Are you serving women in your {smaller} church? This is for you!

{If you’ve ever felt like your church was too small or you didn’t have enough women for a powerful and effective ministry to women, read on. This is for you!}

“Our church isn’t really big enough to do much. We only have about 15 women.”

“It’s so hard to plan anything for our women because there are so few of us and everyone has so much on their plates.”

“We honestly can’t afford to do much. We have no budget and our congregation doesn’t have a lot of disposable income.”

“It makes me feel bad when I see all the cool stuff other churches do for their women. We don’t have the resources for anything like that.”

Teri Lynne Underwood is sharing from her 22+ years of serving in smaller churches to encourage and equip women's ministry leaders.

One of my favorite parts of speaking is the opportunity to go to smaller churches and encourage the leaders there.  I’ve heard all of those statements and similar ones from women’s leaders on many occasions.

The reality is, most churches in our country are small.

Almost 60% have under 100 members. Another 35% have less than 500 members. {source} Every church where Scott has served fit into this category. And, since this accounts for about 95% of churches in the United States, I’m guessing most of you are also a part of smaller churches.

And you probably connect with at least one of the statements above.

Friends, I have been the one with no budget, the one with not enough people to do anything big, the one who just felt like anything we could do was so small it couldn’t really matter.

But, over the past 20+ years of serving in many ways in the ministry to women in our church, I think I’ve learned a few lessons. And, because you, like me, may not always be able to attend the big training conferences (or you may not even know about them!) and you may not be able to network with people whose churches have a similar dynamic and demographic as yours, I want to help!

Are you a women's ministry leader in a smaller church? Do you ever feel like there's so much you can't do due to lack of people and resources? if so, this series is for you! #ministrytowomen #smallerchurches

During October, I’ll be sharing posts every Tuesday specifically about ministry to women in smaller churches.  I’ll share what I’ve learned through my personal experiences, through conversations with other women’s ministry leaders, and through the conferences and workshops I’ve been able to attend.

We won’t be able to cover everything — but I hope to give you a start to building a solid foundation for the ministry to women in your church. We’ll skip over all the ideas for ice breakers and tea party themes because you can get all of that on Pinterest.

Instead, we’ll cover these topics:

  • The one thing we really need to remember about ministry to women.
  • The unique challenges of ministry to women in a smaller group
  • How to choose Bible studies
  • Why studying and teaching whole books of the Bible is good for women
  • Simple ways to disciple women
  • How and why to make room at the table

And I’ll give you a HUGE list you can print out with all kinds of resources for serving the women in your church well.

Sound good?

I’m excited because one of my favorite things is to encourage other leaders. And I believe YOU have something amazing to offer the women in your church and I can’t wait to help you find ways to serve and love them well.

Leading #ministrytowomen in a smaller church? Check out this series from @terilynneu! #womensministry #smallchurches Click To Tweet

Are you in?  Leave a comment and let me know how you are a part of the ministry to women in your church and what your biggest challenge is.

xoxo,

Teri Lynne

Posts in this series:

Read the Psalms this summer with Scripture Dig!

Comments

  1. We have been attending our church for almost 3 years now. During that time, the women have only been meeting about once a month for a bible study. God has really been showing me that the ladies need to get more connected and to be more encouraged. I’ve been meeting with my pastor and his wife and we’ve got plans to really revamp our women’s ministry starting in January with a New Year Kick-Off. We also will be coming up with a Mission Statement so that we have better focus and direction. I think the hardest part will be getting the women engaged. But God can work miracles so we will let Him take the lead!

    • Yes! Engagement is so hard … especially if you have a lot of different ages and stages of life represented. I love that you have your pastor’s support and are taking time to plan and prepare before kicking off. Such a great starting point!!

  2. Hi there! I don’t have an “official” position but I am helping our pastor’s wife revamp our Women’s Ministry. We have approximately 50 women in our church of about 125 members. They have been doing a once a month bible study for several years and I get the distinct feeling they need more. Right now, I am leading a Women’s Connection meeting in my home once a week where we get together and fellowship, laugh, eat, pray, eat, praise and worship together. Did I also mention that we eat together? lol! We have a great time! We are looking at doing more things next year such as continuing with the weekly Connection group, twice a month evening bible studies and once a month get-togethers (i.e., eating, crafting, workshops, etc.). I anticipate that our issue may be getting some of the women to get involved but our God is a big God!

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