LEAD Women
Women’s Ministry takes hours of preparation and hard work and we greatly appreciate you and all you are doing. Our greatest desire is to help you fulfill the purpose God has for your life. Can you imagine hundreds, even thousands, of women in the Rocky Mountain region who are fulfilling the purpose God has for them? Can you imagine the impact that would have on the world? Converge Rocky Mountain desires to come alongside you - to provide encouragement and help in any area that you desire. We are seeking to provide you with good resources, training opportunities, words of encouragement, and ways to network with each other. Please let us know if there are resources you need, but don’t see listed. We are here to serve you. “Thank You” for serving women in our region!
Contact
Stephanie Price stephanie@convergerockymountain.org
Articles
Women's Ministry
Starting a Women's Ministry By Debra Johanyak
1. Survey the women. Circulate a survey to find out who your women are, what their needs are, and what types of programs they are looking for. Be specific (monthly luncheon, bi-weekly Bible study, which days of the week work best, etc.) Put a box in the church foyer or plan to have them distributed in the collection plate after getting the okay. Remember, you can’t please everyone, but you can try for a majority.
2. Begin with an informal activity...
Click here to read more!
For Pastor's Wives
A Unique Calling by Amy Gordon
“So, you’re the pastor’s wife?” The question seemed rather pointed as I picked up my toddler from the church nursery that Sunday morning. I looked up quickly to see from whom the question was coming, and, as I did, I heard my girlfriend who was standing beside me give a little snicker under her breath. That question still surprises me. It frequently catches me off guard, even though I have been a pastor’s wife for more than a decade, and at the same church for the majority of those years. On this particular Sunday, the question was coming from a relatively newcomer to our church. I had met this woman and talked with her for a few Sundays prior to this one. We had waited together at the nursery door. I gave a quick glance at my girlfriend, and with a little laugh and a smile on my face, I said, “Well, yes, I am, but I don’t usually wear the label.” Her response to me? “Well, maybe you should.” I have thought much about this exchange and have wondered how to take it....
Click here to read more!
Waiting for God to answer?
How to be an overcomer when you feel overtaken:
Tactics for surviving uncertainty by Shelly Miller In the corner of my neighborhood coffee shop, I sit at a small round table hidden behind a display of coffee cups and bags of dark roast. Writing here instead of at home at my desk is a new coping rhythm during an unwanted, lengthy season of transition for my family. We were supposed to move to London six months ago for a new ministry assignment. Instead, delays in the process, lack of income, and the permanent “for sale” sign in front of our house have produced a testing ground for deeper trust, a relinquishment of best-case scenarios for God’s perfect timing. Young girls in pink sweatshirts and sequined boots queue in front of a glass cabinet filled with confections, ponytails swinging into chests and shoulders while they debate cupcakes or cookies. My vantage point helps me remember what carefree innocence and lack of responsibility look like. “Oh my gosh, I thought you were in England,” a friend blurts out, garnering my attention from the line of customers stacking up like dominoes. “I thought we would be there by now too,” I respond quickly, looking up. She sits down on the edge of the empty chair opposite me. I divert conversation away from my circumstances, point out how our children are now taller than us. But the inevitable questions come: Why haven’t you moved yet? What is taking so long? Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the unknowns she is highlighting, I exhale and explain what I know, which isn’t much.
Click here to read more!
Trusting God when the answers don't come:
Regardless of my circumstances, his care will remain the same. by Jenilee Rebarber I was on my knees one night right before going to bed. Not knowing what to say, I considered my options. I thought perhaps I could seek comfort in worship, but I didn’t really have the serenity at the moment. Neither had I the strength to pray intensely. The reason I couldn’t do that was probably because I had already done so, many times. Yet I was at the same place. I was at that point where you keep looking back and forth thinking that you must have missed something, given your lack of comprehension. After much exploration, a sense of hopelessness inevitably surrounded me. I was completely lost and, because of it, this time was quite different from many nights. I was there on my knees venting everything that had been going on. So there I was exposing my “arguments” to God....
Click here to read more!
Book Recommendations
Soul Keeping by John Ortberg
“The health of your soul isn’t just a matter of saved or unsaved. It’s the hinge on which the rest of your life hangs. It’s the difference between deep, satisfied spirituality and a restless dispassionate faith.” Has your soul ever cried out as David’s did? “As a deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God....” Or perhaps, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?...” (Psalm 42) How easy it is for us, in our hectic world, to get distracted from God and become anxious. Ortberg writes of the two main enemies that affect a soul’s connection with God. One, of course, is sin.
The other he calls “troublesome thought.” This is not necessarily sin, but it’s “a way of thinking that does not take God into account.” Thus, our soul dries up. So, what can we do to vitalize our soul? There are ten chapters dedicated to explaining what our soul needs and how it can be refreshed. This book can be read even when you’re not in a “desert” place. The ideas presented can help prevent a “drought” in the future.
Find this book at Amazon or Christian Book Distributors
In the Land of Blue Burqas by Kate McCord (a protective pseudonym)
The true story of a woman who sold all she had, in order to move to Afghanistan, to start a non-governmental organization to help Afghan women. Afghanistan has been called "the world's most dangerous country in which to be born a woman." Yet, here "Kate" was called to go. She lived among them, learned their language, and grew to love them. How do you not compromise your faith in Christ and yet befriend these beautiful women? She told them stories. Stories that would give them better understanding of Jesus' teachings. She referred to herself as "a follower of the Honorable Jesus Messiah." Within the pages of this book are valuable insights and wisdom that can help us all to better relate to our Muslim friends and neighbors.
Find this book at Amazon or Christian Book Distributors
Surprised by Oxford: A Memoir by Carolyn Weber
Carolyn Weber was awarded a scholarship to Oxford University. She had no need for God and was certainly not looking for him. She was taught to rely on her intellect and reason. But, much to her surprise, God was waiting for her in England. Carolyn's story weaves together the academic world, Romantic literature, English history, art and Scripture. We get glimpses into the classrooms of Oxford and the professors who teach there. We see her wrestle with hard questions and, especially, with the reality of the invisible Christ. Do you know someone who thinks Christianity is not for intellects? After you read this book - pass it on to them. It just might "surprise" them.
Find this book at Amazon or Christian Book Distributors
