By Jennifer Williams, Contributor, US Daily Review.
We have a lot of Women’s Ministry activities at our church that involve sitting quietly and playing nicely. We do have the occasional Praise & Worship Conference, with more sitting and listening. Crafting nights, social teas, inspirational speakers- this is good for many of women and a traditional way of fellowship and ministry. But there is a small core of us that do not want to sit quietly and behave ourselves. We are girly girls but we want to get busy, get loud, and even get a little dirty. We are the Rowdy Girls (H/T to Doug Giles). This is the new line item category in the Women’s Ministry schedule and budget for activities that I plan and execute (with input and assistance). We want meat on a grill instead of dainty tea sandwiches; we want paintball instead of scrapbooking; we want to go for a long hike outside instead of sitting inside. We want to meet God in His creation or find unique fellowship in our activities. These outlets are few and far between in the 21st century church and it shouldn’t be that way. This is a disconnect between the tradition and reality in many churches today that hampers the ability to reach women in the community.
We have traditional book-based Bible studies and attend praise & worship conferences. This is a good way to engage in God-centered fellowship and discuss the issues that face women today. But we need to get dirty in our worship. In a world that is sometimes hostile to our way of life and celebrates the wanton rejection of it, we need to be more active to understand it and provide a good witness within communities and directly to women engaging in alternate lifestyles – drug addicts, single mothers with multiple children by different men, women who use abortion as birth control. It requires women to be well-armed with Biblical understanding and maturity, which is bolstered by Bible-based fellowship. But all that does no good if we do not take it to the streets and engage those who would otherwise be lost. Many people come to church because they are invited by someone else. That means we need to get into the places that we can as women and invite another woman to worship with us. Even if you do not directly minister to the lost, you can support those who do with your prayers and encouragement. These are backyard ministries – we go into the places that we know best and minister to those who do not know what it means to live in Christ. Have you ever joined the March For Life or helped women scarred by the emotional fall-out of an abortion? What about working with a women’s program for those in and coming out of prison? When was the last time your church went skiing as an outreach activity? Or went on a church group camping trip? It doesn’t need to by radical or crazy. It needs to fulfill a need in the community. We must move out of our comfort zone, be more visible in non-traditional ways and be Rowdy Girls.
Some of the Rowdy Girls activities will include camping, hiking, cycling, skeet, cross-country skiing, hands-on cooking classes (meat comes to mind), and hockey games. This will bring us into contact, as a group, with people who might not otherwise be ministered to. I was hoping for a curling ministry (Curlers for Christ) but that will have to wait. But seriously, there will always be a place for traditional ministry activities in the church. It takes a mature or at least understanding Christian to attend these activities though. If we do not breakout of our cloistered quietness, we will miss those who need us to be their advocate and support. Not every activity needs to be centered on praise and worship. We can pray before and after our 20-mile bike ride and enjoy the beautiful day we are given and each other’s fellowship as we ride. We can praise God for the joy of good weather for our camping trip while we burn marshmallows and hunker down around the campfire in the evening. For us Rowdy Girls, life is lived fully and completely unbounded in our love for Christ and His people in some not-so-traditional ways. We are grateful for those opportunities we are given that allow us to enjoy our favorite activities and minister to a world in need of hope and salvation. We don’t need to go far to do it but we will. So if you’re a rowdy girl like me, go find some other rowdy girls and explore those line-item opportunities in your church’s women’s ministry. Get loud and get moving, girls!
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