Make Changes Wisely In An Established Women’s Ministry

As the announcements wrap up the Sunday service, someone highlights the upcoming women’s spring tea. Depending on their experiences with church women’s ministry events, women in your congregation may have various reactions.

Some women might dismiss the event right away. How would sitting around tables with women they barely know ease their to-do list? Yet they may feel a pull of what they wish women’s ministry could be. A way for someone to sit across the table—tea or no tea—and see how they’re struggling to keep up with work deadlines, carpool schedules, and medical bills all while being a good friend.

Other women have a totally different reaction. They excitedly mark their calendars and volunteer to set a pretty table, bake beautiful desserts, and brew tea. As they ice cookies, they pray that younger women will receive truth and encouragement. Yet, when the big day rolls around, no one but the usual group shows up, and they wonder why the younger women don’t come.

As a women’s ministry leader, does any of this ring true when you think about the women in your church? Whether it’s a tea, a retreat, a Bible study, or something else, do you feel tension between a group of women holding on to the reins of how things have always been done and women tugging on those reins for some change?

In navigating these dynamics, I’ve found it helpful to encourage women on both sides of this tension to adopt a shared vision of women’s ministry as a gospel party.

Women’s Ministry: A Gospel Party

Both women who want to maintain the status quo and those who want change, need the same things from women’s ministry—the ministry of the Word, the fellowship of saints, and the opportunity to love others in word and deed. In other words, to be a gospel party, women’s ministry events need three things.

1. God’s Word

Whether you’re serving hot tea or iced lattes, the gospel party menu needs to include biblical truths that meet women where they are. Applying God’s Word to emotional, spiritual, and even physical needs ministers to women in various circumstances and life stages (Ps. 119:105). This kind of party is fun to watch as the Holy Spirit helps women apply the Word to their struggles in the office, carpool, or nursing home.

2. God’s People

A gospel party needs guests who are open to connecting with one another, who want to know not only God’s Word but also God’s people (1 Pet. 2:5). Encourage women to share their stories in hopes they can help others in their struggles. Consider how you can make the party accessible for women of different ages with different schedules and responsibilities. For a diverse group to attend, you have to plan like you want all kinds of women there.

3. Outsiders and Unbelievers

Every gospel party needs an invitation list beyond the church roll. This isn’t the kind of party that requires membership to attend.

Applying God’s Word to emotional, spiritual, and physical needs ministers to women in various circumstances and life stages.

Just as Jesus’s parable of the great banquet involved pulling people off the streets to join his feast (Luke 14:23), so should our gospel parties be accessible to those who may not wear the latest fashion or know where to find the book of Ecclesiastes.

Not There Yet?

By the way, the gospel party metaphor isn’t just about how you plan events. The elements of teaching God’s Word, connecting God’s people, and seeking unbelievers should be woven into every aspect of women’s ministry. But if yours doesn’t yet resemble a gospel party, don’t despair. Here’s how you can begin to assess what needs to change.

1. Look at Your Heart

Why are you seeking to implement change in your women’s ministry? Are you doing it out of pride or self-righteousness? Have you spent time in prayer? Have you spent time alongside the women already serving in women’s ministry at your church? Humility is the secret sauce for this kind of change. Rather than being certain about what needs to change, begin by being curious.

2. Look at Jesus

How did Jesus implement change? After all, he was up against the most entrenched “this is how we’ve always done it” religious system ever. Just as Jesus found his footing in his Father’s will, we find our confidence in God’s plan and timing, not ours. Like Jesus, seek to bring others along instead of bossing them around. My favorite resource for this kind of leadership is Karen Hodge and Susan Hunt’s Life-Giving Leadership. In fact, when I was struggling with how to implement change years ago, Hodge gave me the gospel-party metaphor for women’s ministry.

3. Look at the Room

Are you considering the needs and interests of all your church women, or are you only focusing on the women in your corner of the room? Are you such a fan of what has worked in your spiritual growth that you cannot see what would work for others? Consider what your ministry needs to look more like a gospel party. Is it just a few fresh tweaks or a healthy overhaul?

Proceed with Care

Once you have an idea of how your women’s ministry needs to change, be thoughtful and intentional with your implementation.

1. Involve Your Church Leadership

Take your desire to the pastor, staff member, or elder who supports women’s ministry. He or she can brainstorm with you or connect you to the right person for the next conversation. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes as you get ready to share your ideas or concerns. Sometimes in our enthusiasm, we come across as a know-it-all. Be patient and prepared to accept constructive criticism, and listen for common goals. Women’s ministry should always align with the larger mission and vision of the local church.

2. Involve the Women in Your Ministry

The ideal way to get buy-in (because one woman can’t change a whole culture) is to involve other women from the beginning. Ask a small group of spiritually mature women of different walks of life to help you anticipate challenges and think through possible approaches for implementing change.

Rather than being certain about what needs to change, begin by being curious.

This group needs to reflect the diversity of your female members, such as stay-at-home moms, divorcées, single women, young wives, widows, artists, attorneys, and accountants. Pray and brainstorm together. Foster a creative vibe where no ideas are deemed silly. Bring along more and more women as the conversation moves to implementation.

3. Set the Tone with Careful Communication

Any change, small or big, is an opportunity for some women to get worried, while others get excited. Take care to bring all women along, naming the emotions in the room and modeling that your confidence isn’t based on your great skill but on God’s power working through you and others.

Remind your women (and yourself) that God is the ultimate Host of this gospel party your church women are throwing. As changes are made, the teapot may look different, but the gospel tea remains the same: God’s Word poured for God’s people so they can offer God’s invitation to others.