09/09/2024
THE POWER OF WOMEN’S MINISTRY EVENTS
Since my 20s, one key source of spiritual/Christian teaching, encouragement, inspiration and empowerment has been women's conferences.
It's great to be amongst other women to talk and learn more about Christian, and hear about issues pertinent to being a woman and a women of faith.
One meeting stands out in my mind. It was held about 25 years ago with about 500 women present.
I remember it because the testimony one woman shared was incredibly memorable.
She had been a lone parent, who had gotten married to a Christian man, who, during their courtship had appeared to have been a very godly man. He was always quoting scripture, was always evangelising and talking about Jesus, and was well respected in the church.
The woman was sharing her story because her husband had left the marriage whilst she was pregnant with their son and had not seen his son after he was born. The child was about eight when his mother shared the story. Not only that, her had left her thousands of pounds in debt.
It has to be noted, black Christian women didn’t talk openly about their personal business – especially if they were divorced so you can imagine my surprise as this women shared candidly, openly, and honestly during a Christian gather, about her experience of a bad marriage to a man that was a Christian. Her story shocked and intrigued me at the same time so after the meeting I approached her to do an interview for The Voice as I knew there’d be readers with whom her story would resonate.
Attending this meeting made me aware of the power of women’s meetings and the platform they provide for women to share very personal things.
Since that time I’ve attended loads of women’s meetings. Topics I’ve been privy to either listen to, engage with or speak on include
health issues, men, the menopause, marriage, courtship, singleness, public speaking, vision boards, leadership, business, prayer, ministry, business, social, youth culture, gangs, dealing with rebellious children, styling, rejection, fundraising, lone parenting, building a career, personal development, Christian living…I could go on. And on. And on.
Just the other day I attended an event where women were giving the opportunity to share issues they were dealing with anonymously and get feedback from the women present on how to deal with them. It was evident that the session was greatly needed – as women are going through and dealing with a lot. And sometimes all they need is an encouraging word or some words of wisdom to help them overcome.
Another ministry whose events I used to attend regularly used to have counsellors on hand to pray and talk with those who needed to talk with someone about issues raised during sessions. This proved to be a very effective way of helping women who needed additional support to deal with the issues they were experiencing.
I’ve even organised a few women’s events myself – and the friendships and networks that I’ve been able to build from doing so are invaluable. And I know this is the case for others who host and attend women’s ministry events.
There will always be a need for women’s ministries and any women’s ministry event that does not take into account the fact that women’s lives are multi-faceted, and revolve around more than just prayer and bible study are missing a trick.
Sessions should touch on all the life experiences that a Christian women will go through, as well as provide opportunities for heartfelt prayer and ministry.
I would encourage any Christian women to either attend ministry events or be a volunteer at women’s ministry events. You’ll make new friends, build your network, develop new skills and most importantly be given tools to help you build a stronger relationship with the Lord.
