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General Conference Women's Ministries Newsletter : September 1999 |
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Before I became involved full time in Women's Ministries, I played the stock market. I think it is called playing because it is not a science, the rules can change in the middle of the game, and a child can probably do as well as adults. And that was not even in the high risk investments. But there is one rule that is always true, and one that I believe applies to leadership as well, especially to Women's Ministries: It is not how much you have to invest that counts, but where you invest that makes a difference. In other words, whether you have a large or small amount of money to invest, it is going to do well or poorly depending on which stock you invest it in. You can greatly increase a small amount of money over a period of time if you pick the stock well, and you can lose a great deal of money over even a short time if you invest it foolishly. As leaders, each of us has some currency to invest some time, some talent, some knowledge. Perhaps it is not a lot. Perhaps we only know one thing well. But if we invest it wisely, it will give great returns. You may be one of those women who can do everything. You can sing. You can preach. You are well organized. You are creative to the limit. But if you leave office, or even this life, and have not trained someone else to be able to carry on, you have failed to prepare another person for future leadership. That is what mentoring is all about. That is what Women's Ministries leadership is about. Taking what we know and do and investing it in others. You are one person with a unique ability, a potential blessing. But if you invest, if you train others, if you mentor someone, soon there will be many who are a blessing. And that is what we need to do to accomplish the mission of the church: growing successful Christians. It is also what we need for taking the Good News to the world. If you will take time to train at least one other woman to do what you've done successfully, if something should happen and you are no longer able to carry on your ministry, it can still continue. And if you train more than one person, the ministry has potential to double. Perhaps you really know how to arrange flowers. Teach someone else. Perhaps you are a good financial manager Teach someone else. Or maybe you are good at giving Bible studies, preaching, or writing letters. Teach someone else. Furthermore, if you are in a leadership position, you should be training someone else to be able to step in and take over your duties and the work so the ministry will continue without interruption. It breaks my heart how often I hear of good Women's Ministries programs that come to a screeching halt when there is a change in leadership. Sometimes the previous leader does not even leave the printed materials nothing. The new leader has to start from scratch. That is worse than a crime. Remember the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14-30)? Two servants doubled their money. They were told, "Come and share our master's happiness!" But one servant buried the one talent. No investing. No mentoring. No multiplication. Jesus said, "Throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." That would be even worse than losing all my money on the stock market. It is an event of eternal consequences. cont. News from the world of . . . Pastor Dijana Daka, the woman pastor who had to flee Kosovo during the recent fighting has now returned to Djakovica, Kosovo, where she pastors a group of about 35 adults and 20 children. She says, "During this time of hatred, our role is to talk to the people about the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation. End |
News from the world of . . . General Conference: The scholarship committee approved eighteen scholarships for women in five divisions during its July review. Scholarship applications are approved in January and July each year. Lynnetta Hamstra, scholarship coordinator, reports that to date 383 scholarships have been given from profits from the devotional book and from donations. Eastern Africa Division: Adly Campos, woman evangelist, reports that she and her husband, Jose, associate director of the General Conference Publishing Department, have both been preaching in evangelistic meetings in Nairobi, Kenya, as part of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the publishing work in the SDA Church. Adly reports, "The women are terribly excited with a woman evangelist, as are the pastors and administrators. There is a good response, thanks be to God." At the first baptism 80 persons were baptized and another 80 responded to a call for baptism. South Asia-Pacific Division: Linda Koh, division director, reports that every church on every island in the Guam-Micronesia Mission now has a Women's Ministry leader. In recent months women in Pohnpei and Kosrae have started the first WM evangelistic crusade and the women on Palau have started jail ministry. Southern Asia Division: The Women's Ministries Department of SUD has published the first edition of its newsletter, Adventist Women. It reports news from the various sections and conferences. One item reports that in the Manipur/Nagaland Section, under the leadership of Ashangli Luikham, each organized church contributes Rs300-500 and each company Rs 100-300 (at the time of writing, 42 rupees equaled US$1.) The money collected was then loaned to Women's Ministries members at 5% interest. They use the money to start small businesses. This helps members earn a living; it also increases the tithes and offering of the churches and generates funds for Women's Ministries and for the poor. Trans-European Division: The British Union Conference paper ran a headline, "Will Men Attend Women's Retreats in 1999?" The answer was, "Yes, but..." This time the "but" was that the men, Pastors Cecil Perry and David Cox, would join the women guest speakers Valerie Fidelia and Mary McFarlane in spiritual presentations. This fall the British Union WM has a Union Retreat, a Scottish Retreat, a Welsh Retreat, an Irish Retreat, and a Two-Generation Retreat. |
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