My husband and I have had the privledge of doing full time ministry for 15 years. Over the last couple years it hit me that I am not a youngin anymore. The Lord kept pressing on my heart and mind the responsibility I have to share the experience He's given. Though I am no where close to real veterans who have 40 years of experience under their belt, that doesn't excuse me from sharing what He has entrusted to me from the 15 years. So if someone were to ask me what my best practices for a successful women's ministry were, these would be at the top of my list. 1. Remember What God Defines as Success. It can be easy to mix up success with numbers. But to God, success is taking initiative in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results up to God. If we are growing in wisdom by seeking out knowledge and experience and walking by faith in putting what we learn into practice by the strength He gives us, that is success. The choices of other people don't define what ministry success is. 2. Keep the End Goal in Mind. The end goal of any ministry, women's ministry or any other is to make disciples who make disciples for the glory of God. This is the great co-mission Jesus has assigned to all believers. If we don't keep our eyes on the goal, it is easy to be controlled by the tyranny of the urgent, swayed by peoples opinions and just putting events on the calendar to make sure there is something to do. When we keep the end goal in mind, it helps us know what to say yes to and what to say no to. It helps us think through what our critical events need to be in order to make multiplying disciples. 3. Use Events Strategically. Events can be very strategic to the end goal or they can be a distraction. To use them strategically, they need to be seen not as the end goal in an of themselves but a step to get one step further in the Great Commission funnel. Here's a video explaining that. Events provide opportnunities to meet people and get into spiritual conversations. They also can be a way for women to grow into stronger disciples and they could possibly be a way to train others in how to make multiplying disciples (like the Missional Women Conference). 4. Have a Leaders Bible Study From my experience the times when I had a specific time for the women leaders of the ministry to connect with each other, get into God's Word, and I had a place to consistently cast vision and provide training, those were the years the ministry was the strongest. There is a unique bond that happens when people come together who are living on mission together and have time to get into God's Word and encourage each other. And having that personal time to affirm their steps of faith, pray for each other and provide a visionary reminder of what the end goal is goes a long way. Vision leaks and a weekly Bible study I found to be a perfect place to continually fill that bucket. Here is a little ebook I wrote on Leading Effective Bible Studies. 5. Connect with Key Leaders Individually and Regularly. Ministry can get very difficult at times. Individual time with a leader can be a time to process hard situation, pray for, affirm and encourage them in truth. It is also a time to share your heart with them and draw them out by asking them questions. It also provides time and opportunity to communicate about any personal issues that need dealt with and provide personally fit training where needed in ministry skills. 6. Equip and Model. Provide places to equip your leaders and future leaders. Plan a once in a while weekend training or a weekly training on things they will need to know in order to be able to lead and do the Great Commission. And then, not only teach them how to do ministry (like share meet people and get into spiritual conversations, share the Gospel and disciple someone) but take them out to do it so they learn first hand. Seeing someone do something hard by faith tears down a thousand lies and walls built up. If this is a little overwhelming to you, don't worry. Right now I am in the process of creating a Ministry Kit that will provide each of these elements of training and casting vision. It will walk you through each step and provide you with some helpful worksheets to plan your ministry year. I'm not as quick as I used to be at developing resources with 5 1/2 kids in tow now, but it will get done. So if something like this would be helpful to you shoot me an email and I'll add you to the special in the know pre-release group. and I'll keep you updated.
About Laura Laura, the founder of Missional Women is married and has five kids, two of whom are adopted. Laura and her husband have been missionaries to college students for 13 years serving with Master Plan Ministries where she is the Women's Development Coordinator. Laura has authored 5 books, including an award winning 12 week Bible Study on First Samuel, Beholding Him, Becoming Missional, Reach; How to Use Your Social Media Influence for the Glory of God, and A Devotional Journey through Judges, a devotional to accompany the free online Bible study at TheBookofJudges.com. You can find her on facebook,twitter, pinterest, youtube, instagram and her author site. If you'd like to read more from this contributor, type her name in the search box on the top right. Sharing this over at these awesome blogs.
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It is such a beautiful thing that God speaks to us! I mean seriously, what a huge deal that God, the One who spoke the stars into existence and fashioned our cells and flooded the earth, the One who has always existed and is outside of time speaks directly to us. Wow! There are many times I am confident the Lord has spoke to me very specifically. But there's this little thing about you and I that makes hearing God difficult, fallibility. Our ways and our thoughts are not God's thoughts. So though God may tell us something, we so often add in our own little assumption and from my experience, most often it's the timing. I think of the time I believed the Lord led us to homeschool. (Watch the video above to hear the cool story). I believed He led us to one thing but was then confused and even unreceptive when the Lord was trying to lead me in something that seemed contrary to me. But now, just a couple years later it all makes sense and what I was so resistance toward was clearly the Lord preparing the way for what He led us in. He led us to homeschool but I assumed the timing. When we belive God has spoken to us about something we need to hold it loosely and not hold it in the place of Scripture. If it really was from God, then it will happen. If not, then it wasn't. Because there is a danger both to us and others when we are unwilling to be humble or willing to consider we may have gotten it wrong. It's dangerous because God takes putting His name on things He didn't really say VERY seriously. People were actually to be stoned in the OT for claiming they heard from God and were wrong. When we hear from God it is better to say "I believe God spoke to me about.." rather than be emphatic and put God's holiness in question if your humanness got in the way. We need to show humility and elevate God's holiness in our minds and hearts. Lets hold thoughts of what He think He told us loosely and hold onto Scripture tightly. (But my favorite way to hear from the Lord is in the morning when I spend time with Him. When He opens my eyes and makes me to understand His Word. What an incredible gift! And really that is the best way to grow in hearing God's voice is by saturating yourself in God's Word.) About LauraLaura, the founder of Missional Women is married and has five kids, two of whom are adopted. Laura and her husband have been missionaries to college students for 13 years serving with Master Plan Ministries where she is the Women's Development Coordinator. Laura has authored 5 books, including an award winning 12 week Bible Study on First Samuel, Beholding Him, Becoming Missional, Reach; How to Use Your Social Media Influence for the Glory of God, and A Devotional Journey through Judges, a devotional to accompany the free online Bible study at TheBookofJudges.com. You can find her on facebook,twitter, pinterest, youtube, instagram and her author site. If you'd like to read more from this contributor, type her name in the search box on the top right. Sharing this over at these awesome blogs. In college I decided to lead a Bible study. But when three girls showed up at my dorm room I froze: what do I do now? That study only met twice and it turned into a social hour. Thankfully, a friend of mine took over and the study went wonderfully, but it left me feeling like I had failed. Several years later, I was asked to lead a small group Bible study for college girls at the campus near our house. I wondered if I would fail again. Fortunately, I had some simple training that took the mystery out of small group leading. Today I’ll share things I learned and hope they help in leading your own study. Pray: First ask God: Where is the need for the study? Is it through church? On campus? In the neighborhood? Begin praying for those who’ll come. Recruit: Find participants. At a weekly campus ministry meeting I distributed a signup sheet. After making an announcement, ladies wrote their names and phone numbers. The next few weeks, I called each girl on the list inviting them to our first study. It was awkward and difficult to make those cold calls. Finally after a few weeks, there were a solid five girls showing up on Tuesday evenings. Remember the acronym CARE: Keeping these values helped the group stay on track. C: Community. At the heart of a group is solid community. Women share more when they feel comfortable with others. In the beginning start with an icebreaker. Once the group knows each other, icebreakers aren’t needed. More ways to build community: weekly dinners out, movie nights, serving together. Here is a list of great icebreakers. A: Adoration. Our purpose is to glorify God, so adoration is essential. It could be prayer, musical worship, or discussion of a portion of scripture and praying it back to God. Some weeks we sang. Other weeks we spent in extended prayer. Once we did a craft while listening to worship music, while focussing on God and all He has done for us. Click here for ideas in connecting with God as a group. R: Reading. It’s important to choose a quality study when studying scripture. Know the ladies in your group and their capacity. For example, when choosing a study for young moms, it may not be best to study something that will entail a lot of homework. When choosing a study for young believers or seekers, you may not want to study something that doesn’t cover the basics. Some of my favorite studies are these (co-written by Katie Orr) as they are simple enough to do with new believers or seekers, but deep enough for seasoned believers. They also don’t entail a lot of homework, but leave space to linger if time allows. E: Evangelism. To make sure a group doesn’t grow “inward” (becoming a clique, looking only at themselves), participate in evangelism. If you have a campus study, join with your campus ministry in evangelism. Participate in outreach through church. Pray for specific friends who don’t know Him and ask for opportunities to share the gospel with them. Soularium, Campus Surveys, and Kingdom Prayers for the Lost are all great ways to reach out. That first year was difficult, fighting the fear of failure, but that small group is one of my favorite ministry memories. The next year that group of five girls multiplied, growing to over ten girls. Out of that first group, several became student leaders in the campus ministry. Many women trusted Christ. Some have gone into full time ministry in the US and abroad. I’m so thankful for God’s work among women. I know He can use you as well!
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Sharing this over at these awesome blogs. You know the conversation – you try to avoid it, you want to avoid it, but God calls you to them? I’ve had a few of those recently. Called to speak truth into places in other’s lives. You walk into them humble and filled with the Spirit, then you leave the results up to God. The results are what get me. Mainly because they are not what I expect. Sometimes its because they respond so well or way better than I expect. Most of the time… yeah, not on the end I was hoping. How come when I step out in faith I get a negative response? I step out in faith and the results are more difficult than where I started – what the heck, God?! I didn’t sign up for this… Or did I? I did. I know I did. Jesus told me to expect opposition, hardships, trials, tribulations. And since we are sinful people dealing with other sinful people we are going to get sinful responses at times – maybe more along the lines of MOST of the time! Do I like it? NOPE! But this is what God has called us to, what He has called me to. One of the most important lessons God has taught me, and has continued to reiterate, is that He hasn’t called me to be comfortable. He has called me to be obedient, patient, bold. He has called me to share the Gospel whether it’s a spiritual gift or not. He has called me to speak truth in love, regardless of how others will take it. I’m responsible for me – and Leah, do what God has called you to do BY FAITH and leave the results up to God. I can’t control other people’s responses. I sure wish I could! I wish people could understand me perfectly (you guys, you have no idea how much I hate being misunderstood, and I am misunderstood a LOT). But they can’t. BUT it’s not my responsibility to control others feelings, emotions, reactions. If people are going to respond out of pride, hurt, defense – whatever the case – I can’t make them respond differently. I can be aware it may happen and use the best word choice and set it up the best way possible. But their response? That’s between them and God. So, dear friend, what is God calling you to do today? What do you need to do to step out in faith and leave the results to God? Do you need to go share the Gospel with anyone because you haven’t out of fear? Do you need to call up a friend you haven’t talked to in a while? How about share truth to a post online? You can’t control how people will respond, and you aren’t called to do things that just keep the peace. You are called to be obedient. Dear Lord Jesus, I feel like crap for doing what was right. And I’m frankly afraid to step out in faith again. But I want to have Your heart and attitude that You had in Your final hours – not MY will, but YOUR will be done! Give me the boldness of heart to do what you called me to do, and help me to truth you with the results, even when they are unpleasant. In Your name I pray… About LeahLeah works with Master Plan Ministries at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. Other than watching college students' lives change, she enjoys getting her mind blown by God and His Word, watching sci fi, baking cupcakes, and spending time with her hunky husband. If you'd like to read more from this contributor, type her name in the search box on the top right.
Sharing this over at these awesome blogs A fruitful discipleship group includes a cross-section of women from your church – old and young, mature and infant in Christ, single and married. But managing diverse discipleship groups can be challenging, particularly if you’re devoting the majority of your time to Bible study. Discipleship leaders must balance the depth needed to keep older Christians growing in their faith without leaving newer believers behind. Here are a few ideas for keeping older Christians engaged and younger believers from becoming overwhelmed. 1. Cast a call for questions Whether your discipleship group happens in real time or online, be intentional to create space for discussing the text. Ask open-ended questions or fill in the blanks to ensure better-quality feedback. To keep women from feeling “on the spot,” pass out index cards for women to write down their thoughts about a question and then ask a few to share their answers. If you’re having trouble getting women to engage, appoint a mature believer in your group to help you by participating in each discussion. If your discussion happens online, ask another believer to act as cheerleader in the discussion. In this way, you add another voice to the conversation as well as big doses of wisdom and encouragement! 2. Keep prayer central Prayer is one of the biggest community builders in women’s ministry. As women learn to pray for one another, spiritual fellowship is created in ways special events and ministry teas don’t match. When a woman has a prayer request, pray for it right then in your group. If your prayer time happens outside of group meeting times, remember to tell the women you prayed for them in a text or Facebook message. Share a specific verse with them or exactly what you prayed. The more your group members know you are praying for them, the more they will open up and learn to pray for one another as well. 3. Personally connect with younger Christians outside the group Newer Christians can easily feel overwhelmed if Bible study questions go over their heads. Many times I’ve seen women leave a group because they are confused, feel dumb, or that they have nothing to add to group discussions. To keep younger believers from feeling discouraged, keep a personal connection going with them outside of group interactions. Encourage them to ask questions at a quieter time, over coffee with just you or another group member. Assure them that there are no dumb questions. Learn to answer hard questions in simple terms, leaving out big words or too many Bible references. Enlist an older group member to tag team with you in this area so there’s increased encouragement and connections to this individual. 4. Enlist and activate mature believers If your discipleship group never moves past the basics, mature believers will quickly disengage. To keep older Christians challenged, encourage them to go even deeper in their personal studies apart from the group. Give them specific assignments to research and then report back their findings. To aid in the group dynamic, ask them to partner with you in bringing up newer believers. In this way, they learn to look outside of themselves in group settings and it sets the stage for them to step into the role of discipler. As discipleship leaders, we should always be looking to work ourselves out of a job, and the best way to do that is to consistently look for and activate new leaders in our groups. How do you manage a discipleship or Bible study group comprised of different levels of spiritual maturity? What ideas have worked for you? Want to know more about discipleship? Check out Discipleship is Not About Me. About MelissaMelissa’s motto as a Christian journalist and creative writer is to “tell of God’s marvelous works” (Ps. 9:1). And with almost 15 years experience in print and editorial services, God has embedded Melissa with passions gleaned from stories and experiences from the field. But helping women fall in love with the sweetness of God’s Word truly makes her heart sing. Two years ago, she launched HiveResources.com to help women sweeten their walk with Christ through Bible study, missions resources, and more. She recently published a 10-week Bible study, Daughters of the King, to help women find their place in the biblical story. Melissa has a M.Div. in Women’s Studies from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and a B.A. in Journalism from Texas A&M University. She and her husband, Jonathan, are currently part of a church plant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They have five-year-old twin boys, Zacharias and Jonah, who are unwittingly and joyfully shaping them into the image of Christ. If you'd like to read more from this contributor, type her name in the search box on the top right. Sharing this over at these awesome blogs Jesus’ last recorded command was that we should make disciples in all nations. Now that sounds a little daunting, right? Discipleship can easily just be a big word, filled with too much responsibility, which someone smarter than me should probably be doing. But really, if you are a Christian and you are walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, you are completely capable of discipling any women out there! When I was a sophomore in college, the leaders of our campus ministry encouraged me to disciple a younger girl in my ministry. This was absolutely terrifying and I definitely did not feel equipped for the task! But, let me tell you what I learned through that experience about why I was truly able to lead this other girl. First of all, it’s not really about you! If you are discipling another woman, it is Christ within you who is the ultimate leader. You are only a tool being used by Christ to lead this woman closer to Him. Now, you are still responsible for what you say to her; make sure you are rooted in the Word daily so that what you pour out is aligned with truth. But beyond that, you can only trust that the Holy Spirit is speaking through and working in her heart. The second very important lesson I learned is that you don't have to be perfect to be in a discipleship relationship. When I first was asked to do this, I was terrified because I knew I had struggles with sin and that I didn’t always read my Bible every single day. But lets be honest, we will never stop sinning (we are human!) and we will never be perfectly suited for the task of being an example to another believer. Now, we are called to a higher standard as leaders, but if we are walking in the Spirit and submitting to Him, we can trust that we are suitable for the task. And as a bonus, so often in my discipleship relationships, I can be vulnerable with my struggles, which is so helpful for her to see and learn from me! The last big lesson I learned is that we are called to be pouring out to other women. You have the exciting task of leading other women around you closer to Him, so you need to step up and do it. Be available and seeking for other women around you. Practically, here is what discipleship can look like (in case discipleship is still a big, vague word for you, like it was for me!): simply start by ask the other woman out for coffee so that you can get to know each other better. Everyone loves coffee and loves talking about themselves, so this truly fun and not too scary. Then, if she seems to be interested as well as ready for discipleship (if she seems faithful, available and teachable), ask her to make it a weekly thing! Now at this point you can assess what it will look like for the two of you each week, some examples might be talking about your lives, accountability, and studying the Word together. Also check out the Spiritual Mentoring Series; How to Find a Mentor, How to Become a Mentor, How to Be a Mentor for more on how to disciple someone. So be encouraged, you are qualified for the task, go out and serve other women in your community through discipleship. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) About KristenKristen is a recent college grad with a degree in Music Recording, she lives in Denver, and she is currently in full-time college ministry with Master Plan Ministries. Kristen is currently engaged, and will be married in May. Kristen loves drinking almond milk lattes, reading long books that take over your life, thunderstorms, and writing songs on guitar. You can also find her blogging at KristenLynJackson.com, on facebook, pinterest, and instagram. If you'd like to read more from this contributor, type her name in the search box on the top right. Sharing this over at these awesome blogs Bookshelves full of fill-in-the-blank Bible studies line my room – thick ones, cute ones, 12-week and 10-minute-a-day ones. My handwriting fills the blanks inside them with words I wrote as God poured into me. Others have short, messy answers that I frantically wrote while sitting in the parking lot just minutes before women’s bible study began. The women’s ministry of our new church was just a few years old. And fun! Each year more women came with their new Bible study workbook. It felt successful. Appeared successful. In some ways it was. In other ways, I wasn’t sure. So, I began to evaluate. These are the questions I asked: 1. Are we producing disciples? I wasn’t entirely sure how to measure this. Part of me wanted to say, “YES!” People were excited to bring their friends and some were reading God’s word for the first time – ever! But no matter how many signed up in the beginning, about 70% remained in the end. 2. Are we producing disciples that produce disciples? Um…no, we were not. 3. What if the measurement of successful women’s ministry isn’t in the numbers that show up, but in those that go out? Best I could measure we were creating a perfect environment for “failure to launch.” It was safe, easy, and in a kit. Just show up, and we’ll do the rest. 4. What if the numbers of women being fed at Bible study, are not as important as those that can feed themselves? A common question asked of me was, “When is the next study?” So I began to ask a question of my own, “Where are you reading in the Bible right now?” After a few awkward responses, most would say, “no where.” 5. What if women crave more than I was leading them to find? The women wanted grow, but didn’t know how to on their own. It reminded of one day, when we lived in Zambia, that I noticed a girl climbing a paw-paw tree to get the fruit. I yelled up to her, “the fruit isn’t ripe.” She yelled back down to me, “yes, I know, but I’m hungry.” Women are smart! And hungry. At the loss of not knowing exactly what to do, we often settle. So, here is the sound-byte version of what we did (Sorry there’s no kit) We gathered the women and revealed what we were assessing. We paused our “program” and instead poured into 20 leaders. We went backward to go forward. We helped these leaders unpack their personal life stories and begin to see God’s restoration, healing, and redemption. We uncovered the narrative of God’s story by reading chronologically through scripture. God’s story collided with their life stories. We asked tough questions we didn’t know the answers to, which sent us studying the Bible even more. We prayed, confessed, and grew. Then we sent these leaders out to invite others to join them and repeat the process. There’s NOTHING wrong with study kits and workbooks. I still use them. I felt led to be a missionary using a fill-in-the-blank study. I’m thankful for wisdom written by others that have challenged my faith and gave me handles in dark places. But, let’s not be afraid to evaluate…honestly. And let’s be okay with un-programmatic, messy discipleship. Let’s lead women to be disciples that make disciples. About LoriLori is a Global Mission Catalyst at IMB, mobilizing churches and leading women to participate in God’s global mission. She, her husband, and their 3 kids lived in Africa as missionaries before returning to plant Grace Point Church in Bentonville, AR where Mike is Sr. Pastor. She’s passionate about discipling people to see how their everyday life collides with God’s mission of making His glory known to all nations. She blogs at lorimcdaniel.org If you'd like to read more from this contributor, type her name in the search box on the top right.
Sharing this over at these awesome blogs The year 2015 is around the corner! But before you make those New Year resolutions, I think we should have a short chat. Often when people get into make resolutions, it’s to become a healthier individual. Working out, losing weight, take a trip, sign-up for online dating, read the Bible in a year – all of these are good things that are beneficial for us personally. BUT, have you asked God if that fits into HIS plan for you this next year? When I was in college, I kept making these four year plans. They weren’t bad plans by any means. I wasn’t planning on ditching school or even finding the perfect mate. They were good, practical goals about finishing college. Good, right? But by the end of each semester I would have to make a completely different plan. It was like at the beginning of each semester I would turn in my four year plan to God, and God would look at my plans and reply, “That’s nice… here’s your four month plan.” I don’t think it was until my 2nd to last semester of school where I finally went, “Ooooohhhhh…. I get it! YOU have the overall plan, and I need to trust you, right?” As humans – and, dare I say, as women – we LOVE to plan! We love things to have their tidy place and to have our little comfort zones nice and snug in their places for the rest of our lives. We have all these ideas of how things should go, but what happens when they don’t happen how we thought? Disappoint, let down, confusion, frustration – and ultimately we go, “What the heck, God? Why are YOU letting me down?” (Okay, I admit, I say that WAY holy in my head!) But what’s wrong with this scenario? Is it God and His timing? Is God’s plan the problem? One of my favorite verses that I struggled with (and admittedly hit over the head with quite a few times) is Proverbs 16:9, which says, “ In their hearts humans plan their course,but the Lord establishes their steps.” Recently I was going through this with a girl I work with, and I realized the verses above it hit it home more, and this verse is just a great conclusion of fact! Hear verses 1-4: “To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue. All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. The Lord works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster.” Um… ouch. Seriously! I think I used to read that with a veil over my eyes going, “Wow, God’s Word is so great…” But now I read this and go, “Oh my gosh! This makes so much sense why so many things I plan fail!” Why? Because whenever I try to talk to God about my future, I pray and act like I’m truly cool with what He wants, when in reality in the back of my mind I’m going, “Just say what I want you to!” We are sinful human beings – and sometimes it oozes out of us like jelly from a sandwich. One area we may not be realizing that we’re oozing sin into is that when we approach God with what we should do with our future. We know good things we should do, but we don’t necessarily know what GOD wants us to do. We may see we’re overweight or not doing a lot for our dating life or even that our time with God is weak – but if don’t ask God, “What do YOU want me to do this next year?” all our planning will be vain steps to satisfy ourselves. In my next article, we’re going to talk about how to make your resolutions simple and impactful for this next year. About LeahLeah works with Master Plan Ministries at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. Other than watching college students' lives change, she enjoys getting her mind blown by God and His Word, watching sci fi, baking cupcakes, and spending time with her hunky husband. If you'd like to read more from this contributor, type her name in the search box on the top right.
Sharing this over at these awesome blogs Have you ever been in a conversation and knew, just knew, it could lead to the Gospel, but you weren’t quite sure how to get there? I have, many times. But, the amazing truth is that there is something beautiful that always leads the way to the deeper things of God. It is our story. In each of our stories there are universal themes of exile, homecoming, grief, peace, fear, courage, doubt, faith, despair and hope and many more. And, always, always, through the lens we have been given, there is the redeeming love of God given freely through the Gospel. I have been writing a memoir since August. I have felt free and even called to do this. But, I also have been struggling with how it seems somewhat…pretentious. Who do I think I am? How can I spend so much time on something that doesn’t directly right-here-right-now affect the ministry? I have felt sure that I just need to grow up and get to the real work! But this is a very shallow view of the purpose God gives in the knowing and telling of our stories. He creates story when He first whispers into time to speak, ‘Let there be…’ And because His Story is the Gospel and we are His, any experience or truth from our story provides an immediate context for the Gospel. Here are three ways to Share the Gospel with your whole heart , and your story :: 1) Ask Good Questions :: Often it is a simple ‘How Are You’? And, depending on the nature of the relationship, hold their hand, touch their shoulder or just still and really look into their eyes to show them that you really want to know. Many times, the Lord will open a door into their heart. Through their chronicling of loss, betrayal, discouragement or any of the hard things, you have a humble place to offer hope through your own honest dealing with these things in your story. 2) Learn to See :: In Paul’s prayer to the Ephesians (and us) in Chapter 1, v. 17-18 he prays ‘ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you.’ God wants to give us His eyes as we walk this world. They infuse us, our stories, with hope and this flows outward. We learn to see through the barriers someone is putting up and pray them down in hope. When they come down, they are ready to receive a fresh perspective of the Gospel. 3) Do the Work :: Know Your Story. Learn it well. It really is how we become ready with a ‘reason for the hope that is in [us]’. I Peter 3:15 I have been amazed (though I shouldn’t be) at how beautifully God is weaving the writing of a memoir into opportunities to share the Gospel. The writing leads me to my questions and to searching out God as I hunt for how He has met me in the dark places. It is humbling and soaks me in the truth of His Gospel. This naturally spills out in conversations or a blog post that those who don’t know Jesus read. Trust the Author of the Great Story who writes Himself on every page of His story and ours. The Word takes on flesh and dwells among us in grace and truth. (John 1:14) This becomes the story that we live authentically and so, share with the world. About AbbyI am wife to a wonderful man, mama to three precious now-little-but-soon-will-not-be loves. Each born in a different place--two states including 2 states and 2 countries. I am a farm girl who found her heart in the city. I can now claim fluency in 3 languages :: English, Spanish & Hungarian.This combined with the all-too-true 'mommy brain' explains much regarding my mental state most days;) I am a sojourner longing for Home. Yet, in my messy and broken, I embrace the moments given with all I have. I am seeking, praying, and learning again and again that it is for His Glory I live. My prayer is that my little life would make much of Him! I write regularly at Abigail Alleman. If you'd like to read more from this contributor, type her name in the search box on the top right.
Sharing this over at these awesome blogs There is no single formula for leading a discipleship group. But there are a few elements than can determine how successful a group can be. Recently, I invited myself to a friend's discipleship group comprised of three younger women, and I observed several things "worked" for them. Not all these elements have to happen at each group meeting, but when they do appear, they ensure women are edified and equipped to make more disciples. Here are 6 elements that make for a successful discipleship group: 1. Encouraging As the leader of her group, my friend recognized women are over-scheduled and over-committed more than ever before. In order for women to add an activity to their schedule, it must be worth the investment of their time. And if a woman feels guilted into or obligated to attend a disicpleship group, she won't return. So, when her group arrived, my friend poured encouragement into them. She opened her home and provided a simple spread of refreshments. No one was required to bring anything. To make the women feel even more special, she gifted each one with what she called a "blessing basket" - a simple dollar store bucket filled with helpful things for winter like trial-size kleenex, hand sanitizer, and a packet of hot chocolate. In this way, not only did my friend encourage her group, but she also demonstrated how they can encourage others in simple & inexpensive ways. 2. Strategic All the women in my friend's group have small children. My friend knew that if she wanted to invest in her group, the children must be included in her agenda. So, when her group arrived, she had a strategic plan in place. Even though she has no children herself, my friend had a basket of toys ready and a movie prepped for when the littles arrived. She gave the children a snack first and then funneled them to the main living area where moms could keep an eye on them while they dug into a short Bible study. The missions-activity she planned was simple enough for the children to participate if they grew curious about what mom was doing. 3. Bible-saturated Over coffee and muffins, my friend opened her Bible to share God's Word. Her devotional was short and sweet but to the point. Here's what I liked: she picked a passage based on the previous Sunday sermon (John 15), giving women a chance to ask questions they might not have felt comfortable voicing to their pastor. After reminding them of a few key thoughts, she added additional depth by looking up specific words and then related how the principles in passage related to everyday life - motherhood, finances, and trust. 4. Missional My friend planned an easy hands-on activity the women could complete during the group meeting, teaching them to look for opportunities to live on-mission during the holidays. With Thanksgiving coming up, the ladies made a Thanksgiving Blessing Mix as an outreach activity. My friend had tags printed out to save time. And while the group mixed and scooped their trail mix into plastic bags, they talked about how and to whom they could use this activity to bless those around them - neighbors, coworkers, teachers and more. 5. Intentional The best discipleship groups aren't just knowledge-based, where a teacher downloads information or doctrine into a student. A truly successful discipleship group will incorporate opportunities for life-on-life relationship building - fruitful conversations about the gospel and life and physical demonstrations of what faith looks like as it is lived out. And even though those life-on-life discipleship moments are often unplanned, discipleship group leaders must be intentional to look for those moments when they arrive and seize them. While we worked mixing and scooiping our trail mix, my friend intentionally guided the conversation to ask questions and give us ideas for faithful, missional living. 6. Prayer-filled It is easy to leave a group without ever having opened up. To ensure her group connected with others and with the Scriptures, my friend closed her group with prayer. This was a sweet time of sharing as each woman shared a request and encouraged one another in their daily struggles. And noting that the children were getting restless, my friend took the lead in prayer without drawing prayer time out. Many women are afraid of discipleship. They fear the don't know enough to lead a Bible study or doubt they are qualified to take someone under their wings to show them how to grow spiritually. But special training is not required to make disciples; God can use any woman who is willing to open her home and heart to minister to the women around her in intentional ways. About MelissaMelissa’s motto as a Christian journalist and creative writer is to “tell of God’s marvelous works” (Ps. 9:1). And with almost 15 years experience in print and editorial services, God has embedded Melissa with passions gleaned from stories and experiences from the field. But helping women fall in love with the sweetness of God’s Word truly makes her heart sing. Two years ago, she launched HiveResources.com to help women sweeten their walk with Christ through Bible study, missions resources, and more. She recently published a 10-week Bible study, Daughters of the King, to help women find their place in the biblical story. Melissa has a M.Div. in Women’s Studies from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and a B.A. in Journalism from Texas A&M University. She and her husband, Jonathan, are currently part of a church plant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They have five-year-old twin boys, Zacharias and Jonah, who are unwittingly and joyfully shaping them into the image of Christ. |
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