Women's Ministries within a local church setting covers a wide range of ages, interests, life situations, and other variables. Young mothers have different ministry needs than mothers who are experiencing the empty-nest syndrome. Other mothers have anticipated the end of active parenting roles only to have young adult children return home or to begin rearing their grandchildren.

Many women struggle to balance the demands of home and work. Some experience guilt as they received conflicting messages about their work outside of home. This is often intensified by financial circumstances that require the family to be a two-income family. Some of these women desire to become active within the arena of Women's Ministries but have to be selective in commitments.

Older women often feel as if their abilities to relate and/or interact with younger women are hindered by age and experiences. Yet many young women long to have an older woman to turn to for advice and a listening ear. Mentoring becomes a ministry opportunity with benefits for everyone.

Single women often wonder about their role in Women's Ministries. For some, it appears as if they don't belong since they do not wear the titles of "mother" and "wife." Those who are single adult may wonder if others will understand the challenges of single parenting or their grief journeys.

Since Women's Ministries involves women from early 20s upwards, the challenge to include all women must be recognized. With the pressured lives of many people, not all women in a specific congregation will attend each event. Recognize this reality and consider the over all program to be sure that needs, interests, and concerns of most of the women are addressed some time throughout the year.

The articles and resources listed are designed to assist Women's Ministries leaders in a local church. These articles serves as informational and will need to be adapted and adjusted to reflect the specific needs, interests, and concerns of the women within the local congregations. A fuller treatment of the topics is available through Women's Ministries, click on "Ministries Resources."