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I d e a s t o m a k e y o u and y o u r m i n i s t r y b e t t e r

S T R E T C HYour Creat ive Ski l l s

Innovation Inspirations for

Your Ministry

TM

TM

FRESHIdeas for Connecting Women

We pray for the kids. We pray that the Holy Spirit would open their eyes and hearts. If at some point the students are older and ask “Where were you God,” we pray that they would remember his provision during their days in school.

I can do those risks! The ones where God leads…But I don’t typically like to bungee jump!

When do you know to start your own thing or join an established program?

I go by the old cliché, Don’t reinvent the wheel if you don’t have to. So if you can fit into what someone is doing and can abide by their processes, I say do it. There’s always strength in numbers. When you start something on your own, you have to work a lot harder on the approach. When to branch off is really a lot of prayer and discernment.

Give us practical steps.

Dream big. Imagine how God can move and display his love and glory in amazing ways. Dream Big.

Pray even bigger. Pray, pray, and pray. Then pray some more. Pray for God to use you—for him to reveal what it is he wants you to do.

Expect God to move. Keep your eyes open. Don’t be so busy that you miss how he is speaking to you through people, circumstances, and everyday life.

Discern. Don’t rush. Before I approached the principal, I did my research to make sure that what I brought was credible. But even before that, I spent six months planning and praying. I researched and learned as much as I could online about childhood hunger and other food assistance programs. There was a lot of intentional learning before I ever did anything.

Work hard. Be on site. Get your hands dirty and work hard. By being part of the mentoring program, I was able to get insight into the students’ needs. Be on site to gain insight. God shows you how to work diligently and be a servant leader.

Dream. Pray. Look. Discern. Work. Look for God in daily activities where he might be revealing where and how he wants you serving. Seek out his vision and plans for your life. And discern how to go about it. Then be a servant leader.

Learn more about Cheri and her ministry at hand2handbackpack.org.

W O M E N O F I N F L U E N C EW O M E N O F I N F L U E N C EW

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This interview was conducted by Kaylee Page. Kaylee spends her days juggling the schedules of globe-trotting executives and her evenings cooking, writing, and loving on her beautiful spirit of a daughter, Bella.

God is so creative! The ways we worship him don’t have to be boring and “traditional” at all! Use one or more of these ideas to breathe fresh life into your worship. And if you have more ideas to share, post them on our Facebook page so everyone can get more ideas!

WALL OF PRAISEThis could also be a wall of prayer, or a “wall of” any other worship-related topic. Cover a wall with butcher paper or a solid-colored wrapping paper. Across the top write a word or sentence such as “We’re Grateful For…” or “Praying About…” to let women know the kind of thing they should write about. Have a basket of colorful markers nearby, and let women write on this as often as they like over a few weeks. When you’re ready to take it down, date it and take a photo of it. Then in a year or so, you can look back at the photos and see what God has done since those words were written.

Try it again a few months later with a different thing to write about, different paper colors, and so on. For fun use black paper and provide colorful chalk.

GET A CHANGE OF SCENERYWorship in a different location. This could be as simple as turning the chairs in the room you normally meet in so you’re facing a different

direction. Or move to a different room in your church—try the youth room or a Sunday school classroom. How is worship different when your view changes a bit? How has your view of God changed since the days you would have been hanging out in these spaces? Best option of all—go outside! Grab chairs, sit in the parking lot, and talk about times you feel stuck (or “parked”) in your faith. Put blankets on the grass. Lie on your backs, and watch the clouds as you talk about God’s vast love that reaches beyond the sky.

Don’t wait for a retreat to get a new view. Change your scenery often, and keep your perspective fresh!

CRAFT YOUR PRAYERSIt’s routine to take prayer requests and pray aloud. Or to have a few moments of silence for prayer. Why so boring? God is creative and speaks to us in so many ways. Let’s communicate with him in creative ways too! Choose a craft item that anyone can use, and set it on a table. Building blocks. Modeling

Creativity in Worship

FA I T H C O N N E C T I O NFA I T H C O N N E C T I O N

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FA I T H C O N N E C T I O NFA I T H C O N N E C T I O Ndough. Chenille wires. Stuff like that. Tell women they can use the item there to shape their prayer to God. Build a model to represent a need. Squish clay into the shape of something you’re thankful for. Twist wires to form an expression of praise. Women can leave the objects there or take them home—God knows what they mean!

MIX UP THE MUSICWe love the songs we know—but mixing it up musically helps us hear those same words with new meaning. Invite a musically talented person to take the words of a song most of your women know—and put it to a new tune. Or add a bit of country, or jazz, or rock to the sound. Or invite women to say the words of a song together—with no music at all. Changes like this help us rethink the lyrics, and we may suddenly understand a song in a new way.

Another way to mix it up is to put your music leader or band behind women. Everyone can still hear the music, but your focus will not be on a person but entirely on God.

GET TONS OF NEW IDEAS!

Our team is traveling

around the United States

bringing women’s ministry

training to you. You’ll

network with other women

in ministry, participate in

workshops on relevant

topics, and leave with

ideas you can use right

away! Check out group.

com/womens-ministry/

leadership-training to see

when we’ll be near you!

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person but entirely on God.

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Mix ideas. Take what you know from one source, and apply it to another.

Listen to music. Try a genre you don’t normally choose, and see what inspires you.

Record your ideas. Jot them on paper, call yourself and leave a phone message, text them to yourself, note them on your tablet—whatever it takes! Don’t lose your ideas. You might come back to a small idea later and realize it had bigger potential than you thought it did!

Clarify what the problem is before you begin searching for solutions.

Change your location. Go for a walk, a drive, sit in a coffee shop for a while, walk through the library, jog at a park you don’t normally go to.

Read outside your normal genres. Try biographies if you normally read romance, try sci-fi if you normally read poetry. Expand.

Discuss. Form an opinion, and share it. Listen to the opinions of others. Change your opinion or strengthen it.

Ask “what if?”

Ask questions. Don’t be embarrassed! Someone else has the same question, and they’re just too shy to ask. Find out!

Go home a different way.

Dream.

Build on the ideas of others.

MORE!I NEEDStill need more tips for improving your creativity? Most good things and growth happen because of planning. It’s the same with our innovation and creativity abilities. Choose a few of these, and make a plan to do them!

B U I L D I N G C O M M U N I T YB U I L D I N G C O M M U N I T Y

As your ministry’s small groups or Bible study groups grow, women within the group often struggle. Existing small group members become comfortable sharing life with others and might feel guarded as new women join. They know they should welcome others, but they mourn the intimacy that might be sacrificed by adding new women. And new women might feel uncertain of the expectations of the group and hesitant to share.

Opening your group is essential to growing women, including yourself. God created you for relationship. Our uneasiness with changes in groups is usually entwined with unfamiliarity. How can you become familiar with each other without lengthy introductions with each gathering? Meet with each other outside group times!

Each month, exchange names so women are paired together. Each pair commits to get together outside group time at least once during the month. It can be a casual gathering—something as simple as hanging out at one of the women’s homes.

During the month you’re paired with someone you don’t know well, you’ll get to learn more about each other’s families, experiences, work, and dreams. During the months you’re paired

with someone you already know, you might dig deeper than your small group time allows.

New women will build personal relationships and gain a sense of belonging with others in the group—one at a time. Women who have been in the group for an extended time will continue to grow through challenging and encouraging friendships.

Small groups go beyond learning about a topic. Go deeper in faith by doing life with others. In the process, you’ll experience fun, friendships, and faith.

Susan is passionate about equipping and encouraging women through writing and speaking. For more encouragement, visit purepurposebook.wordpress.com.

CONNECTIONS

Use this idea to help women connect—and see your ministry grow!

Creativeby Susan Lawrence

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“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”

—Hebrews 10:24-25

W E L L T H AT ’ S C L E V E R !W E L L T H AT S C L E V E R !

We asked our Facebook friends to share their ideas on growing in creativity. Here’s what you all said:

Let’s not forget the fun that is Pinterest.

Would it be cheating if I said I “steal” ideas from other creative people? I think creativity is contagious!

I need to spend time alone in nature.

Trying new forms of art with a friend, or even just mixing up genres helps me…instruments, piles of craft supplies, or even just creating something new and interesting for dinner.

Buy and sell handcrafted designs.

Read. Read some more.

I spend time with my kids and try to see the world through their eyes. And I listen to the funny things they say.

Music, mags, Pinterest, Indian food, prayer, people watching, movies, late night Starbucks, digging in the dirt, look at more things, think about them harder.

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WHAT YOU S A I D

blessings!Take one for yourself—and one to give a friend!

Here’s a fun idea to encourage women in your church. Photocopy th i s page, and cu t along the edges of the little strips—then hang this in the women’s restroom or beside the nursery door or by the coffee table at Bible study. Let the joy be contagious as women are blessed—and bless each other!

Women’s Ministry Leader is a bimonthly publication created by Group! To subscribe to WML, call 800.447.1070 or visit group.com/women.

Executive Editor Amy Nappa

Art Director Amy Taylor

Assistant Editor Kelsey Perry

Marketing Manager Stephanie Hillberry

Connect with us! Women’s Team at Group

1515 Cascade Ave. Loveland, CO 80538

women@group.com

Like us on Facebook! Group for Women

Manuscripts and queries Send an email to

women@group.com.

Copyright Copyright © 2015

Group Publishing, Inc., Loveland, CO.

All rights reserved.

Permission requests Content of Women’s Ministry

Leader may be photocopied for use within your own church. For permission requests beyond this,

visit group.com/permissions.

Subscriptions Call 800-447-1070

or visit group.com/women.

Group’s mission We create experiences that help people grow in relationship with

Jesus and each other.

oup!men.