Reach Women Whose Husbands Don't Come to Church

Written by Shirley Moses

As a women's leader at my church, God allowed me to teach a class of ladies whose husbands were not believers or did not attend church with them for a variety of reasons. If you're trying to reach a group of these ladies through Sunday School or a small group, you may find these tips effective in your ministry:

Choose leadership wisely.
Hurting women like these “spiritually single” ladies want a role model, and they will likely look up to you and other women's leaders. Look for approachable, available, and attentive spiritual teachers, married or single, to lead such a group.

Build relationships with a personal touch.

• Write notes.
• Make personal phone calls.
• Give parties once a quarter and invite women and their children to be part of the gathering.

Keep them connected to the church body.

• Encourage them to invite their spouse to non-threating gatherings.
• Arrange for them to have someone to sit with in church.
• Lead the church to be warm and embracing to the women
• Help them get involved in ministry, and send a thank-you note to the husband for allowing his wife to be involved.

Get them in the Word.
These ladies need to see that God's Word is applicable to their circumstances. We won't have all the answers for them, but Scripture will provide direction and comfort for their lives. Besides normal Bible study times, you might even arrange biblically-based mini-conferences to address unique needs.

Teach them to grow and serve together.

• Organize care groups to help these women reach out to and support one another. One care leader for every six women works well.
• Choose care leaders from the women who have been in the women-only class the longest and seem to have a desire to help others. Women will begin to really take ownership in the class and then begin to reach out to other women in the community with similar circumstances.

Model accountability.

• Help women understand goal-setting.
• Share personal experiences of accountability.
• Place them in a mentor group with other women.

Make them feel special.
Everyone likes to feel loved and appreciated. Celebrate birthdays, accomplishments, or anything else! Brainstorm for ideas to recognize and love on these women.

Be their cheerleader.
Remind these ladies that circumstances never stay the same. God has a plan, and they are part of that plan. He can take any situation and make it into something beautiful for His glory. Encourage the women to give testimony when God is working in their lives through good or bad situations.

Pray.

• Pray with them and for them.
• Help them find a prayer partner.
• Have others pray for ladies' non-believing husbands.

If you, like me, are serving a group of women whose husbands are unbelieving and don't come to church, stop and praise God right now! He will guide you as you seek to reach these ladies in the midst of their circumstances.

Author Shirley Moses is women's ministry consultant for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and also serves as a women's ministry trainer for LifeWay.