I’ve been looking forward to pivoting to a new series on the Women’s Ministry Toolbox blog, but as I prayed about moving forward, I sensed the Lord leading me to share one more post connected to how seminary impacted my thoughts on women’s ministry.

I want to spend some time today talking about missions. First, you’ll hear how God changed my attitude and approach towards missions, and then I’ll share 5 five practical ways you can help your women develop an understanding and a heart for missions.

Note: This post includes affiliate links.

How God Changed My Heart for Missions

This shift didn’t start in seminary. Seminary solidified the need I’d already discovered to develop missions-minded women in our churches.

If you’re looking for resources to encourage your women to live life on mission and share the gospel with others, this post is for you!

And if you’re not sure about need for missions-focused content or activities in your women’s ministry program, I hope you’ll read this post!

Bear with me for a moment as we travel back in time to my very first women’s ministry role. When I first stepped from mom’s ministry into women’s ministry, I was technically the WMU (Women’s Missionary Union) Director for our church. WMU is a national women’s mission program used in many Southern Baptist churches.

Before I stepped down, the position was re-titled to Women’s Ministry Director.

Back then, I had no idea what a WMU director did, as the role had been vacant for over a year and a half. The woman who had served before me, to my knowledge, operated more like a women’s ministry director, with programs operating under the umbrella of women’s ministry. We had GA’s and RA’s (boys and girls mission-focused groups) and a couple of women’s circles that had a missions focus. Those continued during my three years of service, but I had very little to do with them. They were doing great with the women who oversaw each one.

If I’m honest, I was happy to focus on Bible studies, women’s events, and our annual women’s retreat.

I did not grow up in a church that talked much about missions. I vaguely recall some of our church members taking a trip that might have had a service focus. I’m certain we collected money for different needs in our community. I vaguely remember collecting change in a box at Halloween.

We were definitely not knocking on doors and sharing the gospel. I thought people who did such things were religious zealots.

Because the gospel had not been shared with me as a child, I did not understand the importance of sharing the gospel with others.

I wasn’t brought up learning about missionaries or supporting missionaries.

It wasn’t until I was an adult and began attending a Southern Baptist Church that I began to understand the reason for missions and God’s heart and desire for us to live missionally and to spread the gospel. For years we donated to the Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong offerings, but I had no idea who those women really were.

It took many years for God to develop in me a real heart for missions. I had a lot to learn.

The Great Commission

In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus tells the disciples, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

This command given by Jesus to believers to spread the message of the Gospel is known as the Great Commission. All members of the body of Christ are to know God and make Him known.

As I mentioned in my previous post about going to seminary, Southeastern is intentionally focused on the Great Commission. The mission statement of Southeastern reads, “Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary seeks to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by equipping students to serve the Church and fulfill the Great Commission.” Every class syllabus included core competencies connected to the Great Commission.

Likewise, the heart of every women’s ministry mission statement should reflect the desire for women to know God and make Him known. The Great Commission applies to us too.

If your church isn’t mission-minded, perhaps this is a place the Lord wants you to provide teaching and encouragement.

If your church is mission-minded, our women’s ministry efforts can come alongside what our church is already doing by offering support and service opportunities.

Here are five practical ways you can help your women develop an understanding and a heart for missions.

1.Teach your women about missionaries.

For example, I am creating monthly missionary social media posts on our women’s ministry social media platforms. The first week I share some facts about a missionary and ask our ladies to guess who it is. I share quotes from the missionary another week. There are so many ways you could share information about missionaries with your women:

• You could read books about missionaries (I’ll include some suggestions at the bottom of this post).
• You could share about a missionary at each of your meetings.
• You could watch a movie about a missionary (such as The Hiding Place or The Great Awakening).

Here are the names of a few famous missionaries to get you started: Ann Judson, William Carey, Gladys Aylward, Mary Slessor, Jim Elliot, Lott Carey, George Whitefield, Amy Carmichael, Hudson Taylor, and Lottie Moon. You’ll find books on these missionaries and more on my Amazon book list here.

2. Study other religions.

Most of us will encounter people from other faiths in our local communities. We often don’t understand the differences in what we believe.

You could spend a year comparing different faiths to Christianity and providing women with questions and talking points to help them navigate faith-focused conversations to point people to Christ.

Consider focusing on Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Mormonism (LDS), Catholicism, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

• The International Mission Board (a Southern Baptist organization) offers courses on world religions here.
• Women in Apologetics has a great course called Islam Foundations that is excellent.
• Melissa Dougherty has a great YouTube series on Mormonism here.

3. Partner with local para-church ministries.

Your church is probably already supporting several local para-church ministries. Discover where help is needed and prayerfully consider how the women in your church can provide support.

While one-and-done service projects are necessary and needed, don’t forget to focus on long-term relationships with regular support. I share in my book, Women’s Ministry Essentials, how partnering with a local women’s shelter dramatically impacted our team and the women in our church.

Consider adopting a local para-church ministry in your community. You could provide monthly activities at a women’s shelter or schedule regular workdays to help clean and organize supplies at a soup kitchen or pregnancy center.

4. Support missionaries with prayer, encouraging notes, and care packages from home (when possible).

If your church supports specific missionaries, do your women know who they are?

• You could introduce your women to one missionary a month via video.
• Consider planning a missionary care package and card-writing event.
• When missionaries come on home on furlough, ask them to share at your women’s ministry event or meeting.

Or help your women learn about people around the world who haven’t heard the gospel. You could spend 5 minutes at each women’s ministry event or meeting sharing about an unreached people group (people who don’t have access or haven’t responded to the gospel). Re-share highlights in your monthly ministry newsletter.

You can find information about unreached people groups at The Joshua Project’s website here.

5. Teach your women how to share the gospel and how to share their testimony.

Women need help practicing and sharing the gospel and their testimonies. Be sure to check out the post 5 Practical Ways to Incorporate Evangelism into Your Women’s Ministry here.

I also have a ready-to-use workshop to teach your women who to share their stories of God’s faithfulness. You can find more information about the Sharing Stories of God’s Everyday Faithfulness Workshop here.

Most of your women encounter lost people every day, but many feel unprepared to share about Jesus with them. Help them identify, pray for, and talk to lost people in their workplace, neighborhood, and in local businesses.

The Great Commission isn’t just for people in other countries; it’s for the people living in our communities too.

To summarize, here are five practical ways you can help your women develop an understanding and a heart for missions:

1. Teach your women about missionaries.
2. Study other religions.
3. Partner with local para-church ministries.
4. Support missionaries with prayer, encouraging notes, and care packages from home.
5. Teach your women how to share the gospel and how to share their testimony.

Today’s Toolbox Tasks:

Let’s take a look at your women’s ministry calendar through the lens of missions.

1. How are you already helping your women develop an understanding and a heart for missions?
2. Pray and ask the Lord if there are additional activities or opportunities you need to add to your church calendar to encourage women to live missionally.

Resources:

For information on unreached people groups, check out The Joshua Project.

My Amazon Book List: Evangelism, Missions, and Missionaries

Websites (Southern Baptist Specific):
North American Mission Board (NAMB) – Practice evangelism conversations with the Gospel Coach
NAMB Women’s Evangelism Resources
International Mission Board (IMB)
IMB Evangelism Practice using AI

Books I Recommend:
Sharing Jesus Without Freaking Out
10 Women Who Changed the World
10 Who Changed the World
Reformation Women
The Hiding Place
I Dared to Call Him Father: The Miraculous Story of a Muslim Woman’s Encounter with God

Podcasts and YouTube Resources:
Cultish
Melissa Dougherty on Mormonism (LDS)

You may also want to read:
Five Practical Ways to Incorporate Evangelism Into Your Women’s Ministry
Women’s Ministry Essentials