Thursday, May 1st was the National Day of Prayer. There were many events happening in my community and, I am sure, in communities across the country. Since it is on our minds, I thought I would share with you an article I wrote several years ago on Prayer Groups for Women's Ministries.

Prayer is one of the most important disciplines in our walk with the Lord.

It is also the one that women tell me they struggle the most with, and I will have to admit it has been a challenge in my life also.

There are several ways to encourage women to pray. Consider doing a workshop or event that focuses on prayer and even offers a "how to" format such as ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanks, Supplication) or PRAISE (Praise, Repentance, Acknowledgment, Intercession, Supplication for Self, Equipping). Find ways to encourage the women in your church to pray for each other.

Here is a short list of ministry ideas that involve prayer:

Prayer Chain: This is a written list of women who participate in praying over prayer requests. In years past, it consisted of a list that began with one person who called three others, who called three others, etc.. until the list was completely called through. These days, with email, it can simply be one woman who emails everyone on the list. If you use a telephone list, have all of the participants attend an orientation meeting and share guidelines of how the chain will work as well as ideas for each person's personal prayer time.

Prayer Room: One church I know of took an unused walk-in closet near their women's ministry office and turned it into a prayer room. There is a soft light, Bible, a big, comfy chair and a board with prayer requests posted on 3x5 cards. Women can sign-up on a calendar/schedule posted by the door to come or pray, or just stop by. They pray over as many cards as they can, placing their name and date on the back and leaving the card on the board with their name facing out. Once the cards are all prayed through, they are all turned back over. New ones are added as requests are called into the church and ones that are answered are moved to another board in the room that is titled "Answers."

Sunday Intercessors: This is a group of women that meet early on Sunday morning before services start. They divide up into small groups and move through the church praying in each classroom, the restrooms, the offices, the sanctuary, etc. Some groups also take turns meeting in a small room and pray during Sunday School and the other services.

Two or Three: Match up women who are interested in praying with someone else into groups of four. Each group sets a specific time and place to meet and commits to praying together for six months. The reason for matching four is that if someone cannot make it, there are still two or three gathered in His name.

Make prayer an integral part of your ministry. Spend time in prayer with your leadership team. Lead your women into opportunities that include prayer.

And most importantly, make time for personal prayer. A life without prayer is like a car without gas. True forward momentum will not happen without prayer!

In Him... Robyne Beaubien

This week's question.
I let fear stand in the way of just about everything I do. I'm afraid that I'll fail or won't do well. How can I get past this?

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Last week's question.
I'm concerned that my negative attitude could be affecting my kids. Is this possible?

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The best information we receive about the nuts and bolts of Women's Ministry is when we hear what you all are doing "in the trenches." Our weekly poll is your opportunity to share your expertise and knowledge with all of our subscribers!

Each week we ask a question, and share a link for you to post your answers. The following week we provide a link where you can see the results of the question, along with a new question. It takes just a minute, and your input is immediately added.

Here is this week's question:

What are you working on planning right now?

Answer the question HERE.

Here are the results from recent polls.

One of our goals here at WomensMinsitry.Net is to provide the best resources available to women in ministry leadership... that's you! The results of last week's poll have been especially helpful to us as we explore fresh ways to equip you to fulfill your calling. Thanks to all of you who dropped in and participated.

We asked you to, "Please rate how helpful the following networking opportunities would be to you;" and here are the top five answers. All of these had not only the highest vote percentage but were also all ranked to be extremely useful:

• Learning from articles written by other women's ministry leaders
• Connecting with WM leaders from churches similar in size to mine
• Attending conferences with WM leaders from around the country
• Meeting regularly with local WM leaders
• Having an online forum where experienced ministry leaders respond to questions

"Which of the following will you do this summer?"

• Develop a planning calendar for the rest of the year - 40%
• Set goals with my leaders - 39%
• Meet with church leadership to communicate goals, objectives and needs - 35%
• Go to the beach and forget everything for a little while!!! - 34%
• Attend a conference for my own personal enrichment - 34%
• Produce promotional ideas for fall studies, events, etc. - 31%
• Take a break from ministry to refresh myself - 30%
• Review Bible studies for spring 2009 - 25%
• Book a speaker for a spring 2009 event - 19%
• Determine a theme for fall 2008 - 18%
• Determine a theme for spring 2009 - 17%
• Book a speaker for a fall 2008 event - 17%
• Go on a mission trip - 10%

If you host a regularly scheduled special event, how often does it take place?

• Annually - 78%
• Quarterly - 11%
• Bi-annually - 8%
• Semi-Annually - 3%

I've planned those events too, and I can see that it takes most of us a while to recuperate! Really, the planning and hard work that go into our events are well worth all of the resources they require. Some of you are likely in the middle of planning a spring event while others are looking toward the fall. No matter what stage of planning you are in, we encourage you to proceed prayerfully and hope your next event offers a good dose of refreshment and inspiration to your women.

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Start your next event or study with a BANG!

Objective: To break the ice and reminding every lady how special she is to God!

Procedure: Push a promise from God's Word written on a slip of paper into each balloon. (Have at least one for every woman who will be attending. ) Blow up the balloons and tie. When everyone has arrived, throw the balloons up in the air and let the ladies catch them. After they have each captured a balloon, tell them to pop the balloon and read out loud, one by one, what their promise from God's Word is.

This activity is LOUD, but very uplifting and encouraging for everyone!

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Last week we shared a question from a Women's Ministry leader who is really struggling with "what to do" with a disruptive woman in poor health at their retreat.

Here are some of the encouraging and spirit-led answers we received:

Pray, Pray, Pray. First, there were several encouragements to really seek the Lord in prayer to see what to do in this specific situation. Realize that all church bodies are different, and that while we are called to love each other, there are those who are simply seeking attention. Pray and ask the Lord to help you discern the motives of the woman.

Confront in Love. Here are some words of wisdom from Nancy... This is a situation where speaking the truth in love is necessary for everyone involved. This woman must not realize how her behavior is seen by others. What would Jesus do? Probably come alongside, comfort, encourage, and correct. She needs to be made aware of specific things from the last retreat that were a problem to others and given tools to correct those behaviors.

A Servant's Heart. Several of you recommended that the church consider providing a volunteer "servant" to be a companion to this woman through the retreat. The volunteer would receive a free registration.

Put Her to Work. I think I would prayerfully consider what position/job I could assign this woman during the retreat. This way, she would have ownership of some responsibility and possibly feel needed in spite of her disability. If she tries to manipulate or control another area, she could be redirected to her "assigned" duties.

Get the Pastor Involved. Here is how Tammie handled a similar situation... We once had a lady that was very disrupted. Several people had tried to give her nice hints about her behavior. Nothing worked. Finally our pastor sat her down and explained how her behavior was disruptive and tended to make things confusing for others. The attention she received from him seemed to do the trick. He didn't make it "her fault." He just asked her to consider her actions and take others into account. I personally think she just wanted special attention from him. Maybe your lady wants some special attention also.

One final pearl of wisdom came from two women who are disabled... "Please address special needs before your event!" Long walks to meals or meetings can be difficult. A packed schedule with little time for navigating between activities or attending to personal needs or medication can also make someone with special needs feel "outside." Offer a wide variety of games and activities to meet the needs of your women.

Thank you for sharing Ladies!

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From one tool to another, I thank you from the very depths of my heart for your wonderful article, "Tool Talk." It was amazing timing on God's part as I am sitting in a hotel room right this very minute. This weekend, I am one of two speakers at a conference in North Carolina. By the way, they found me through womensministry.net and flew me in from California. May God continue to use and bless your fabulous ministry! ~ Dori Drabek

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