“I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart (Where?) Down in my heart (Where?) Down in my heart. I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart (Where?) Down in my heart to stay.” I have the joy of the Lord in my heart, but do I enjoy what I have?
I enjoy shopping, talking with friends, laughing at the silliest things, decorating, watching HGTV, as well as scanning Facebook and Pinterest. I enjoy being outside on a sunny day and taking a walk in the park. I enjoy finding a nugget in my daily devotions and journaling how God spoke to my heart. I enjoy spending quality time with family and friends. There is so much to enjoy in the wonderful world and life that God has given to each of us.
When it comes to ladies ministries, why can’t each aspect of it be as enjoyable as the things that we enjoy? I have heard preachers say many times that it is good for us to laugh, smile, and enjoy being at church. With that thought in mind, let’s look at the word, E-N-J-O-Y.
Exciting—Every ladies gathering should be exciting! Ladies are too busy to attend a boring, half-hearted event. Excitement should permeate the crowd beginning with advertising, to registration, and right through the program. Unpredictability breeds excitement. The program should lend itself to being different each time, not just pulling last year’s program and doing the same ole’ thing. The title should breed excitement.
My personal experience in this area takes me back to a ladies fellowship at our church. The theme was God’s peace. It was a wonderful theme. The leader of the event had given me the details and I had approved it all. I am a visual person. What I saw when I arrived was the décor of a beautiful, exciting Luau with games and food to support the décor. The evening was so much fun. I couldn’t help but think, “Why not use a fun title to support the Luau as the title of the event instead of “God’s Peace?” This would promote fun and fellowship. Then, the theme for the speaker would be the peace of God. It is just a regrouping of the same information, theme, color scheme, and program, but a different approach to generate excitement. Look for ways to generate excitement in your ladies ministry.
Needful—There is a need for ladies ministry in your local church. Ladies have a social need that men do not have. Ladies need to feel needed, included, involved, and feel important. Ladies ministries can do that for the ladies of your church.
By having various ladies ministries, we can reach more ladies, encouraging them in their walk with Christ, their involvement in the local church, help with their spiritual growth and with their family. Topics of interest or that need extra attention can be discussed in ladies meetings that might not be explained from the pulpit. Leadership can sprout. What is needful in the ladies ministry of your church?
Just because—Have you ever done something for someone just because? I have too and I love doing it! Just because changes the focus of giving or receiving a card, flowers and gifts. A while ago my husband came home with 3 roses and a little piece of paper that he had cut with his pen by pressing the lines. Inside the small piece of paper he had drawn an eye, a heart and a U! He has given me many cards and gifts over the years. He has a wonderful way with words, but this particular note was so special. The roses and homemade note trumps every other gift or card in our 38 years of marriage. Why can’t we have some just because moments in our ladies events? Just because we need to laugh. Just because we need to cry. Just because…. A just because skit would be a funny, short skit that has no agenda or purpose except to laugh. It is good and healthy to laugh at silly nothings. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” What could you do just because?
Out of the box—I have a box and you have a box. I’m not talking about a physical cardboard box. I am talking about an invisible comfort zone box. We don’t like to step one foot out of our box. We like our comfort zone. For years at our mother-daughter luncheon I always had a thematic skit. I do like to carry out a theme 100%. Carrying out the theme was great. The way the luncheon was done was not broken in any way.
A few years back I decided to delegate the planning of the skit and the person asked if it had to be thematic. “No,” I said, thinking, “why wouldn’t you want it to be?” My box said that it had to be thematic to be good. Changing it up was the best thing ever. It gave freshness to an already successful mother-daughter luncheon. Now, I look forward to others adding their touch of personality; thus, causing excitement and out of the box suspense. What could you do to step out of your box? Ask people to be on the team that are different from you. It will help you to step out of your box. If it is not sin or unwise, step out!
Youthful—Do an evaluation of your ladies fellowships, Bible studies, and events. What age group do you target? It is important to reach all ages! It is good to keep in mind that if you target the ladies in their 20’s and 30’s, you will still reach ladies 40 and above; but if you target ladies 40 and older, you will not reach ladies in their 20’s and 30’s.
For example, in order to target all ages in our Morning Edition Bible Study, I put mostly ages 20’s and 30’s on the planning team. Topics studied might include: spiritual growth, marriage, parenting, balancing life, a book of the Bible. The variety of topics allows the young to be ministered to and allows the median ages to attend as well. An older lady is welcomed at a parenting session as she can offer advice during our discussion segment. Discussion is always made relevant to the attendees. We also add at 10 minute segment on subjects relevant to what is trending such as Pinterest, decorating tips, craft ideas for Christmas, cleaning tips and M.I.N.D.ful (Messages In Neighborly Deeds) which is taken from Philippians 2:5: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”
Being mindful of others and letting them know that you appreciate them through cards, etc. is so important in a local church. Such topics and use of time is attractive to a youthful attendance. Are you appealing to the youthful ladies of your ministry? Let’s get them involved!
Ladies ministries! ENJOY it!
