Women's Issue:
Hope for Victims of Domestic Violence
Karen True
One of my ministry heroes is my friend, Nancy. Several years ago, I was leading the women's ministry at our church, and we began serving at a local domestic violence shelter. Nancy caught the vision and invested herself deeply in the lives of the families who took refuge there, and we began to see some amazing things happen. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, so we will consider some ways your ministry can show compassion to the women and children who have been affected by domestic violence in your community.
Throw a party.
A party is a great way to involve your women and encourage those in the shelter. Gather your scrapbookers and jewelry makers and very best cooks. Serve brunch at the shelter and then have supplies and helpers available at craft tables. It's great to go with a few projects in mind and plenty of helping hands, but the women will probably jump right in and make projects of their own design if you just have plenty of supplies available.
It's also a great idea to host a children's party at the same time so the moms can have a break. Play games, make crafts, tell them a story and love on them, and you will have some happy children and grateful moms.
Volunteer in the office.
Many shelters run on a shoestring budget. Volunteering in the office helps them greatly and also enables the women in your ministry to develop meaningful relationships with those whoh work in the office as well as those who are there to take shelter. Your ministry can become a revolving door of blessing by helping ease the workload.
Offer GED tutoring.
One of the greatest needs of women in the shelters is employment so they can provide for themselves and their children and escape their abusive situation. A first step in the right direction is often completing their GED. Set up a tutoring program to help the women along by giving them confidence to take this first essential step.
Invite them to your next event.
Provide tickets and transportation to your next women's event. Enlist women who will go the extra mile to welcome anyone who comes. You may not have a lot of women come because of safety issues or just because of the insecurity of an unfamiliar environment, but they will appreciate the offer. As your ministry becomes more involved at the shelter, you will see more women who are willing to come.
Host a work day.
Men and women can work together to fix up, clean up and pick up around the shelter. Find out what kinds of needs they have, and jump in to complete the many tasks that need to be done. Many shelters need help with a variety of things like painting, cleaning, sorting donations, etc. There's always plenty to do, and when you pitch in to help, you'll find that you build relationships that create trust.
Donate food and/or supplies.
You and your family can get personally involved by simply donating groceries to the shelter. Find out what they need, and then go shop and drop off your purchases. You might even consider doing this on a monthly or quarterly basis and inviting others to join you.
Host a food drive.
Invite your women to bring cans of food to your next event. To make this really fun, you might offer a great prize for which there will be a drawing. Each can of food entitles the contributor to an enter her name in the drawing. Collect the food, give a prize and provide meals for the residents at your local shelter.
Serve a meal.
It's great to donate food. It's even better to serve it. Arrange for your ministry to donate one meal per month to your local shelter (or more if possible). Women can sign up in groups of 5-6 to provide the meals. You'll help the shelter's tight budget, and your women will build great connections with other women who are hurting.
Give them a spa.
This is really another party in disguise! You might even combine it with the party we mentioned earlier depending on the space, time and resources available. You will need some willing hair stylists and manicurists and possibly a few others who can serve as assistants. Offer haircuts, manicures and some lovely snacks for a great time to pamper the women while engaging others in your ministry to serve. This also offers another opportunity to do some activities with the children while the moms get a little extra special attention.
Be a friend.
More than anything else, every woman in a shelter needs someone who really cares about her and will treat her like a true friend. It takes time and energy to develop these relationships, but nothing will be more effective or profound in pointing women to Christ than walking alongside them like Jesus would do.
Domestic violence hurts, traps and destroys. Yet, it also provides an opportunity for meaningful ministry. We tend to think of ministry as affecting the lives of those we serve, but you will also discover that you and the women who serve with you will never be the same when you venture out in faith to invest in the lives of people who are hurting.
Our ministry did all of the things mentioned here and many more, and we sat in a front row seat as we watched God's amazing work of healing and hope transform the lives of the women...those in the shelter and those who served.
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Our Expert
Karen True is living a story that can only be explained by the God who made her. She's led women's ministries and now serves as Contributing Editor at womensministry.net . She and her husband, Gerry, live in San Antonio, Texas and home school their two children and go to church in a barn...for real!
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