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Check, Check, and Recheck!

Posted by Debby on November 9, 2010

The week of the retreat is here. After registration closed, there was a flurry of activity that we described as “shenanigans.” This last minute juggling of who is attending and who is in what room increases the chance for errors and confusion as women arrive and check in at the retreat.

So, to avoid this confusion as much as possible, this week we were doing a lot of checking. Do we have a name tag for everyone who is now committed to attending? Did we spell the names on the name tags correctly? Is the final rooming list correct? Does everyone on our final registration list match up with those on our rooming list? Is the hotel’s printout of the rooming list correct?

The checking is time consuming, but it pays off as registration at the retreat runs smoothly.

Posted in: Retreat and Event Planning

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Resource Guide for Women’s Ministry – A Book Review

Posted by Debby on November 1, 2010

Resource Guide for Women’s Ministry is a book which offers “practical and creative ideas for leading prayer groups, using your home in a hospitality ministry, beginning outreach programs, forming fellowship support groups, and much more. The author, Linda McGinn Waterman, desires that every woman find God’s ministry for her life. God equips us for ministry through the unique experiences, circumstances and events of our lives. He gives us the Holy Spirit to direct and empower us to to His work.

The book is geared more toward the individual and her ministry within the community or neighborhood rather than toward a women’s ministry within the church, although some of the her ideas may work in a women’s ministry group setting. She encourages women discover God’s ministry for their lives. She encourages us to look at the needs around us (the poor and needy, senior adults, caregivers, married couples, homeschool families, single parents, widows, etc.) and to find practical and creative ways to minister to them. Some of her suggestions include: prayer groups, one-to-one and small group discipleship, hospitality, planning a women’s conference and starting evangelistic outreaches such as Bible studies and luncheons. For the woman who doesn’t know what her ministry is, the book includes a “personal inventory” for the reader to complete in order to help her identify her ministry “niche”.

The value I see in this book is that it gives an overview of the many needs that are all around in our community, and encourages women to not only be aware of those needs, but to find a creative way to minister to those needs. Each chapter is filled with creative ministry ideas and real-life experiences of women who have found a unique way that they can be used as His instruments in a hurting world.

Posted in: Book Reviews

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Shenanigans

Posted by Debby on October 30, 2010

Registration for our 2010 retreat ended on Oct. 24, and women had a few more days to make their final payment on their balance due for the retreat. Our goal is now to have the rooming list done by oct. 31, ready to turn in to the hotel next week. This is a critical time to keep close communication with the hotel to make sure you have enough rooms or to release the unused rooms, based on the attrition rate on your contract.

Things always speed up at the end of registration, and there is a flurry of activity. Laura, who works with registration and rooming, has a word for this: “Shenanigans”. It is not a surprise, because it happens every year at this time.

You have those last-minute women who have had over a month to register, and somehow they miss the last day of registration. They are begging for you to make a place for them.
You have the women who have paid their deposit, but have trouble coming up with the remainder of the balance. If there is scholarship money available, we can possibly help them; otherwise, they may have to cancel their plans to attend the retreat, losing their non-refundable deposit.
You have those who cancel because a conflict has suddenly come up.
You have those who keep us busy trying to make last-minute rooming changes. As you will note on our registration form, we have a place for ladies to designate their roommate. If those who register fill in their desired roommate, it simplifies the rooming process immensely. However, as registration closes, for some reason people want to make changes–adding person to a room, changing roommates for one reason or another…and on and on…
We have those who have been on the waiting list, or who hurriedly add their names to the waiting list at the last minute. When something opens up, these ladies need to be called individually to find out if they can still come to the retreat.

Shenanigans. They are going to happen. Accept them, work through the problems, and know that “this too shall pass.”

Posted in: Retreat and Event Planning, Rooming Issues

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Working with People

Posted by Debby on October 29, 2010

Thomas ‘a Kempis said this in his writing The Imitation of Christ:

“There is no great reliance to be placed in a frail and mortal man, though he may be helpful and dear to us; neither should we be much grieved, if at times he should be against us and contradict us. Those who are with you today may be against you tomorrow and the opposite may be the case, for men often change like the wind. Place your whole trust in the Lord: let Him alone be your fear and your love. He Himself will answer for you and will do what is best for you.”

Obviously, he experienced the same pressures of ministry that we face today. While it is so easy to find yourself depending on people, it is true that people are not totally dependable.

Posted in: Inspirations, Realities of Ministry

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Operating from the Eye of the Hurricane

Posted by Debby on October 20, 2010

In the review of Gail MacDonald’s book High Call High Privilege, one of her illustrations really spoke to me. She compares life in the ministry to being inside a hurricane, surrounded by the stresses and trials of our own lives, as well as the hurricane-like winds of needy people. It would be easy to get consumed and worn down by the difficulties people face. The needs around us can be overwhelming. Yet, as Ms. MacDonald says, “We cannot resent the spiritual struggles that people face just as a physician must not resent the sickness his patients bring to him for diagnosis and treatment.”

The key to living in the hurricane of human events is to operate from the eye of the hurricane. The eye is the center of the hurricane, a place of peace and a type of normalcy. How do we stay in the eye of the storm? Jesus gave us the example. He paid attention to His inner spirit’s need for restoration and filling. In scripture, we often see Christ retreating from the crowds and his disciples to spend time in prayer. While His life was surrounded by hurricane-like forces, He was not distracted from His priorities or calling.

Posted in: Inspirations

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