Travel back in time to a city of your choosing with this historically themed event, and bring the stories and the wisdom of the ancients to life at your next women's ministry event.

Our focus for this event was missions. We wanted to take our women on a journey that would inspire and challenge them to act on the fact that we are all designed to be disciples.

Description: We turned our sanctuary into a faraway place on the edge of an ancient city. It might be Bethany, perhaps the capital city of Susa in the middle of Persia or perhaps the edge of Old Jerusalem.

Our stage was set with a large tent that was covered with linen and silk fabrics. We covered a large piece of heavy cardboard with fabric that looked like stone to create a stone wall. It was all topped off with large palm trees, pottery, baskets and brightly colored fabrics adorning the stage. Though we never really identified a specifc place, the scene clearly resembled someplace in the middle East.

Program: Our desire was to challenge each woman to see herself as a disciple...by God's design. We kept the program simple and focused to help acheive this goal. 

• We opened with a simple but beautiful time of praise and worship by a couple of our talented women who selected songs appropriate to the theme.
• Another of our women shared about an upcoming mission trip to Africa where she would be helping deliver babies and conducting HIV testing.
• Seven women of the Bible were presented in first person and dressed in character. We chose Hannah, Esther, Deborah, Abigail, Dorcas, Mary (Martha's sister) and Mary (the mother of Jesus). The scene we'd created became the perfect backdrop for each of these women.
  

Decorations:Decorations were very simple but vibrant with colored table runners, pottery centerpieces filled with native grasses and a separate piece of earthenware tipped on its side with beautiful blue pieces of glass spilling out to portray the idea of being broken and spilled out. A decorative dish was placed in the center of each table for a love offering, all of which would go toward the cost of the Africa mission trip.

Food: Our women worked together to prepare a lovely brunch.

WM Note: We are always inspired by travel themed events. They invite women to take a trip to another place and sometimes another time. A theme like this also presents an ideal opportunity to truly challenge women to take action. There are plenty of variations you could make on this terrific event idea. Here are just a few:

• Invite a woman from your church to share about her experiences on a mission trip. Nothing is as powerful as a personal story. She might even include a few pictures to share as well.
  
• If you have several women who have had mission experiences, consider asking them to serve on a panel where you or another leader might interview them briefly and then allow time for your group to ask questions.
• Flags and maps would make great decorations. Here's a really amazing map.
  
• Select menu items based on the part(s) of the world that will be highlighted. Give your woman a taste of a new culture.
  
• Close the event by providing specific opportunities for your women to get invovled. Be sure to include a variety of ideas that will be accessible to a range of women.