Have you ever planned a special event just because you do it every year and it’s on the calendar? I have too, but perhaps we need to take time to stop and “rethink” why and how we are doing it to see if it even should be on the calendar.
Here is something to RE-think each time you begin thinking about an event: perceived needs vs. real needs of women. What are the perceived needs you see? Probably the perceived needs involve what a woman wants now…usually a “quick fix” to something she is dealing with. It might be balance in her life, release from stress, purpose in life, or building relationships. We know that as we plan events that we must appeal to what she feels she needs right then, but as leaders we truly want to give her what she actually needs…in a nutshell, that’s Christ and growing in her spiritual walk. Many women don’t even know that what they need is Christ so then we have to ask, “how DO we reach them?”
We need to rethink several things…events titles, greeters, groups and invitations.
EVENT TITLES: do you ever take a look at the title or theme and ask yourself what would an unchurched or lost person think if they read it? For instance, Grasping 1 Corinthians 13 might not mean a thing to a lost woman, but “A Love that Never Ends” or “True Love” might grip their heart and encourage them to take part in your event.
GREETERS: if you have women standing at the door smiling at each person coming in, introducing themselves, introducing them to other women, and making them feel welcome, you say to these unchurched women, “we are SO glad you are here” and “you belong here.”
GROUPS: women who are not already a part of your ministry or even your church may hesitate to join you if they’ve visited before and felt everyone already had their own group (or clique as some might call it). Help her find a group to connect with at the event, a table to sit at, a group to join so that she will not feel left out when she does come.
INVITATIONS: we want to make sure that lost women have an opportunity to make spiritual decisions at our events. In fact, Christian women need this opportunity as well. And we should NEVER assume that since they are a part of our church, they are already in a relationship with Christ. Sometimes unchurched women may not understand an “altar call”, but perhaps if they had other ways to make a decision, such as with a response card. This could include name, address, email, cell phone for general information for all attendees, but then could also include something like this:
___I would like to know more about this church (and/or women’s ministry).
___I have some spiritual questions. Please have someone contact me.
___I would like to talk to someone about knowing Christ personally.
___Today, for the first time, I asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior.
___Today, I recommitted my life to Christ.
___Today, I committed to a special ministry of ______________ for Christ.
___Please pray for ______________.
This makes it easy to follow up on prayer requests and spiritual decisions. Keep in mind, just because the event worked once, doesn’t mean that it will always work! Rethink everything each time you feel God is leading you to plan an event that will reach women, build relationships, minister to women and helps them know and grow in Christ.
Find more info on special events in Women Reaching Women and other helpful information from Transformed Lives.
