NPWL is excited to announce a new publication, Springing into New Life: Carefully Thinking about Ministry with Women in Your Congregation (SINL).  An outgrowth of the conversations we have had within congregations and at our Women's Leadership Forums, the purpose of SINL is to assist the process of assessing and discerning God's plan for Women's Ministries with "new eyes" and "open opportunities."

SINL is designed as a Leader's Guide, addressed to the woman who is interested in and/or may be undertaking the role of leading the journey of discovering what a ministry with women might look like in her church.  This leader may have an official title or not.  She may be a staff person or a volunteer.  We emphasize that this is a "guidebook" and not a "how-to" manual. We invite participants to adapt this process to suit their needs, rejoicing that the end product of the journey will be unique to each church.  We pray the Leader's Guide will lend ideas, while allowing the Holy Spirit to direct the path.

Springing Into New Life can be ordered through the Presbyterians For Renewal Online Store or by calling 502-425-4630.

To download samples of the study click here.

How did this publication come about?  Over and over again, we heard women share their desire for new and creative ways to meet the growing needs and interests of women within their respective congregations.  The most frequently expressed challenge in doing that was:  "How do we create a new model for Women's Ministry that values/embraces the rich traditions of the past while, at the same time, opens conversations for additional opportunities so that women of all ages and stages may grow in unity as they rejoice in and serve the Lord?"

With that in mind and the experiences of several congregations who are making inroads to growing their Women's Ministry, Springing into New Life:  Carefully Thinking about Ministry with Women in Your Congregation began to emerge.  With the input and contributions by members of the Women's Ministry Team of NPWL, SINL did just that-it sprang into life!   It was my privilege to facilitate the pilot program with the Women's Ministry Taskforce of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Lubbock, Texas, who graciously and thoughtfully provided further input and suggestions.

Grounded in the belief that the foundation of any process of change is prayer, Springing into New Life takes its participants through various "seasons," beginning with the Season of Prayer/Discernment, followed by/concurrent with the Seasons of Listening; Understanding; Planning; Ministry/Doing the Work of Christ in the World; and Thanksgiving.  Throughout the "seasons," participants are asked to look carefully at the current situation within their congregation and encouraged to dream for the future, cautioned to keep an open mind/withhold judgment, and asked to listen diligently to others. And, in every instance, they are asked to pray. Prayer is the most significant activity of the entire process; i.e., it is important to be faithful in prayer for discernment and guidance during every phase of this adventure.

Utilizing a tool called Appreciative Inquiry introduced by Dr. Meri MacLeod in the NPWL Women's Leadership Forums, Springing into New Life leads the conversation away from the traditional ways of focusing attention on such questions as,  "What is not working?" or "What is wrong?" and "How can we fix it?"  The developers of Appreciative Inquiry recognized that these questions do more than gather information; they shape the perception of reality. As people focus on a problem, the problem can loom larger and become more threatening. As fear of change increases, the possibility for any constructive revision diminishes because people become fearful and revert to the security of a known entity.

Appreciative Inquiry is designed to change the conversation from the negative into a conversation marked by its appreciation for how God has worked in the past and how God continues to bless today. As the conversation changes, new vision is generated, and energy for ministry increases.  As the conversation focuses on good things from the past-things that should not be lost-people are more able to move into the future, knowing that things they value will remain.  AI is a way of seeing where God is at work, and how one can become part of what God is already doing in a group or congregation.

We urge you to try Springing into New Life:  Carefully Thinking about Ministry with Women in Your Congregation. It is our hope and prayer that those involved and interested in Women's Ministry within respective congregations will find this Leader's Guide a valuable tool, and thus, you are invited and encouraged to place an order for your copy of SINL today.

A final thought. . .as with any assessment and process of instituting change within the ministries of the Church, let us never fail to keep our eyes on the goal, which always must be to strengthen the ties that bind our hearts to Jesus Christ and to one another.