Inspiration for You
Heart Call
Heart Call is a North American Division ministry to reach out to women who are no longer attending church and let them know we miss them and want them back. It involves training the women of the church how to reach out to these women in a loving, non-judgmental way and befriend them.
- Make a list of the missing women in your church with contact information.
- Pray over this list in groups.
- Share your dreams of renewing friendships and reclaiming these missing members with your pastor.
- Together introduce this program to your church board and then to the church body.
- Choose a spiritual mentor for each woman on your list. The mentor's job is to establish a friendship with the woman and to simply love her and interact with her in a non-judgmental way.
- The church Women's Ministries Department should begin planning events to invite these women to. Perhaps the first one should be held away from the church. Later events could be held at the church. Suggestions are included in the Heart Call kit.
- It would be a good idea to form small Bible study or prayer groups that meet in members' homes to invite these women to. They might not feel comfortable going back to church at first but would go to a woman's home where they could study, pray, and form friendships with other women from the church.
- Mentors should reach out to their friend on a regular basis. Invite her to events that have been planned by Women's Ministries and offer to pick her up.
Form a Heart Call ministry team. The team should include:
- A leader-a woman with a vision for the ministry who possesses the leadership gifts to pull the team together and oversee the project to fruition
- A Bible study leader-a woman with teaching gifts who can effectively lead a small group through the Bible study materials
- An event coordinator-a woman with hospitality and organizational gifts to coordinate social gatherings and/or seminars-events designed to invite the women you hope to reclaim to attend
- A mentor for each woman to be reclaimed
More Information about The Heart Call kit material go to: AdventSource, phone 800-328-0525; web site www.adventsource.org. The cost is $14.95 and it is available in English and Spanish.
Biblical Guidelines for Communication
Be Slow to Speak
Proverbs 15:1- A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Be Ready to Listen
Proverbs 18:13 - If one gives answer before hearing, it is folly and shame.
Give Always a Gentle Answer
Proverbs 25:15- Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
Talk Truth with Love
Ephesians 4:15 -Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
Avoid Quarrels
Proverbs 17:14 - Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.
Be a Forgiver
Ephesians 4:32 - Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
A Final Thought:
Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends. Proverbs 17:9, NLT