Pro Tips for PWM Leaders

What hinders creativity?

• Not asking God, the Creator, for ideas and help.
• Stereotyping—expecting women to react the same way always. Being in a rut.
• Setting wrong priorities. Not knowing the needs of women. No goals or purpose. Not asking the questions: “Why are we doing this?” and “Is there a better way?”
• Not willing to take risks. Sometimes we may fail in an attempt to be creative, but it’s worth the risk. Forcing women to get out of their comfort zone is risky, but often necessary. Too often we listen to those who say, “We’ve never done it this way before.” Your reply should be, “Good, that was our intention!” Creativity sometimes means not doing the same thing in the same way.

Some creative ways for women to connect:

• Name tag matches the table where they sit.
• Find a common denominator: a season of life, birthday months, family status (married, single, widowed, etc.) hobbies, etc.
• Go around the group and have each woman tell about something they have done that they believe no one else in the group has done.
• Neighbor nudging (pray with person next to you, give each other an idea of successful meeting/party/game, share your favorite inexpensive place to eat, tell about a good book you’ve recently read).
• Give out slips of paper with questions on them, one for each person, and have them answer the question to the group.
• Share with the whole group or table a bit of information about a person that you just met.
• During your meeting have small groups of women discuss particular parts of the topic.
• Creatively match women to pray for one another.
• Give prizes to those who remembered and prayed for prayer partner, or those who brought a guest or the driver of a car pool, or the one who came the farthest, etc. Women do love door prizes.

Use Creative Titles

Instead of meetings, call them something else. People don’t like “meetings.” They are more likely to come to a party, or a tea, or a coffee, or a dessert or a get together. The programs can be the same, only the name is changed.

• Play-plan-pray party: You do just what it says
• Get acquainted time: Have each woman tell about what is going on in her life. This often reveals much to laugh about, cry about, pray about.
• Connect-a-thon: How to connect with husbands, children, neighbors, co-workers, church people. Sounds better than a parenting seminar.
• Show and Tell: Have women bring an object which represents something about them or something important to them and talk about it.
• Prayer Walk: Don’t sit in chairs for a prayer meeting, instead walk around the church. As you go into each room pray for: pastor, nursery workers, and children, Sunday school workers and kids, parking lot and visitors, kitchen for God’s provision, bathroom for cleansing confession, etc.
• Bookend Bash: Each woman brings a book she will lend and tell why and how it affected her life. (Be sure to keep records of who borrowed each book)
• A Covenantal Approach to Women’s Ministry
• Pick-A-Party: Have a selection of different get-togethers during the month for the women to choose (one or more). These are at different times to accommodate the different schedules women have from bowling, cooking class, craft evening, evening dessert, Saturday brunch, afternoon tea, morning coffee, book discussion, etc.
• Summer Salad Supper: Each woman brings a favorite salad recipe.
• Helps and hindrances for Homeowners (or Housewives or Parents, etc.). These are practical tips on managing money, warning of scams (especially for older people) tips on local bargains, etc. Part of the Titus 2 charge to manage the home.
• Cookie Exchange: Bring a batch of Christmas cookies and an empty container. Go home with a selection of every cookie.
• Other titles: Spring Fling, First Tuesday Lunch Bunch, Fall Kick-off Festival, Rally, Ice Cream Social, Panel Discussion, Celebration, Sisters Serving, Fellowship, Retreat, a Happening, etc.

Tips for Leadership on Creative Meetings

• You will be more inclined to be creative about what’s important to you. Find out who has a heart for the project and have her lead the team.
• It is easier to be creative in the areas that God has gifted or equipped you.
• Walking in the Holy Spirit frees us to be creative. Pray for creativity.
• Get the routines done so you can be free to be creative. Last minute rushing stifles creativity.
• Getting burned out? Think others don’t do it as well? Take an attitude check. Allow others to do it.
• Consider the characteristics of a successful event. See how they do it. Follow their example. Start on time, have good food, fellowship accommodations, creativity. Strive for excellence in all details.
• Don’t be afraid to let a ministry die—or kill it! Often this is better.
• Always brainstorm. Let every idea be considered—nothing is too outrageous to be put on the blackboard. One person’s crazy idea often leads to other ideas that are really good.
• Get on the church mailing lists for their Women’s Ministry newsletters. Many of these are now electronic, so there is no added cost for the church. You’ll get lots of ideas. Make calls to other Women’s Ministry groups and ask them what they do for particular events.
• Attend Presbytery Women’s Ministry meetings and ask the Presbytery Women’s Ministry Team to include church event ideas as part of the program.
• If you have a particular problem in your Women’s Ministry, throw it out to the team for discussion and let others discuss solutions (these are not to be personality problems, but logistical, programs, etc.) Often solutions become concepts for wonderful programs.
• Make some commitments:
  • Be culturally relevant. Make sure you are dealing with issues that will help women deal with the culture they live in every day.
  • Not to do it the same way all the time but to have variety.
  • Meet needs, making sure the time spent is worthwhile for those attending.
  • Not to do it alone, but work as a team, having each group do something involving more people and having them own it.
  • Know your women. Be creative. Some groups enjoy skits, songs, poems, cartoons, etc. Others need just the facts. Do what communicates.
  • Allow failure. Attempting and failing is so much better than never trying anything new. Proverbs 24:16 says, “A faithful man falls seven times and rises again.”