March 18, 2020

I have discussed the need for simpler events for ministry within the local church through some of my articles, but how do we get started with some simple goals for those events? I advise starting by taking a look at past events that you have held in your ministry.

Ask some questions about past events

I suggest choosing your last big event and asking these questions about that particular event.

• What could you have done without?
• How could you have made it simpler?
• Were you as a leader too exhausted to enjoy the event?
• Were your volunteers and helpers too exhausted to enjoy the event?
• Was the schedule so full that the attendees couldn’t relax?
• Was the budget way out of control?
• Was there too much going on aesthetically that people couldn’t focus?
• Were there some moments or minutes where your attendees could rest their mind before going on to the next thing?
• As a whole, do you think the majority of your women were spiritually fed by this event?
• As a whole, do you think the majority of your women were encouraged by this event?
• As a whole, do you think the majority of your women engaged in fellowship and conversations during this event?
• How could you have made the event more people focused?
• How could you have made it more Bible based?
• What are some elements that you feel had lasting value?

Next, take a look at your church goals as a whole, not just for a particular ministry, whether it be women’s ministry, men’s ministry, or any other type of ministry within the local church. You need to see the entire picture of what your pastor, church leaders, and your church as a whole are trying to do within the confines of your church itself and also within your community.

You want any event you do through your church to be not only in agreement with the teaching and philosophy of the church, that is a given, but you want to enhance what is going on within your local assembly.

So, take a good long look at your church, its people, and its ministries.

Ask questions about your church

This will help you narrow down what you want to have for goals within your women's ministry.

• What are the church goals?
• Does your church have a mission statement?
• Does your church have a vision for the year?
• What type of people make up your church? (Singles, families, etc.)
• Is there anything unique about your community that impacts your church?
• What image is your church trying to project?
• Are there any current spiritual goals that are being emphasized?
• Are there prescheduled events that another event would compete with or stifle?

You have to get to know your church, its schedule, and all the inner workings in order to be an effective women's ministry leader. You can't just keep to yourself in your own ministry and not be aware of what's going on in the rest of the church body.

Next, think about the next big event that you have planned already or are thinking about planning for your church women's ministry.

Ask some questions about possibile opportunities

This will help you accomplish some simple goals for this event.

• Will this event improve the future of the church in any way?
• Will this event possibly hinder the future of the church in any way?
• Will women have an opportunity to gain some biblical knowledge?
• Will women be exposed to the Gospel?
• Will women be given the opportunity to use their spiritual gifts?
• Will women be given the opportunity to fellowship with other Christians?
• Will women be comfortable bringing non-believers to this event?

Asking these types of questions will help you figure out what’s important for your church and help you discover what areas of ministry and outreach that you want to put time, work, effort, and money into when planning an event.

You want whatever you do within the ministry of a church to reflect and encompass the church as a whole. In other words, you don’t want to work against what is already being built up in your church. Each ministry within the local church should be enhancing and strengthening the other ministries that are carried out within that body of believers.

Ministry leaders should also be concerned with making an activity or event conducive as a whole to the entire church. You must make a point to be aware of things that are already on the church schedule. You don’t want to take workers away from other ministry commitments within your church. You don’t want to take attendees away from their commitment to other ministries within your church. You don’t want to stifle the support or the enthusiasm of another ministry event that’s going on within another area of your local church.

After you have looked at past events and how you strengthen your church by the events you hold, you can start simplifying and making event goals accordingly.

Copyright ©2020 Julia Bettencourt

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