This weekend I am dressing up to be a fairy godmother at my granddaughter’s princess-themed birthday party. I can’t wait to wear my costume and wave my pretend magic wand! If I could wave a pretend magic wand for women’s ministry leaders, I think it would go something like this: What if I told you that all the planning, all the digital media, and all the details had already been worked out for your next women’s ministry event for spring 2022? As someone who often works with women’s ministry leaders from churches of all sizes, trust me when I say I know this would be a dream come true for many of you. As your unofficial fairy godmother, let me be the first to tell you that your wish has been granted!
Realistically speaking, I know if you’re reading this there’s a good chance you are a woman who serves in a leadership capacity and more than likely, you are the one who has a role in planning “all the things” for your women. Maybe you’ve considered hosting a simulcast event, or maybe you’re not familiar with what is involved and aren’t sure if a digital event would be something your women would be drawn to. It’s hard to believe that 2022 is upon us! As you consider what events you will offer this spring, I would encourage you to think about the option of offering a Lifeway Women Simulcast event.
We know that much of ministry involves planning events in some form or another. What if we began to approach our planning for the year from the perspective that we aren’t just planning events—we are determining direction for spiritual health and growth among our women. As women’s ministry leaders, how can we intentionally provide opportunities to impact women with the truth of God’s Word and the life-changing hope and love of Christ? As we seek to be women who serve as outposts in our communities to connect women to our Savior, it helps for us to view event-planning through the lens of the gospel.
A few years ago, my church served as a host church for a Lifeway Women simulcast event and I was the director of ministry to Women at the time. I was excited about the opportunity and began to envision all that God could do through this event and started the process of connecting as many churches in our area as I could and began to reach out to invite them. It took effort and some planning, and we ended up having around five hundred women attend that day. The day was full of great biblical teaching and will forever be a life-marker moment in my faith journey.
Though the Bible teaching was the main draw for many of us, one thing I vividly remember is the image of women gathered in groups around our church’s worship center and the soft murmur of their voices in prayer—women who had just met one another that day. I remember the face of the young woman who came to faith in Christ that day, after growing up in the church and struggling for years to make sense of the hard things that had happened in her life. She released it all to Christ that day, and for that one soul, all the planning, all the prayer, and all the effort was worth it. I love this quote by Nancy Guthrie from the book Word-Filled Women’s Ministry: “Ministry among women will matter forever, because women are facing forever.”1
As you consider and weigh different options for gathering your women, I’d like to share a few benefits I experienced firsthand as a coordinator for a host church site. A Lifeway Women Simulcast Event can serve to:
- Provide a place for women to gather and hear God’s Word being taught. In our current culture where women are finding their theology from the latest influencer on social media or summarized in a weekly devotional thought, it is vital for us to pay attention to how our women are growing in their Bible literacy. I recently attended a Lifeway Women Live event and I was blown away by the solid biblical teaching I heard presented by the slated authors and speakers for the day. I am grateful to know we can trust these events to consistently point women to God’s Word as solid truth for life.
- Provide an opportunity for women to come to salvation in Christ and to grow deeper in their faith. I never want to assume as a women’s ministry leader that every woman in the room has a relationship with Jesus Christ. Women right around us are facing eternity without Christ. For some, this might be the day, the moment that they trust Jesus as their Savior. We must view every gathering we offer to our women as a Great Commission moment—who among us needs to come to saving faith in Christ? For many women, it might be a pivotal moment in their faith journey.
- Provide pathways for women to experience purposed times of prayer. One thing that makes the process of hosting a Lifeway Women Simulcast so meaningful is the intentional prayer points that are built in all along the way. You and your team will be so blessed to partner together with a simulcast team that joins with you in praying for the event. You can also have the flexibility to build in purposed times of prayer as you design the event specifically for your women. As we were planning the details for our church’s simulcast event, I wanted to make sure every woman who sensed a response to the message had an opportunity to pray with other women about how God was moving in her life. It was a powerful time of seeing the Holy Spirit at work all across the room as these women prayed together in small groups.
- Provide space for building relationships. One of the great things about hosting a Lifeway Women Simulcast event is that it can serve as a springboard for gathering your women. Since they will already be planning to be in attendance, it’s a great way to build in a time of fellowship for your women either prior to or following the simulcast. We planned an informal drop-in fellowship time the night before with some fun food and designed it to serve as an introduction to the various opportunities for women to get involved in our women’s ministry. You can make this as elaborate or as simple as you’d like!
- Provide a connection point for women in your community. We know that the past twenty months have been isolating and disconnecting for so many women for a variety of reasons. I’ve talked to several women who just don’t feel connected or have a sense of belonging. So many are living lost and without hope. They are seeking community and sometimes finding it elsewhere as secular spaces are filling that void. We often hear the call to be the salt and light of Christ wherever we go. In God’s vast plan of redemption, we need to be reminded that he has positioned us individually and corporately as a body of believers to impact His kingdom work. As we serve our Lord where He has placed us, we must recommit to the urgency of bringing the salt and light of our Savior to our communities. This could be the beginning of a great partnership with other churches in your area!
One final thing I want to mention is that Lifeway Women has simplified the process and made it easier than ever to host a simulcast event! You’ll even have your own simulcast specialist and receive tips and resources as you plan for your women. There are so many more benefits of serving as a host church for Lifeway Women Simulcast events and the digital event team is ready with all the information you need to help you have a successful and purposed event with your women! I hope you’ll make plans to host on your own or join with another church in your area. Making a difference for women is more than just hosting an event—it’s making an eternal impact in a woman’s life for God’s glory and for His kingdom purposes.
Learn more about hosting a Lifeway Women Simulcast at lifeway.com/digitalevents.
Shari Edwards has been active in women’s ministry leadership for over twenty years and currently serves as a Lifeway Women Trainer. She is an adjunct instructor of ministry to women at Ouachita Baptist University Pruet School of Christian Studies and a coordinator for the Arkansas Baptist State Convention Inspire Women’s Conference. She is a contributing writer for Arkansas Baptist Newsmagazine and holds a B.A. in journalism and public relations. Shari is a wife of thirty-three years to her college sweetheart, mother of three sons and a beautiful daughter-in-law, and “Sibby” to two precious granddaughters. She resides in North Little Rock, Arkansas. She enjoys cooking for her family, reading, and hot cups of coffee!
1. Nancy Guthrie, Word-Filled Women’s Ministry, eds. Gloria Furman and Kathleen B. Nelson (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015), 229, 243.
