• Clarify the position's responsibilities. Provide a written ministry description, including a list of responsibilities, whom the people report to, what kind of authority they have to make decisions, and the expected time commitment. This will help everyone to get the job done and avoid confusion later on.
• Schedule all your meetings at once. People are busy and it’s hard for everyone to get together at once. At the very first meeting, get out your calendar and schedule your meetings for the rest of the year. Then if you don’t need to meet, cancel the meeting and everyone will be grateful for an extra time slot.
• Pass out big-picture schedules and task lists early on. Create a master calendar with the tasks of each team member for the entire year or even and pass it out at the beginning so that people can know what needs to get done when.
• Distribute information in the form of charts, lists, and bullets instead of text. It’s harder to read blocks of text, so break up any information into formats that are easier to digest and follow. Charts, visuals, and lists are great.

Follow up frequently. People are awfully forgetful, so schedule in time on your calendar to follow up on decisions and see if tasks have been completed. If you check early, you’ll keep the entire team and schedule on track.

©2003 Angela Yee, author and speaker on “Organizing for Ministry.” www.summitstarpress.com

This is an innovative way to pass a gift around and get to know women at the same time.

Materials: One wrapped gift (does not need to be expensive, a dollar store item is fine); and poem below.

Procedure: Read the poem below to pass the gift around and see who ends up with it!

Pass the Gift Game Poem

If you would like, you can add this last "twist"...
11. Inside you’ll see another gift...to continue the game. Pass it to your neighbor on the left, she'll be glad she came!

Submitted by: Billie-Jo Snyder, Niagara Falls, NY
Email: bjsgt04@msn.com

• Special offer from Jennifer - Music with a Book!

WomensMinistry.Net Asks You...Who is on your leadership team?

Once again, here are more of the great ideas we received on leadership teams...
 

Our women's ministry team has the following structure:

2 Co-Directors (over see entire ministry, interfaces with Pastors, dream/ vision. plan leadership training and retreats for women leaders, involved in every aspect of women's. ministry.

3 member CORE Team (plus the 2 directors of Women ministry) the core team is the place where dreams are cast/ we pray for the ministry/seek Gods will/ make decisions.

Each Core team member ( 5 in all) has their own sub ministry/team. They are:
Women's Outreach - (plans and oversees all outreach activities) Women's Bible Study Coordinator - ( trains Bible study leaders, oversees all women's studies) Care giving to Women - ( meals, visits to sick and hurting, care bags for women who are going through a difficult time) Large Events Coordinator - (secures speaker for women's ministry retreats, plans all events Shepherding - mentoring ministry to women who are dealing with life's hurts and disappointments.

We then have a ministry team of 12 more ladies who then work on the 5 different sub ministries. Some ladies work on more than one team and we all are part of the two big events we have each year.

This works well for us and our ministry really grew after we were able to move into this structure. It took about five years to grow enough leaders to form a CORE team.

Submitted by: Laura Acuna
Church Size: 800
____________________________________________

At South Fork Baptist our Women's Ministry Team is made up of:

Leader Trains other team members, prepares monthly program, plans years events with other members, basket ministry coordinator, prepares newsletter and does publicity, Bible study teacher Assistant Leader Planning, decorating for monthly programs and special events, setting up props for programs, shares basket ministry, plans years events with other members, sets up childcare, Bible study teacher Missions Leader Plans special missions events, does bread ministry, plans years events with other members, bread ministry, sets up refreshments Missions/Music Leader and Historian Does monthly missions meetings, plans years events with other members, leads music and prepares special music, keeps scrapbook of our monthly events, helps with programs and decorations Prayer and Crafts Leader Groups prayer warrior, plans and teaches crafts to women attending our monthly women's meetings, plans years events with other members, helps to set up meeting rooms, sets up sanctuary prayer warriors and assigns greeters for Sunday Morning services.

Submitted by: Betty Barker
____________________________________________

My team at Kirkland Church of the Nazarene is made up of eight women besides myself.

We have a Shower Coordinator
Two women who oversee our special events
One woman who coordinates our Blessing Ministry (a group of 24 women who pray for and reach out to women in our church going through crisis with visits, cards and gifts)
A Bible study coordinator
A Secret Sister coordinator
A representative from the Senior-age group
A WM secretary

Even though the women each have areas that they coordinate, our group definitely works as a team to support each other and the women in our church.

Submitted by: Rhonda Bare, Director of Women's Ministries
____________________________________________

I am the WM chairperson for Whyte Ridge Baptist church in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Our Women's Ministries Leadership Team is made up of the coordinators for the following ministry areas:

Community Connections - this team promotes and gives leadership to 'missions' here at home and internationally.
Spiritual Growth Connections - this team looks after the church prayer chain, Bible Studies for women, our 'Secret Sisters' and Mutual Mentors' ministries which are all on-going ministries. There are other one time events that lead to the spiritual development of women that they would give leadership to.
Care Connections - this team gives leadership to ministries that provide care for people, such as H.O.M.E. (Help Others Meet Emergencies), hosting birthday parties at a seniors' home, catering lunches at funerals and such.
Celebration Connections - this team plans two 'celebration' events per year that appeal to women of all ages and whose main purpose is outreach. They go all out in the decorations and provide an evening of excellence in programming.

Each of the above ministry areas have sub-teams that look after each of the areas that come under their umbrella.

Our leadership team also has a recording secretary and a financial secretary to look after those areas.

Submitted by: Grace Elke
____________________________________________

Did you know there is a brand new Issue of Java with Jennifer?

Java with Jennifer is an informal monthly ministry update specifically for friends who want to keep up-to-date on what is happening with Jennifer Rothschild's ministry of writing, speaking, and singing.

Obviously, because you are receiving this eNewsletter, you are signed up for the Jennifer's "weekly" WomensMinistry.NET eNewsletter. However, if you want to get up close, and personal with Jennifer, just click on the Update Profile link at the bottom of this email, and select the Java with Jennifer interest group.

Still not sure?

See the Latest Issue here.

Someone Has to Win... Why Not You!

When you visit our Featured Sponsor link, you will automatically be entered to win a free book, cd, or other resource from WomensMinistry.NET.

 

We randomly select the winner from those that click through the featured sponsor links in last week's issue.
This week's winner is...
cwallace62974@hot ...
 

reaching more than 20,000 influential women's ministry leaders across the world. Click here for Advertising Rates

Here's what some of our recent Ad Sponsors are saying:

"We have never been disappointed in how advertising in the WomensMinistry.NET newsletter has put us in touch with women of prayer all across the world. Thank you, Phil and Jennifer, for this AWESOME newsletter. The MDOP ministry will be forever blessed because of it." Kathy Coleman, Founder, Mom's Days of Prayer

Here's how it works... send us your great ideas and if we use them in a newsletter you will be automatically entered to win the book bundle for the quarter. The more great ideas you submit, the more chances to win. At the end of the quarter we will announce the winner and the books she has won!

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