministry. Personally I don't necessarily think you always have to have a formal vision statement or anything like that, but you should have nailed down the direction your women's ministry wants to go in your church.

Ask some questions

What is in the future of your women's ministry?
What should be accomplished through your women's ministry?
What is the purpose and mission of your women's ministry?
What is your women's ministry designed to do?
What are the physical needs your women's ministry wants to meet?
What are the spiritual needs your women's ministry wants to meet?
What are the emotional needs your women's ministry wants to meet?
Is there are particular Bible verse or passage that covers your women's ministry vision?

What are some phrases that describe what your women's ministry vision covers?

To encourage spiritually
To teach the Bible
To encourage fellowship
To develop friendships
To connect with other women
To develop new leaders and teachers
To be prayer warriors
To build up faith
To meet physical needs
To be mission minded
To spread the Gospel
To empower women
To strengthen women spiritually
To equip women physically
To equip women spiritually
To equip women emotionally
To provide opportunities of service
To change the lives of women
To develop compassion
To make an impact in the community

Seeing what needs you want to meet will help you be able to plan and prepare to carry out a vision for your women's ministry.

A vision should be specific to your women's group. It should be fine-tuned. It should not be about what other church groups are doing, although you can always glean ideas from others. Really though, make it about your women's group. What goals do you have as a group?

Do some evaluating. Use your eyes to really look and see what you can accomplish for the Lord through your women's ministry.

Add a Nose

The next thing we add to our snowman is a nose. It goes right there in the middle of the face. A carrot nose on a snowman will give it some color and start defining that face.

In women's ministry, our nose is going to be important. Our nose is going to make us aware. It is going to help us sniff out problems. Our nose is going remind us to be sensitive. Being aware of situations and things that matter to our women in our groups can help save us so much trouble. How many times as leaders have problems developed just because we weren't aware of something that mattered?

When we stay aware we can sniff out a problem and deal with it quickly, smoothly, and effectively. Our groups have to remain that "sweetsmelling" savior (Ephesians 5:2).

In Part 2 of this article, I mentioned those "sneaky invaders" that can come into our women's groups. We have to deal with those right away when they come into play. Our women's groups need that unity in the body of Christ.

Noses are sensitive parts of our face. They are sensitive to smells. They let us know when something is sour smelling, faint smelling, or sweet smelling. Noses are sensitive to touch. We can feel the slightest movement of a feather when it touches our noses. They are sensitive to heat and cold as well.

As women's leaders we need to be sensitive too. We also need to teach the women in our groups to be sensitive. We have to learn to be sensitive and attentive to the feelings, needs, and even the emotions of the ladies we interact with in women's ministry.

That's not to say that we walk on eggshells or never talk plainly, but we have to learn the art of tact. We have to be considerate and understanding. We have to show that love and compassion like Jesus did.

Add a Mouth

Next on a snowman we add the mouth. When we build a snowman, the shape of the mouth is all up to the one who is adding it. It may be in the shape of a smile. It may be a line straight across. The corners might be shaped down like a frown. The whole expression of the snowman is formed by the shape of its mouth.

In our women's ministry, our mouths will have a shape too. People can look at our groups and see what kind of mouth we have. People in and out of the women's ministry will know if we have a group of complainers on our hands. People will know if the women's group is full of gossips. People can see how the women interact and talk to each other.

Our mouths can be extremely encouraging or they can be devastatingly discouraging. The Bible is full of passages on our tongues. Our tongues are something we have to gain control over or it can get us into trouble. How we talk to each other and how we talk about each other in our women's groups can make or break us.

Our tongues have a tendency to get in the way of plans. They can slow down the vision of your women's ministry in a big hurry.

Everyone needs to work on their tongues. It just comes with the territory of being a human. We are going to have to work hard at building a beautiful mouth where women's ministry is concerned. Complaining, gossiping, and stirring up trouble with our tongues should have no place in our women's groups. We want to have a beautiful smiling mouth.

Add Some Ears

We don't normally add ears when we build a snowman but I won't say never because I'm sure it has been done by some creative people somewhere.

Ears are vital when building a women's ministry. Hearing and listening plays a big part in what we do. Listening allows us as leaders to understand and know how to plan and prepare. It will allow us to know what direction to go in where Bible studies, meetings, and activities are concerned.

Tuning in and listening to others in our groups can help us avoid problems. It will help us meet needs. It will even help us know what to pray for as well.

Listening is a wonderful tool that we as leaders need to learn to use. Sometimes it is hard to listen and to listen well. We have to forget about ourselves. We have to forget about our own egos. We have to forget about just the everyday things that want to pound in our heads.

When we are listening some of the things we shouldn't be doing are:

Interrupting
Fidgeting
Looking away
Frowning
Walking away

On the other hand when we are a good listener we will:

Make eye contact
Focus our attention
Concentrate
Use appropriate or receptive body language
Respond appropriately at pauses in conversation

Learning to listen will help us connect more closely with those in our women's groups. It helps us communicate. It helps us understand. We need to use our ears.

Listening also plays a big part in the vision of women's ministry that I mentioned earlier. Knowing what is going on within the group of ladies you are working with will help determine the types of goals you will want to set. It will help steer that vision. It will help you make better decisions about what the future of your women's ministry holds.

Make your women's ministry come alive

Adding a face to our women's ministry is all about using the senses that God gave us. We have to be in tune with the needs of those in our groups whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually.

Our senses help us be in touch. Learning to see, smell, communicate, and listen helps our women's ministry come alive. It is what helps us to make a face!

Read Part 4 - Add Reaching Arms! of this article series next!!

Find the links to all of this series here.

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