August 22, 2011 (Excerpt from the Women's Ministry Leader's Training Camp Series)

Home Field Advantage = the benefit a team gets by playing games in the area where it is based, due to fan support, familiarity with its surroundings and the lack of required travel

In football, you can see that the home field advantage would emotionally encourage the players. They have their families and friends in the crowd. They are well rested because they didn’t have to travel, and anytime we are on familiar ground, things are easier.

As women’s ministry leaders, we need to take advantage of our local church and the support it can give. When we are working at doing women’s ministry in the local church, we are not doing it ourselves or trying to build up a ministry outside of the church, but we are just one part of the church ministry as a whole.

1.  The Support of the Pastor

Having the support of the pastor will carry you a long way in your ministry for women. Keep in touch with the pastor. If he doesn’t have a set time to meet with the ministry leaders for reports, then make an appointment with him. Let him know what’s going on within the women's ministry.

Let him know about spiritual decisions that your women are making. Let him know about events. Let him know about Bible studies and the goals of the women’s ministry.

When you keep the pastor informed about what’s going on in the women’s ministry, he doesn’t have to wonder. He will know you are on your game and moving forward.

2.  The Support of the Pastor’s Wife

Some of you probably are pastor’s wives and women’s leaders all rolled into one, but some pastor’s wives aren’t involved in the women’s ministry of their churches at all. In other churches the pastor’s wife only has a small part in the women’s ministry of the church. No matter how involved or uninvolved the pastor’s wife is in the women’s ministry, you as a women’s leader will want her to be well informed of what’s going on and how important the events and activities are to the women of the church.

A pastor’s wife can be your best cheerleader when it comes to women’s ministry, or you may get to the point where you feel she’s rooting for the other team. Get her on your side and invite her support. You can do this in little ways. One is keeping her informed and up to date on what’s happening within the women’s group. Seek her advice when it comes to spiritual things and her advice when it comes to recommendations for Bible studies for your women. That’s not to say you allow her to dictate to you how you run the women’s ministry but be open to listening to her wisdom and let her know you respect her insight.

Build up your pastor’s wife to your women’s group. Pray for her and encourage the ladies of your women’s group to pray for her as well. Never talk negatively about the pastor’s wife but make sure you say only kind and gentle words about her. Give her the respect she deserves. She will appreciate you for it.

3.  The Support of the Deacons and Their Wives

The deacons and their wives are usually the most-well known people in the church. They are there for everything, lead everything, and are involved in everything that goes on within the church. What better support to have for your women’s ministry?

Let your deacons and their wives know that you are excited about the women’s ministry of the church. Talk about what’s going on in the women’s ministry. Build it up. Your deacons should know you are excited about serving.

As a side note, the deacons are usually the ones who prepare the projected church budgets, so when your ministry is up for review, you want them to know that the women’s ministry is worthwhile and doing something for Christ. You want them to remember it is a place where women are growing in the Lord and that it is a ministry that is playing a vital part in the church.

4.  The Church Members

The women’s ministry you lead is not yours. It is the church’s women’s ministry. Allow the church members to be cheerleaders of what is going on within that ministry. If there’s open testimony times in your church, praise the Lord about something that’s going on in women’s ministry. Praise the Lord about seeing spiritual decisions made in women’s ministry. Let the whole church get excited about it.

You can also ask your pastor from time to time to give a brief update to the church about the women’s ministry. Keep it before the church members and welcome their support.

5.  The Ladies of the Church

Nobody can spread excitement and support better for your women’s ministry than those who are involved and being blessed by it. Encourage your ladies to build up the women’s ministry and not tear it down. Encourage them to be positive. Get them excited to spread the word about how God has blessed them through the women’s outreach.

Conclusion

I’m not going to go into detail of why the local church is important, but from God’s Word we know that it is.

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Hebrews 10:25 (KJV)

The local church is the place that should be the heart of women’s ministry. It is where our ladies are able to join in with their gifts and talents to serve the Lord. It’s a place for them to learn and grow in God’s grace. Having your whole church excited and behind the women’s ministry will help things run so much smoother. Take the home field advantage and rely on the support of your own local church so that your women’s ministry will be able to move forward for Christ.

Copyright ©2011 Julia Bettencourt

Go to the Training Camp Index.

Find more training helps in the Leader Training Index.

• Leader Vault
• Blog
• Home