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NETWORKING
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by Robyne Beaubien
Networking is a good way to enrich your ministry leadership. You
can build relationships with other leaders that will be a good resource
for finding speakers, creating personal accountability, conference
buddies, evaluation of things that have worked and not worked in
their ministries, etc...
The toughest thing about networking is getting started! There may
already be an organization in your area that encourages WM leaders
to get together. They can be hard to track down, but worth it when
you do!
I would suggest that you begin with prayer. Pray for God to bring
women together in your community, that you would speak clearly as you
share your ideas with the other WM leaders, and that God would help
each woman to work together to build the kingdom of God.
The simplest way to start
networking is to start calling churches. Tell them who you are, what
church you are with and ask if you may speak with, or leave your
number for the
WM Director or coordinator. In larger churches you will probably find
that they have someone in the office. Medium to smaller churches will
probably take your name and number and pass it on to the coordinator.
Another great place to begin
looking is the internet. One of my favorite search engines is GOOGLE.
If you type in "churches in (your town/state)" you
will find a list of churches in your town that have websites. You can
also use the yellow pages and look up each church name. Sometimes there
will be a list of staff members with their e-mail addresses or phone
numbers, then you can contact the WM person directly!
Once you establish a contact and let them know about your desire to
start a WM leadership network in your area, you can make an appointment
to see them or to meet for coffee. Another option would be to arrange
a meeting with several women at once. I have done this both ways and
there are advantages to both methods. One on one you get to know each
lady more personally, but it takes more time, and if your personalities
don't mesh... it can be a little uncomfortable. In a group setting,
there is not as much personal contact, but you are able to present
your ideas once and receive immediate feedback from all of the women.
If time is a factor, the group meeting is easier to negotiate than
5-10 separate meetings.
See what interests and needs the other leaders have and decide how
often you would like to meet and where. With a bunch of strong personalities,
and let's face it ladies, there are a lot of us around, it will also
be important to establish yourself or someone else as the main contact
person. Down the road you may even find a name for your organization
and set up officers to serve.
However your networking experience progresses, if you keep the Lord
in the center of it, you will create friendships, get some creative
new ideas, and explore new resources.
Another great resource for
networking nationally is the womensministry.net site. There is a
weekly newsletter and a lot of great information
on their website for WM leaders!
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