Building Wholeness and Balance

Whenever you deal with people, you come face to face with personal needs and issues that affect outcomes. Women today represent a growing range of needs. Some are obvious, but many are not. That is why one group will not meet the needs of every woman in your church. To be an effective leader now requires the development of skills dealing with unexpected circumstances and situational twists. The task isn’t easy and requires a leader to pay careful attention to her followers’ conditions. Watching and listening are no longer options, but are essential skills. Leaders must take time to know the needs of the women in their church, and then offer ministry opportunities to meet those needs.

This is why it is so important to seek God’s wisdom, guidance and discernment as a leader of women. As you do, ask God to reveal the answers to the following questions:

• Are any of the women dealing with family problems?
• Are any of the women struggling with anxiety, fear, or depression?
• Are any of the women working outside the home and managing a family?
• Are any of the women facing or recovering from physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse?
• Are any of the women struggling with or recovering from substance abuse?
• Are any of the women recently divorced or abandoned?
• Are any of the women recently widowed?
• Are any of the women new to the church or the community?
• Are any of the women experiencing financial hardships?
• Are any of the women dealing with a chronically ill child, husband or parent?
• Are any of the women responsible for the care of aging relatives?
• Are any of the women new converts?
• Are any of the women involved in immorality or pornography?
• Are any of the women involved in New Age, witchcraft, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Tai Chi, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, etc.?
• Are any of the women involved in gambling?

Remember that each of us needs guidance and support for living a Christian life in an ungodly world. Taking time to know your women will be time well spent and will eventually pay great dividends.

You will find in ministry that the demands for your attention will be great. Activities, appointments, meetings and planning will consume much of your time. However, we cannot stress enough the importance for a leader to establish a consistent prayer life and keep it a priority. Prayer will give you the power to be the most effective leader. Simply, prayer is speaking in God’s presence and knowing that He listens. True prayer is not focused inwardly, but upwardly.

As you pray and study God’s Word, you will find strength and the answers to life’s most perplexing problems. No matter what your busy day holds, when you begin by savoring the peace and strength of God’s Word, the joyous assurance of knowing that He really cares will last throughout the day. You will discover the God “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20).

Reprinted from A Leader’s Guide for Successfully Ministering to Women, ©1999 by Gospel Publishing House, Springfield, Missouri