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WIC Resource Letter
for PCA Women in Leadership If you are a Pastor's wife, WIC president, PresWIC president or Director of Women's Ministry and are not currently receiving the Resource Letter, click here to be added to the mailing list. “Daughters who
will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace.”
Ps. 144: 12 Are we being
illustrators and instructors to the next generation? A covenantal approach
to ministry assumes a kingdom model of discipleship – equipping God’s
people to glorify Him in all of life. This Resource Quarterly is filled with solid teaching and practical ideas for being Kingdom disciplers to our physical and spiritual daughters. Fruit: a kingdom-focused heart, a biblically reformed mind, and a service-driven life.
Great Godly Girls, a ministry started at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Exton, PA, was created with the covenant concept in mind. It was designed for women in the church of various ages-- particularly to form a bridge those ages ten to seventeen. Through purposeful interaction between younger and older women, spiritual mothering and spiritual growth that are built solidly upon a realistic picture of covenant community take place. The Girls meet monthly in the homes of different women in the church. There the teens see hospitality modeled and women functioning in a real world, with real struggles and trusting a real God for everyday things. This vulnerability transforms older women from seemingly untouchable strangers in a pew a few aisles over to nurturing life-givers. Here is how it looks: Each meeting begins with prayer time. The hostess shares her beautifully unique testimony with the Girls. Testimonies show the Girls that the older woman is who she is today, not because of her own doing, but because of what the Lord has done in her life. They encourage Girls to live in obedience with the Lord and demonstrate that they do not have to be rebellious in order to have a testimony worth sharing with others. Girls are welcomed to bring unchurched friends. While the program was not designed to be explicitly evangelistic, the testimonies, genuine caring, and interaction from godly women may certainly have an evangelistic effect. After the testimony, the group works through a lesson together. (See Biblical Foundations suggested readings in the next article.) Discussion time follows the lesson and allows the Girls to assimilate what they have learned. The leader formulates questions prior to the meeting to guide and spark discussion. Whenever possible, the hostess incorporates her hobbies, talents or mercy ministry into the activity segment, allowing the Girls to partner in ministry outreach. Homework assignments and journaling are important to the Great Godly Girls ministry. It is necessary and consistent with applied covenant theology to include parents in ministering to these daughters. One example of this is the annual Dads and Daughters Dinner. The ministry of Great Godly Girls does not exist in a vacuum, nor does it end at the close of each meeting. Leaders encourage interaction with the diverse covenant community outside of the meetings. This is biblical discipleship - the content of the gospel taught and lived out in the context of covenant relationships. For more information contact: Sarah Joy Albrecht 1010 Stirling Street Coatsville, PA 19320 Mrsalbrecht@speakeasy.net A teen response: "The adults have shown us what it will look like for us, if we grow up godly, when we get older." An older woman's response: "I enjoyed hosting a meeting of Great Godly Girls. It was great to see girls I've had in my Sunday school class bringing their non-Christian friends, as well as girls from other churches to the meeting. It was gratifying to hear their prayers and to listen to their comments during the discussion."
At Midway PCA in Powder Springs, GA, the WIC and the youth ministries partnered to teach biblical womanhood to the senior high girls. During the spring quarter four young women, including the WIC president, taught a Sunday school class for the girls. The youth pastor's wife also participated. 1. This is a suggested outline. Lessons should be simplified and adapted to teens. 2. The Foundational Principles of Biblical Womanhood form the outline for this course. These are on page 40 of the Leader's Guide for The Legacy of Biblical Womanhood. These principles should be copied and given to the girls. Their understanding of the concepts will grow as the principles are discussed and applied. The principles are divided into three categories. How are we related to God? How does Scripture define womanhood? How are we related to others? 3. The leader's guides for the referenced books will be helpful in developing lessons. 4. Use the portions of chapters referenced that are applicable to teens.
"Teaching this class was an incredible experience. My own understanding of the concepts of biblical womanhood deepened, my heart was knit tighter with my friends who helped teach, and we all grew together in our love for our teen girls. Those of us who taught the class are in our thirties. We were struck with the realization that the girls we taught will teach our daughters-that's the covenant way." Laurin Coley, WIC President "It was wonderful to have the WIC and the Youth Ministry co-operate in teaching our covenant children. This effort exemplifies how a church can and must work together as a covenant family to raise its children." Greg Doty, Youth Pastor "It meant a lot to me to go through the biblical womanhood class. It was great to hear the truth about womanhood rather than the lies that we are fed by the world. I learned many principles that I will strive to apply to my life." Mary Kuipers, teen .
Daughters
of the King This retreat for 9-12th grade
girls is planned for 2004 with help from women from the churches and a few
teen girls. The Friday evening to Saturday afternoon retreat mixes fun
times of nail painting, facials, and tie-dying shirts with training. A
speaker from a local crisis pregnancy center will discuss abstinence and
dating. Two cosmetologists will doing makeovers and speak to “True
Beauty.” The author of Raising a Daughter in an MTV World, Mary
Ruth Murdock, will address entertainment. What a great way to show our teen
girls that they are valued as women of God’s Kingdom. It’s also a great opportunity for older women to train younger women to see themselves beyond their peers’ culture to the culture of the Kingdom of God.
Strategic Retreat and Event Planning Retreats have become regular events for many PresWICs and local WICs. At Leadership 2003, a group of women gathered to discuss strategies and plans for retreats and other events. The WASC and PCA women's ministry staff uses a similar format in evaluating, planning, and implementing denominational conferences and leadership training. WHAT'S IN A NAME? The first question we ask is what does the title or label of this event communicate? One of the most commonly used event titles is "retreat." When you consider the word retreat what comes to mind? Some definitions include withdrawal, flight, hideaway, and refuge. These concepts are communicated to women and evoke felt needs for retreating. The disparity arises when we plan retreats that are, actually, seminars or conferences. These events leave little space for individual reflection or interpersonal fellowship. The Four "P's" of Retreats: Purpose: The purpose of all events should be integrated with and reflect the total ministry philosophy, purpose, and goals. Implication: The event does not detract from the overall ministry focus but enhances and furthers the goals. Planning: Planning flows from purpose and establishes a baseline for the plan. Implication: Personnel, place, publicity, and audience are all decisions emerging from purpose. A practical consequence is that the leadership team is setting the agenda rather than a speaker establishing the agenda. Process: The process of planning and implementation are more significant than the final product. Implication: The atmosphere on the planning team must reflect Jesus so that the event glorifies God. Prayer: More important than the event plan is the prayer plan. Implication: Be intentional about the prayer guide, who will pray, and who will "work" the prayer plan. Don't leave out this next step - EVALUATION Evaluation: Purpose, planning, and process begins with prayerful evaluation. There are many useful evaluative questions in WIC resources including the universal evaluative question: How will this event celebrate and maintain our unity in Christ? Some practical evaluative questions include: · How did the last event meet expectations and purpose? · What are some unmet expectations and purposes? Be brutal in constructive evaluation including inviting the toughest critic to the process. · What were some unexpected benefits of the last event? THE SPEAKER: The planning team has addressed purpose, plan, and proceeds with humility. The plan includes a speaker. Now what? What are some pros and cons to inviting a speaker? The team should answer these are questions before approaching a speaker. The team should also provide the answers when extending the invitation. · What is the purpose of the event? · Who is the anticipated audience? · Give a brief history of past events. · Why is this particular speaker invited? · What is the format including time allotted for the speaker? Other factors in good use of a speaker and speaker etiquette: · What do you want from the speaker - handouts, small group discussion guides, and small group meetings with leadership? · Provide the speaker with the prayer plan. · Be diligent to stick to your plan - subject, time commitment, etc. · Accommodations - take into consideration speaker's need for space and privacy. Ask about any particular needs. · Assign a hostess to the speaker for mealtimes. · At the time of the first call, decide and communicate to the speaker the financial arrangements including what honorarium you can offer, travel expenses, etc. · Communicate regularly with speaker including publicity, brochures, and websites. Questions to help you evaluate your ministry design How are you living out the implications of the covenant? How are you encouraging our helper design? How are you fulfilling the Titus 2 mandate? How are you encouraging each woman in your Women's ministry to "extend His Kingdom in her life, home, church, community and throughout the world?
Evaluation of last similar event (this is a very brief evaluation outline but each planning time should start with evaluation and review of history) What was the purpose? What expectations were met? Unmet? What was the greatest weakness? Strength? What is the reputation of the event? What can you build on? What do you need to overcome? Philosophy and purpose of the ministry (PresWIC, local church) sponsoring this event -include current goals: Purpose of this particular event: Prayer plan for this event: Targeted audience for this event: Goals and anticipated outcomes including follow-up plan: Creative imagination: Plans and methods that might fulfill the purpose and achieve goals - (include themes, teaching methods, activities, play time, meals, etc.) Personnel needed: Environment that will enhance event (lodge, hotel…): Publicity: What's In A Name? What word or words best describe this event? Is it a retreat? A conference? A seminar? A party? __________ Creative communication: remember the audience, the purpose, and the demographics of the women, i.e. what are the best ways to communicate and inform?
How to order CDs and tapes: Wednesday program - Ruth Aufarth and Paul and Georgia Settle - "Life Giving Marriages and Ministries" Thursday program - Ken Sande - "Cultivating a Church Where There is a Culture of Peace" Women's Ministries Audiotapes - $4 each, Full set - $10 Women's Ministries CDs - $6 each, Full set - $15 To order: Online - www.pcaga.com Phone - Barker Productions - 205.969.3227 Email - fb3@briarwood.org Please send check made out to Barker Productions or credit card number to: Barker Productions, 2940 Donita Dr., Birmingham, AL 35423. Payment includes postage and handling. 33rd General Assembly June 14-17, 2005 Chattanooga, TN If you would like to receive advance notice on the Women and Children's Activities, please send a blank email to GA2004WIC@juno.com
A Living Letter: 2 Cor. 3: 2-6 Picture someone you know who is passionate about something. Your picture is not an abstract. You know what it is because they talk about it, read about it, dress for it. Your picture is not a still life - it's animated. There is intense, enthusiastic emotion involved. The more they learn about it and participate in it, the more passionate and committed they become. And they want everyone they know to share their passion. Well, I am here to tell you that I am passionate about PCA Women's Ministry in the Church. I love to read and talk about it. I get quite emotional over it. The more I learn about it and participate in it the more committed I become. And I want every woman I know to share my passion. But instead of telling you about how my passion for women's ministry grew during the four years I was privileged to serve on WASC, I am going to tell you about how my passion began. I first heard the call to involvement in women's ministry thirty-something years ago. There I was, surrounded by older women who were passionate about the church and who shared a calling to serve Christ in and through the organized women's ministry of their church. Because they knew that it was God alone who moved hearts to love Him and to love His Church, and that He alone gave not only the desire but also the enabling to serve in and through the church, there were three top priorities in their women's ministry. The first was prayer. These women blanketed everything they did with prayer. They began with prayer, not asking God to bless what they had already planned but seeking first His will and direction. And they prayed more for the "inside" than the "outside." The second top priority of their women's ministry was Bible study. Their weekly studies did not address the felt needs but the real needs of women. They were life-changing, maturing studies. And they never missed an opportunity to hear the Word preached or taught. The third priority was outreach. These women were compassionate for the lost. They knew they were living in Philistine territory and boy, did they go out of their comfort zones. There were two women who shared their passion; one for God's Word and the other for the lost. The first was Polly. She recognized my spiritual gift of teaching Knowing spiritual gifts don't come fully developed, she asked me to team teach a women's Bible study with her. This led to over twenty years of teaching weekly women's Bible studies every Tuesday at Grace Church. She also taught me what a women's Bible study was. It was not a women's study because men were excluded. It was a women's study because it intentionally and specifically taught and trained women in biblical womanhood and their role in the life of the church body. Polly knew there was an urgent need for teaching biblical truth about who we were as women and why we were here. Which brings me to June. It was in the late 60s and early 70s when the "big name" feminists were launching a campaign in our city. June gathered women from church and we attended the meetings. The deep concern over the lies of feminism led to "Meet Us at the Coffeepot," a monthly meeting open to the women of the community where current issues were addressed from a biblical perspective, issues such as divorce, abortion, and astrology. I listened as they championed biblical womanhood and spoke of their Savior and Lord. This was an in-house ministry. We were in very small church and had no "superstars." We all took turns speaking. We had the approval and support of the session and our "Titus" was definitely involved. The pastor was always present, opened in prayer and announced he was available in his study to anyone who wanted to talk with him. The Lord brought 70-80 women each month. Polly and June are only two of the women from that church who modeled for me what a women's ministry in the church looks like when the purpose is that every woman know Christ personally and be committed to extend His kingdom. I hope that sounds familiar to you! I would love to tell you about Ruth, Gladys, Blossom, Flo, Ruth, Judy, and Maryanne. They always brought their "blue ribbon" cakes, their freshest flowers, their best creativity; their prime time to all WIC and church-wide events. Why? Because they loved the Lord and they loved His church. It was the Lord whom they were serving. I am here to tell you that their passion for women's ministry was contagious! I leave you with a question. What will the young women in our PCA Churches remember about women's ministry thirty-something years from now? Passionately pass on the legacy, please! Jo Ann Hackenberg, LT March 2004 Former Women's Advisory Sub-Committee Representative
Developing the lesson plans for the Foundations of Biblical Womanhood Bible Study Series is a multi-layered experience. First, we study individually and then collaborate on ideas. Next, Susan teaches the lesson to women in the WIC Bible study in her church. Sometimes further changes are made based on her students' responses to the material. Then the final version is drafted, edited, and sent to CE&P for theological oversight and approval. The process knits our hearts together in covenantal fashion. Roles are not clearly defined; they are sovereignly blended. We forget whose ideas belong to whom and it does not matter. Spending two years writing the studies for Matthew Part 1 and Part 2 has soaked us in the gospel as never before. It has been breath taking to see the unfolding of God's eternal plan as we have discovered connections to the Old Testament. It has been life-changing to journey with Jesus from the incarnation to the resurrection. We pray that God will be pleased to use this study to bless our sisters as He has blessed us. Susan, Barbara, and Lynn Central Carolina PresWIC…had a great idea for reducing retreat costs. Here is their invitation to the Central Carolina PresWIC Spring Celebration: You are cordially invited to a LUNCH SWAP. This is no ordinary meal of sorts, Everyone must do her part. A "lunch swap" is really quite simple, you see- I'll bring a lunch for you and you bring one for me! Whatever you choose will be just fine. Whether you buy it or make it, Who knows which is mine? Be creative, keep it simple, no need to spend a bunch. The PresWIC Council is going to provide the punch (Or tea--and dinnerware and dessert, too!) What you need to remember is Bring a lunch and a friend or two! Metro NY Presbytery…Another Presbytery wide gathering with a different look-a Forum… Metro NY Presbytery Women in Leadership Forum and Lunch with discussions on:
Western North Carolina Presbytery…put together a great directory of the churches of the presbytery with Women' Ministry contact information for each church. What made this directory stand out is that they included a map and driving instructions to each church! This is very helpful not only in finding our way around, but helps us make a connection when we can visualize where our sister churches are ministering. North Texas PresWIC…check out their web site. What a great job! It gives purpose, gives contact information, connects local WIC Presidents with contact information, connects with denomination through PCA web site, and keeps a calendar of events. Go to www.northtexaspreswic.org. Sherwood Shores Presbyterian Church, Gordonville, TX…has been holding Good News Clubs on Tuesdays during the school year. Children arrive by school bus and stay for almost two hours, when their parents arrive. This ministry reaches out to the many community latchkey kids and kids who are being raised by their grandparents. The children sign in, wash their hands, and have snacks. Then, as a group, they hear a Bible story and message from the pastor and sing a couple of praise songs. Then they separate into age groups for a follow-up session on the Bible story presented that day. For most of these children, this is the only Bible instruction/Christian interaction they have in their lives. Obviously, some come only for the snacks and peer interaction, but we also know that seeds are being planted for God to water over the next many seasons. (Many teenagers in Sunday school now began with Sherwood Shores in the Good News Club!) Westminster Presbyterian Church, Brandon, FL…Another idea in ministering to our daughters! Summer Girls Club: A Future Christian Homemakers Club is being organized for girls entering grades 3 through 7, one weekday evening during the summer. Each week the group will meet and learn new skills in the kitchen from basic to sublime! The final event is a dinner for the parents at the end of the summer. Calendar of events Women's Advisory Sub-Committee Fall Planning Meeting (Sept. 15-17) Pray as they engage in the four P's of event planning, GA 2005, and Leadership Training 2005 (information coming in October). 2004-2005 WIC Trainings Austin, TX - August 27-28 Knoxville, TN - August 27-28 Eastern Carolina - September 11 Palmetto PresWIC - October 23 Southern FL - January 2005 2005 -CE&P/WIC Leadership Training - February 24--26 2005 - CE&P/MNA Mercy Conference - April 14-16
Meet our video librarian through verse and let her guide you in ordering your 2004 WIC Love Gift Video God is sovereign, this we know, For the Bible tells us so. This little one, to Him belongs In the Video Library for who knows how long. God has brought me here to serve You and yours -- tapes to reserve. Chance cannot claim credit for my job at CE&P. His plan is too detailed and perfect (you'll see). The same year my parents, Joe & Carol, were hitched Big business bought the idea Takano pitched! VCRs began being sold commercially While Mom & Dad started their family. A year later, Dad was studying Greek & Hermeneutics At the same time VHS tapes grew to be the common flicks. In 1979, I was born, and Mom's sleep became an oddity, While VCRs were first being sold as a public commodity. There's no denying the time-line videos & I share, Although until now I was hardly aware! For six months now I've been your Video Librarian, Mailing & filing videos again & again. It's my joy to be a part of your spiritual education, And, therefore, part of CE&P's mission. Please do not hesitate to contact me… Eagerly waiting to serve you in the Video Library! Dial 1-800-283-1357 to reach me toll-free, Or call my direct line 678-825-1116 if calling locally. If email is your preferred communication style, Video@pcanet.org will reach my Inbox file. Want to view our inventory, item by item? Ask for a catalog or go online! You can search our videos or browse our store, By logging onto www.cepbookstore.org.
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