Women

Click the link below to download this abridged edition of Training for T2D Group Leaders. Note that the full version will soon be available as a part of the Women’s Ministry Training and Resource Guide.

Training for T2D Group Leaders (Acrobat Reader Required)

By Tara Barthel and Amy Laverman

The phrase “let me be a woman” provocatively incites preconceived ideas of what kind of woman one is to be. The onslaught of feminist culture brazenly takes hold of our daughters and persuasively tells them, “Why shouldn’t you use your gifts and be rewarded? You deserve pleasure, prestige, money, and power!” Third-wave raunch feminism assaults us daily. This tsunami confronting our covenant children is such that without the faithful proclamation of God’s design for male and female role relationships, we will fail in discipling the next generation.

The need to talk about biblical womanhood roused two women in a small PCA church in Billings, Montana, to develop and offer a summer Sunday school class for teen girls. Years ago, older women had taught Tara Barthel and Amy Laverman the joy and freedom of biblical womanhood, and this past summer, they did the same for thirteen young ladies ages 12-22. Together, they delved into the rich theology of “equal but different” and the proactive beauty of “helper,” all while enjoying deep conversations over fancy coffee with creamers to help set the mood.

“I learned far more from these young women than I could ever imagine they learned from me,” Tara says in reflecting on the class. “It’s one thing to believe these theological truths in theory. It’s another thing entirely to actually live them out in a world that rejects and scorns such ideas and ideals.”

Using the core CEP Women in the Church materials as a springboard for their class content and discussions, Tara and Amy challenged the girls to think biblically. “And they met the challenge,” Amy explains. “Even at their young ages, the theology of what God says about biblical womanhood and manhood resonated and made an impact. Their eyes were glued on us as we taught. They pushed back when concepts were hard to grasp or difficult to accept as biblical truth. And week after week, they not only came back wanting more; they brought along new friends, too.”

When Amy was in her late teens, her pastor’s wife started a discipleship study with several young women in the church. She led the group through a rigorous, in-depth study of womanhood and marriage. “It was a pivotal time in my life. I longed for Christian friends so I joined the group, but the challenge of reading difficult books containing biblical truths, like Bible commentaries and Puritan writings, turned my gaze away from the allure of the world only to then see a glorious God with a glorious purpose, authority, and mission for my life,” reflects Amy. That watershed class for Amy propelled her on a trajectory of living out her helper design.

“I started learning about biblical manhood and womanhood pretty much as soon as I was saved by God as a teenager,” Tara explains. “Thankfully, God put me in a church where servant leadership gave me a sweet introduction to the blessing of submitting to ecclesiastical authority. Male headship was a gift to me-for the first time in my life, I had fatherly protection and fatherly care.”

“But I also had to wrestle with some hard questions as I continued to grow in grace and mature in the Lord,” Tara continues. “I didn’t have a family that would take care of me until a suitor would come along a la Jane Austen and move me from one home to the next. If I didn’t work, I wouldn’t eat. So I sought counsel from wise, spiritually-mature men and women as to what biblical womanhood would mean in my specific life situation.”

“Thankfully, I learned that God’s Word is sufficient! And real-life may look a little different for each person-for me it meant learning about things like piety and domesticity at the very same time I was earning my law degree and MBA-but God’s principles remain the same,” Tara continues. “Because of the patient love and generational discipleship I received through relationships in my local church, I learned to delight in getting to be the girl! Even when I was still single, I began to learn how to encourage and support the leaders in my life. I no longer wanted to live up to the feminist ideals that indoctrinated me during my 1970’s childhood. Instead, my heart was turned toward Christ, his Kingdom, his Bride, my home, and my opportunity to serve my community and the world-as a woman.”

Generational Discipling

At Rocky Mountain Community Church, generational discipleship is a priority. “It takes a church to raise a child,” says one pastor, “not to overstep the bounds of parents but to come alongside and assist parents as they bring up their children in a greater love for God and others.” Over the years, RMCC has provided activities and classes for parents and teens, as well as discipleship relationships between adults and young adults. One parent commented, “It’s so important for my girls to have relationships with other women in the church. The more they are connected to our covenant family through authentic relationships, the more likely they are to work through issues of faith, unbelief, temptations and trials right here, in our church family.”

This generational emphasis spurred Tara and Amy to be even more deliberate in discipling young women in their church.

To do so, they first sought counsel from their husbands and pastors as to the possibility of offering a class for young women during the summer weeks. Then, modeling the very principles they taught in the class, Tara and Amy asked the pastors to oversee both an introductory meeting and a conclusion meeting at the close of the class. The parents of class participants were strongly urged to attend, but everyone in the covenant family was invited-single, married, young, and old.

“I was so happy that the pastors wanted everyone in the church be invited to learn more about this important topic,” explains Tara. “We had some new, adult-convert, believers in our women’s study this spring and they were very interested in learning more about what the Bible says about manhood and womanhood, authority and submission. And even my husband, Fred, is trying to be more proactive in using biblical terms as he encourages and leads our two daughters.”

At the first church-wide meeting, only a small group of people showed up. But by the end of the summer, even more people were interested in the topic. The girls themselves asked for more studies and mentoring relationships, and the parents of the girls asked for future training as well. One mother said, “It’s not enough to talk to our girls about the worldly, idolatrous desires in their hearts and how they have to repent. They know a lot of that truth already. What they need to hear is the glorious calling and purpose God has for them. This will give them a vision for the mission God has planned for their lives.”

“This is our goal,” both Tara and Amy agree, “not to argue or become bogged down in the details of daily living, because each of these girls are faced with a unique, complex future that God’s Word will guide them through. Instead, we hope to show them what proactive devotion looks like. We strive to hold forth God’s Word with winsome humility and blessed happiness, with the hope that these young ladies will see in our lives a cheerful, intentional desire to help our leaders-in the church, home, and community.”

By all accounts, this inaugural summer biblical womanhood class was a huge success. Even the young ladies who didn’t agree with the principles taught in the class kept coming back. “We really tried to be safe, humble, friends to them,” Tara explains. “We wanted to teach these principles, of course. But more so, we were just thrilled to be invited into their hearts and lives. We wanted them to know that we loved them and we were committed to them.”

Tara and Amy shared a comfortable method of co-teaching, and the girls were engaged and vulnerable in their participation. They did the hard work of looking at Genesis 1-3, and then reflected on their redemption in Christ and its ramifications. Head-nodding and easy agreement was not accepted. Hard questions were encouraged. Even “embarrassing” and “unmentionable” topics like sexual temptations were discussed with candor. Without hesitation, they talked about the virtues of biblical womanhood and the beauty of words that sound so demeaning in our culture.

Most of all, they reveled the intoxicating beauty and purity of the Lord Jesus who, though we have not seen him, we love him … “and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Peter 1:8). In the final class, Amy and Tara were thrilled when the girls enthusiastically said, “We wish this class would never end!”

Please be aware of the following dates, events, and information as you plan your ministry year. Pass these on to the various ministries within your local church that would profit from these training and resource opportunities.

2010 Events

PCA 38^th General Assembly – Nashville, TN – June 29 -July 2

Encourage your high school students to attend CEP’s summer youth leadership conference, YXL (Youth Excelling in Leadership).

• West – Southwest-Glorieta, NM – June 20-27
• Covenant College, Lookout Mountain, GA – July 5 – 10
• Northeast – Refreshing Mountain Camp, PA – July 11-15

Covenant Family Conference, Ridge Haven PCA Conference Center, Brevard, NC – July 19-23

Director of Women’s Ministry Retreat, Park Cities Presbyterian, Dallas,TX: This opportunity is for full/part time paid DOWMs. – September 27-29

Keenagers, A Conference for Adults over 50, Ridge Haven PCA Conference Center, Brevard, NC – October 11-15, Week One

Keenagers, A Conference for Adults over 50, Ridge Haven PCA Conference Center, Brevard, NC — October 18-22, Week Two

Growing the Church through Youth and Children’s Ministries – Philadelphia, PA – October 23

PCA Global Missions Conference – Chattanooga, TN – November 5-7

2011 Events

Growing the Church through Youth and Children’s Ministries – St. Louis, MO, Covenant Theological Seminary – January 18 – 20

Don’t miss the Women in the Church Leadership Conference, Atlanta Hilton – Keep checking CEP’ s website as plans are being finalized – February 24-26.

Growing the Church through Youth and Children’s Ministries – Orlando, FL – March

I love this picture of Ellie Bennett! And I think you will too. Please let me tell you why…

As you know by now, we are thrilled to be the recipients of the 2010 Women in the Church Love Gift. At the 2010 Women in the Church Leadership Conference, I had the opportunity to share a talk entitled, Everyone Loves a Good Story. Here’s an excerpt from the end of that talk.

“MNA Special Needs Ministries came about through the power of the Gospel at work in the lives of God’s Covenant people, engaged in relationship with each other, empowered by the Holy Spirit, whose paths were plowed before them by Providence. And it will continue to grow in the same way. MNA Special Needs Ministries isn’t my ministry-it’s God’s-and it happens through people like you. We’re here to engage, educate, equip and encourage you. But the real ministry happens when Faithful Followers of Christ our Savior become the hands and feet of Jesus to others. Making the Gospel-the good news of the coming of the kingdom-accessible to all, in word and deed, happens when you:

• visit the mom of a newborn with Down’s.
• share the Gospel with your neighbor who has MS.
• build a ramp to the front door of your church.
• reach out to that parent who is struggling with caring for their child with autism.
• modify your Sunday School curriculum so that a boy who has cerebral palsy can know Jesus.
• faithfully visit that woman with dementia in the nursing home, year after year, validating the image of God in her, honoring “what’s left not what’s lost.”[1]

Everyone loves a good story…go to the CEP website for the rest of the story!

And by God’s grace, everyone in this room who knows Christ as Savior and experiences the reign of God in them has one. Not just a good story-a great story. Whether you get to tell it from a podium or around your kitchen table-it has eternal significance either way. He created every one of us-complete with our abilities and disabilities-as people with a purpose, not objects with an objective. We have lives that are meant to be lived with active, vibrant love for and faith in Him-that pours over, with intentionality, into our walk alongside of others.

Where would God have you be? Be a Faithful Follower of Christ our Savior-asking, seeking, knocking-believing in faith that God will answer, show, and open the doors. Then, by faith, He will reign in you more and more, and bring His kingdom through you day by day. So that, together, we can look back years from now, and say with God-glorifying praise, “Look at what God did-because His people were there.”

Afterwards, a collection of women stood in line for an hour to talk with me-either about their passion for special needs ministry in the Church, their family members with disabilities, or both. Anne Wickholm was one the latter. You see, her oldest granddaughter, Ellie, was born with multiple heart defects and severe cerebral palsy. And the day I gave that talk at WIC LT would have been Ellie’s 10^th birthday-if the Lord had not taken her home to be with Him 16 months earlier. Anne then gave a generous financial gift because “members of my family that have (she also has another granddaughter who has autism) or have had special needs…have given me a heart to make it possible for people with special needs to be incorporated into the church family and church life to the extent possible. My donation is in honor of Ellie on the occasion of what would have been her 10^th birthday.”

MNA Special Needs Ministries exists to make the Gospel accessible to little girls like Ellie and their families. It’s really that simple. Your gifts-to the 2010 WIC Love Gift for MNA Special Needs Ministries-or to support MNA Special Needs Ministries directly-make a world of difference. Will you join us? So that, together, we can say, “Look at what God did-because His people were there.”

Stephanie O. Hubach

MNA Special Needs Ministries Director

This year, there are two GREAT opportunities to give:

To give to MNA Special Needs Ministries:

online: www.pca-mna.org/specialneeds

by mail: MNA Special Needs Ministries

1700 North Brown Road, Suite 102

Lawrenceville, GA 30043

To give or learn about the 2010 WIC Love Gift please go to:

www.pca-mna.org/specialneeds or to equip.pcacep.org/2010-women-in-the-church-love-gift.html

“Making the Gospel-the good news of the coming of the kingdom-accessible to all, in word and deed”

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[1] Kim Asch, “Memory Keepers,” The Hill, Volume XVIII, No. 1, Winter/Spring 2004, pg. 19.

Looking for an area of service or outreach in which your church’s women’s ministries or PresWIC can be involved? This page focuses on activities that others have done that can be adapted and used by your women.

The women of Warrior PresWIC, which covers West Central Alabama, are active in supporting ministries:

• At home and beyond:“Send the Light,” is an offering which is oriented towards international missions. The PresWIC team tries to choose mission work or missions projects that have their roots in Warrior presbytery. In 2009, a member of First PC in Demopolis was chosen for her ministry, “The Border Sewing Ministry.” Several times each year, this kingdom woman travels to Mexican churches along the border to teach women how to sew so that they can use these skills to help support their families. The women then take what they’ve learned and use it as an outreach to other women and families right where they live.

• Within the United States: Collections for the “Showers of Blessings” offering go primarily to support mission work within the United States. Palmer Home for Children in Columbus, Mississippi, was selected for this project.

• Denominationally:The Women in the Church Love Gift highlights the work of a PCA agency or committee. Mission to North America’s Special Needs Ministry is the 2010 recipient.

• Churches of the presbytery: In October each year, Warrior PresWIC sends a Pastor Appreciation card to every single pastor in the presbytery. They also produce a directory just for pastoral families that includes all contact information of Warrior presbytery pastors and their families. ”

• Women of the presbytery:“Keeping the women of Warrior Presbytery connected” is the purpose of the Warrior PresWIC blog. The blog is designed for the women to stay informed, be encouraged, and learn more about the PresWIC…”one of the many ways women can encourage, mentor, and edify one another in the 21^st century!” You are invited to check it out: www.warriorpreswic.blogspot.com.

Click here to read, download and print the entire issue of Equip Women to Disciple in PDF (Acrobat Reader Required)

Click here to view this portion of the publication in PDF

Palmer Home for Children was the destination for the first-ever women’s mission trip from First PC, Jackson, Mississippi. During their week of service, teams worked on assigned tasks such as washing and painting rooms and buildings and working at the thrift store. Each evening the children enjoyed activities planned and directed by the women, and one evening the housemothers were treated to a Ladies Night Out of facials, pedicures, and snacks. The mission team spent one afternoon making and freezing casseroles for the house parents to use on busy nights. The Jackson team agreed: it was a wonderful week of service and FUN!

Stitches of Love is an international outreach that began in 2003 with three women from Providence PC, Quakertown, PA, whose ministry was to make blankets for a local pregnancy center. It has since flourished into a ministry of 1800 volunteers across the US who hand craft items for infants and children in need in the US and Afghanistan and also for our military families and military personnel in Afghanistan. The goal for 2009 was for 18,000 items to be made and gifted through volunteers who are taught to knit, crochet, weave, embroider, and loom knit. Stitches of Love intends to continue to seek the highest poverty areas in each county and community to give needed items. Each new chapter formed is encouraged to choose those communities closest to their location that are needed. Therefore, we foster a community connection and realization that poverty exists everywhere.” To learn more about this ministry, visit www.stitchesoflove.us.

The high school girls at Lansdale Presbyterian in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, are engaging in ministry to their former peers: their friends now in college. Recently, the girls packed care packages filled with homemade goodies, candy, silly string, cards/notes, etc., to send out. The group met at the home of a member and completed the night with Bible study.

Student Lunch is a ministry of Faith Presbyterian in Anchorage, Alaska, for high school students. The pastor and his wife invite high school students to have lunch with their family every other Sunday. After lunch, there is a time of edifying and rousing theological discussion over dessert while everyone one another’s company. Fellowship and discussion ends by 3 o’clock. Students are welcome to come even if they only have time for lunch.

After hearing at a PresWIC meeting about homes in their area where there are literally no books to read, the Pearl Presbyterian Women’s Ministry, in Pearl, Mississippi, decided to collect new and used children’s books and adult Christian books. New Life Christian Ministries, an inner city ministry in West Jackson, collects and distributes the books.

Kingdom Outreach for the Almighty (KOA) is a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian in Harrisonburg, Virginia. KOA ministers to the refugee and international community in Harrisonburg. Church members involved befriend families, deliver baskets of household goods and food, help with an ESL program, pray for the refugee community, and share the gospel. Many of the people being ministered to have experienced tragic circumstances, become refugees in an unfamiliar country, and are now facing the challenges of starting a new life, learning a new language, and adjusting to a vastly different culture. The families of the international community appreciate the help as they adjust, and church members enjoy the blessing of learning about the many cultures represented.

Points of Connection…A Case Study on How Women’s Ministry was Re-built by Applying Women’s Ministry Biblical Leadership Training Principles

At the annual Leadership Training Conference in February, a number of useful seminars were offered to the leadership participants. One in particular reflects how a local church went about redesigning a strategic women’s ministry based on the foundational philosophy and resources of CEP’s ministry to PCA women.

As you read, note how this particular local church, ChristChurch Presbyterian, was led in recasting and rebuilding a vibrant, connectional ministry.

The seminar leaders, Kathryn Jackson, a young mom of three with strong teaching gifts, and Jane Carter, a single PCA staff woman serving in the PCA Retirement & Benefits, INC offices, and current Women in the Church President, began by recalling a recent Leadership Training Conference.

Their local church sent eight women to the 2009 annual Leadership Training Conference accompanied by the pastor’s wife. The last speaker of the day was Susan Hunt, former Director of Women’s Ministry in the PCA. Later the women would say that her words seemed like a foreign language…they had never heard such things…they didn’t get it…they were clueless in Atlanta!

Here are the steps they took to move from clueless to connected:

Evaluation

They returned to the local church and decided more study was in order! The leadership team chose three books to aid them in better understanding what the Bible says about women’s purpose in the local church. Of the three, one was supremely helpful; a breath of fresh air; a life-changing kingdom focus. That book was The Legacy of Biblical Womanhood authored by Susan Hunt and Barbara Thompson.

Click here to read, download and print the entire issue of Equip Women to Disciple in PDF (Acrobat Reader Required)

Assessing Needs and Interests

“Who are our women?” They devised a survey that provided a foundational picture of the diverse women they served and revealed their yearning for true connectedness. Surveys are tricky, and they didn’t want to use the survey to create a needs-based ministry, but to gain a snapshot of who were the women in their church – ages, stages, how connected were they to the body of believers in their church.

Intentional, Strategic Planning

• Creation of purpose statement
• Focus on communicating that purpose through multiple outlets
• Bible study redesign – Structured to include biblical teaching (content) followed by smaller discipleship groups (structure) that prayerfully attempts to integrate faith into all of life
• Build connections through multiple outlets; building cross-generational relationships, a framework for Titus 2 mentoring
• Using discipleship groups to serve the body as they serve together
• Points of Connection Forums – simple, yet profoundly effective by selecting topics that are of interest to all women regardless of age or stage. Go online to www.christchurchatlanta.org, click on women’s ministry and read more!

Challenges?

• One word: CHANGE. No one likes change. It has been a challenge for women to embrace this new Bible study format and focus on discipleship. The leadership team is constantly trying to overcome this challenge via prayer and continual vision casting…it all comes back to purpose.
• Being a church in a big city – the team joins in working with the pastor and session to emphasize the importance of commitment to the church body!
• Motivation of older women who have ‘been there, done that’ to jump in and continue to serve the younger women. Older women are surprised to learn that younger women WANT to know them and learn from them.
• Looking forward….How does the women’s team build on what is being done? Are there new ways to cast the vision? How do we reach more women?

Regardless of the challenges, we stay on our knees, and take any new idea back to the purpose statement as the foundation to be sure it furthers that purpose:

In prayerful reliance on the Holy Spirit, we seek to help women cultivate a Biblical worldview that:

• Integrates our faith into all areas of life
• Challenges us to understand and embrace our unique God-given design and purpose as women in today’s culture
• Fosters commitment to authentic life-on-life relationships, especially between older and younger women
• Compels us to serve our church body and reach out to our community

…through a vital and transforming relationship with Christ and for His glory.