Her world had crashed. Her husband had been murdered. She had children to support. She had no skills. Then someone told her that she was smart and suggested she apply for a women’s ministries scholarship (supported by funds from the sale of women’s devotional books) and go to college. She could learn skills and have a career, enabling her to support her children. This woman has now received the scholarship and is enrolled in college.

The mother and daughter-in-law hated each other. There was no talking, no understanding. But they belonged to women’s ministries, and their church decided to hold a Secret Prayer Friend Month. Unknown to each other but guided by the Holy Spirit, these two women drew each other’s name. Could they pray for each other? They did. When the month ended and partners were revealed, each realized she had been prayed for by the one she hated. Touched with emotion, they embraced and forgave.

The five women had been Christians for four years. But because they could not read, Sabbath school, church, and worship were boring. Then women’s ministries in their country began a major literacy project. These women were part of the first class. After they had studied for six months, the pastor invited the women up front one Sabbath, and each read two verses from the Bible. It was the first time any of them had been up front, and they said they felt their eyes had been blind from birth but now they were healed.

In one division women’s ministries dedicated a month to evangelism. The women from all the unions planned the meetings, prepared the sermons, and preached the gospel. When the results were tallied, more than 15,000 persons had given their hearts to the Lord in baptism.

In another part of the world, teenage girls gather for a special weekend. They laugh and they cry, and they learn that they are loved by their church. Those in women’s ministries minister, mentor, and guide them along the difficult path of becoming a Christian woman.

Parts of the Whole
In other parts of this network, women have special projects for wells in Africa, for small-enterprise development in the Philippines, for literacy in Cambodia, and for health, cooking, and literacy classes among the Masai in Kenya. Around the world women bring their non-Adventist friends to retreats and congresses, where these women can meet Jesus and be filled with love. One such attendee exclaimed, “I never thought that Adventist women had so much love for each other and for their Saviour. I’m starting to believe in what they believe!”

Women’s ministries in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire marched to create awareness of the advance of AIDS and held seminars to educate the public about its spread; women in South Africa collected hundreds of blankets for AIDS babies. In Russia a woman evangelist sponsored by the division and women’s ministries holds meetings in city after city, attracting a wide cross section of the citizenry. In Sri Lanka women help refugee children, and in Sudan women’s ministries began a bridal rental shop to provide employment. Women in this ministry are making a difference in their churches and in their world.

Women’s Ministries Defined
Although no exact statistics are available, the best estimate is that 70 percent of the church is female—that’s more than 7 million women! Women’s Ministries is the department that encourages, trains, supports, and represents this majority of the church. During the past quinquennium women have been fulfilling the prophecies of Joel 2:28, 29 (and repeated by Peter in Acts 2) in diversified ways. Women’s Ministries is not just a single program, but a department that helps women become involved in the entire mission of the church. It is women who discover the gifts God has given them, assess the needs in their own churches and communities, and design ministries to meet those needs. The General Conference department supplies resources, networking, training, and support.

Outreach and Training Go Hand in Hand
One of the most exciting aspects of this involvement by women has been the outreach and evangelism that have resulted in more than 180,000 baptisms since 1992.

During the first four years of this quinquennium, women held more than 42,000 retreats, to which more than 2 million women came—189,312 of those were invited nonchurch members. (Because the Women’s Ministries Department is new, these figures are only partial totals.) And through the efforts of women’s ministries, 41,666 women have been reclaimed to the church.

Training women in leadership is an important part of the mission of women’s ministries—during these four years more than 37,000 training events were conducted. Another 184,000 meetings have been held for the benefit of women, their families, churches, and communities.

Early Start
Women’s ministries actually began in 1898 under the direction of Sarepta Myrenda Irish Henry with the encouragement of Ellen G. White. It folded about two years later with the untimely death of Henry.

In the late 1970s and 1980s the church began looking for ways to encourage and include women in its mission. At the Annual Council of 1990 Rose Otis was elected to direct the Office of Women’s Ministries. At the 1995 General Conference session, Women’s Ministries became a full department. Within a year of that time, all divisions had selected directors.

In January 1997 Otis accepted a position with the North American Division and was replaced by Dorothy Eaton Watts. When Watts moved to India 10 months later, Ardis Sten-bakken was elected. Lynnetta Siagian Hamstra was elected associate director in 1998. In spite of the changes in leadership, the goals, aims, and ministries of the department have continued unchanged.

Days and Devotionals
One of the most exciting departmental ministries is the devotional book project. To date, nine books have been published. Men and women are enjoying these and finding that they are excellent gifts as well as outreach opportunities for those who are not church members. Baptisms and recommitments have resulted. These devotional books have now been translated into Portuguese and Chinese, and discussion is under way for several more languages.

Equally important is the fact that all profits from the devotional books go to fund college scholarships for women. Thus far 453 scholarships have been given. This has made a tremendous difference to women in every division of the world.

Two special days on the church calendar are dedicated to women’s ministries: the International Women’s Day of Prayer in March and Women’s Ministries Emphasis Day in June. Women use programs prepared by the General Conference or develop their own.

Project: Mentoring
Mentoring is an important aspect of Women’s Ministries. Every woman has expertise she can share with someone younger. In this age of fractured families and urbanization there is tremendous need in the church for someone to mentor and guide our young girls, career women, and mothers. As women, old or young, move into new areas of leadership, mentoring is even more important.

Empowering Resources
The General Conference office also maintains a database of names of women available as speakers, writers, or for leadership positions.

To help women in their various ministries, a number of resources have been developed. Among these are the new Evangelism Manual, Easy Programs for Women’s Ministries Events, Bible Studies for Busy Women, Prayer and Love Saves (for small groups praying for loved ones who have left the church), and So You Want to Begin a Literacy Project. The Women’s Ministries Manual and other resource materials have also been revised and updated.

Daughters of God: Messages Especially for Women, a compilation bringing together significant portions of Ellen White’s counsel to women, was released by the White Estate in 1998.

The General Conference Women’s Ministries Department publishes a monthly newsletter. The South Pacific Division publishes a subscription magazine for all women, Going Places With Women’s Ministries. In North America women’s ministries uses Women of Spirit (published by the Review and Herald) in a Heart Call program to reach out to women who have left the church. It is proving to be very successful.

Challenges
We face a diverse world in which both men and women must be able to reach others for Christ. One of the challenges facing the church is the 10/40 window. In this vast area are millions of women who can be reached successfully only by women. And in our own Adventist churches many are hurting—it is the women who can best reach out to these individuals. As the church becomes more inclusive, valuing the perspective and talents of the majority of its members, it will become stronger. Women want to be involved in helping the church be a place of hope and healing, and they thank God for the opportunities that women’s ministries affords them.