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

Hand Off = the act or an instance of handing the ball to a teammate during a play

As women’s ministry leaders, we cannot do everything. One woman cannot do it all. There’s a lot involved in even the smallest church and smallest women’s ministry. It takes lots of hands to do women’s ministry.

Handing off the ball as a leader is a way of getting that ball further down the field. The goal is to get the ball closer to the goal. It doesn’t matter who gets it there or who moves it farther. Everybody needs to help to win the game. A one-man (or woman) team just doesn’t work.

1.  Handing Off the Ball Takes Courage

Fear of the unknown can hold us back as leaders when handing off the ball. Maybe it’s the first time you’ve used this lady or volunteer to accomplish something. Maybe it’s the first time you’ve handed off that particular duty. It might be something you’ve held on to yourself and never let anyone else do.

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Joshua 1:9 (KJV)

Sometimes it can be a little scary to hand off the ball and you have to muster up some courage to go ahead and let go. Rely on the Lord. Have faith in Him and have a little faith in other people’s abilities too.

2.  Handing Off the Ball Takes Practice

Face it. Sometimes you are going to have to hand off a job or duty to another person in women’s ministry and it doesn’t always end up being a pretty picture. Have you ever thought to yourself, “Wow, why didn’t I choose someone else to do that?” Maybe this person didn’t do it correctly. Maybe they half did the job or did a sloppy job at something.

It happens, but don’t get discouraged, the best football players in the game didn’t learn to hand off the ball the first time they tried. They had lots of drills and practice before they could do it well.

Next time you might have to get someone completely different for a job, or maybe just train that person that didn’t quite do the job like you wanted. If they are willing to listen and learn, then put some time into training that person to improve at the task.

3.  Handing Off the Ball Takes Knowledge

You are going to have to know where and when to hand off the ball. You have to know your ladies and what they are capable of and what they are not capable of doing. You have to know what their particular sets of skills are and how strong they are.

It is always important to know what your spiritual gifts are yourself, but as a leader we have to recognize what others are as well if we want to nurture those and put those ladies into the right positions and duties that will enhance the spiritual gifts and talents the Lord has blessed them with individually.

One thing you can do is just ask your ladies either one on one or have a survey to see what types of areas they feel they are gifted. You have got to be prepared before you get on the field and need to hand off the ball. You need to know who to pass it to next. You also need to know the spiritual level of your ladies. How grounded are they in the Word? How’s their Christian living level? How’s their speech? Do they set a good example for other women? For instance, you wouldn’t want to give a job of teaching a Bible study to someone who isn’t strong in their Bible, but you may use that lady in another area of service.

4.  Handing Off the Ball Takes Preparation

We can’t expect to hand over the ball or specific duties in the local church women’s ministry if we don’t prepare the ladies, we are handing the ball over to in the first place. They may be adequately skilled so you might not have much preparation to do, but it’s always good to give guidelines such as when a project is due. Let them know about budgets. Let them know procedures that need to be followed.

Be sure to give your helpers and teams lists of duties and any materials they may need for the job, and don’t forget about money needed or a budget. Don’t just tell them they are in charge of something in your women’s group and not give them any details. You may have to put a little work into getting them ready for their jobs.

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. Colossians 3:23 (KJV)

It takes a little effort in preparation to successfully hand off the ball, but everything we do in women’s ministry is for the Lord so it’s worth that little bit of extra effort that it might require.

5.  Handing Off the Ball Takes A Plan

In football all those players are just waiting and ready to take the ball and get it further down the field if the play calls for it. Don’t you wish that was the way it was in women’s ministry? If every lady was just waiting and chomping at the bit to get active in the game and take the ball further down the field if needed? I wish that was reality, but it isn’t.

We’ve got to do a little planning to coax some of those ladies to take the ball. Some of them are ready to take on any task with their hands out to grab the ball and that’s great, but others are out there on the field with fists clinched. They don’t want to be in charge of moving that ball no matter what you say. You can’t just throw the ball at them. They won’t catch it! You have to plan out how you are going to get that ball over into their hands and try to do it without a fumble.

It goes without saying that you make prayer a big part of your plan. Motivation is one great thing to put in your plan arsenal as well. Get motivated yourself. Your excitement might just rub off onto someone else. Use awareness too in your plan. Get out the news about your women’s ministry and the needs it has and the positions that it has available.

Be sure to share your passion for women’s ministry and your passion for Christ and how He is working through the women of your church. You want others to have that same passion to serve the Lord.

One important thing to include in your plan to hand off the ball is that you are clear on what that “ball” contains. Let your volunteers and helpers know exactly what the job or duty is that you have in mind for them. Let them know specifics like how long it will take, what you expect, when and where it will be accomplished. Things like that are important. If it’s a term on a leader team, be sure to let them know what is expected of them and how long the term will last. Give all the details. Your ladies will be more willing to reach out for the ball if they know what is going to happen after they grab it.

You are always going to run into a “no” now and again, or maybe quite a lot of them, but I think we still need to encourage and motivate those ladies towards service even when they have those clenched fists. God may be working in their life, and we might just be one of His tools to draw that lady into His service.

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works Hebrews 10:24 (KJV)

Some ladies in your group may say no to a job or position because of other responsibilities and that’s understandable. I do think though that some women just need more encouragement and coaxing than others. Many of them think they can’t do something and don’t have much self-confidence so they just automatically say “no”. It might just be a matter of giving them someone else to work alongside of them and they may change that “no” to a “yes”.

Whatever way we decide to hand off responsibilities, it’s always best to have a plan to get those ladies hands reaching out for the ball.

6.  Handing Off the Ball Takes Guidance

Nothing can help you more in the area of handing off the ball as a women’s ministry leader than guidance. Prayer is the major tool that a leader can tap into, or any Christian for that matter. Prayer for guidance is so important. As leaders we need to depend on God’s guidance up front and foremost.

For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me. Psalms 31:3 (KJV)

Besides prayer and guidance and leading from the Lord, guidance from others may be called for as well. You may need to seek the advice of your leadership team if you have one in place. Or you may need to seek advice from your pastor or pastor’s wife when dealing with handing off jobs and duties within your women’s ministry.

Conclusion

Handing off the ball by gathering help, using volunteers, and taking advantage of the gifts and talents of the ladies that the Lord has placed in your path will go a long ways in getting that ball down the field. It will also ease up the load you are carrying individually so you can manage and tackle the things you know the Lord called you specifically to do.

I personally have always kept a few things that I never hand off the ball for in women’s ministry. One of those is taking charge of things like choosing Bible studies or choosing teachers for Bible studies within the church women’s ministry. I feel I need to run with the ball tight under my arms for those things because those things deal with the use of God’s Word and it’s very important to me that there aren’t any fumbles when dealing in that area. That doesn’t mean I am always the Bible teacher or need to give the devotional each time. That just means I oversee it carefully myself. I don’t let other people take control of the ball in that area.

I think as a leader there are some things that should ultimately be your decision. It’s part of leading and bearing your responsibility, but there are so many areas of women’s ministry where’s there’s a field of opportunity for all the ladies within your church to serve and use their talents and gifts for the Lord.

As leaders, we have to learn to hand off the ball so it will get farther down the field and closer to the goal. When we don’t, we become a hindrance to the game.

Copyright ©2011 Julia Bettencourt

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