Coordinators Connection — Enriching Resources for Women

What is it?

Ministry Support is support of the denominational vision for Women Ministries.

Women Ministries in the Covenant began as an auxiliary in 1916 with women paying annual dues of $1 for membership in Covenant Women Auxiliary. When the vision broadened in the 1960s and a central office was created, women paid their dues through their local church. Dues were eventually changed to Responsible Shares, still individual women paying an annual amount through their local church, but often with local leaders guessing “active members” to determine an appropriate total.

In 2000 the Board of Women Ministries adopted Ministry Support and invited local women ministry leaders to partner with us to realize a vision beyond the local community, a vision that encompassed the entire denomination and even international endeavors. The support of such a ministry was called simply Ministry Support. Leaders were and are encouraged to determine appropriate fund raising methods for their church. This harmonized with the current vision of being a ministry of the church rather than a separate organization women joined.

We continue to extend that invitation and invite your partnership in a vision of advancing God's kingdom through women denominationally and internationally.

You may be asking, Why would I want to do that?

Because there is strength in partnership!

We use the analogy of water systems. Many local women ministries are comparable to a whirlpool – a lot of great energy and activity in one place. We applaud the fruit of these efforts! But imagine the potential when streams flow together! The size of the river determines the size of the vessel it can carry. A stream can carry a canoe; a massive waterway can carry a tanker! As more and more women ministries partner together, Women Ministries can carry ever larger visions from God!

Through the strength of that partnership, Women Ministries have been faithful to God-given visions with far-reaching impact. In most recent years, those visions have included a literacy program impacting hundreds of Congolese women, a home for developmentally disabled adults (now there are four), a home for homeless girls in Medellin, Colombia, and assistance for Russian orphanage graduates. And by God's grace and through the strength of our partnership with you, we can impact our world through the new initiative Advocacy for Victims of Abuse.

Imagine the potential. Soren Kierkegaard, the famous Danish philosopher of the 1800s, said, “If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power but for the passionate sense of the potential (italics mine).” That is our prayer. May we see the strength of our partnership through a passionate sense of the potential.

For more specific information on funding the vision, please refer to “From an Organization to a Ministry – Questions and Answers on Changes.” Ministry Support with suggested donations for a church your size are available from the Women Ministries Office.

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