With every opportunity to speak at women's ministry events, invariably the women of these churches never fail to surprise me with the many gifts and talents they have contributed to the preparations. Women's ministry teams seem to know almost innately how to pull everything together: food, décor, worship, organization and all of the other fine details that go into making a brunch, lunch or similar gathering quite memorable.

But the reality is, most church women's ministries only have the energy and "manpower" to offer these gatherings a few of times a year, In a calendar year, one can expect to plan for some sort of spring event, a Mother's day gathering–often mother/daughter affair - and a Christmas tea. This would be in addition to the small groups and Bible studies. Of course, some ministries may do more because the size of their church allows for more women to be involved. But because the average church size in the U.S. is around 200 with many far fewer, the ability to plan for these three events can become quite burdensome. I do not believe any of these events should be eliminated from the master plan of any women's ministry simply because they are laborious, because I also understand they have utility–glorifying God and ministry to women. This is worthy work toward the advancement of the Kingdom.

However, the flip side of the coin is the belief that every significant gathering must include ornate centerpieces, petit fours and elegant programs.

Sometimes this is based on a sincere desire to appeal to the femininity of those who attend, a way to achieve common ground through elegance and beauty. But sometimes it is based on the notion that if it is not done a certain way, the women simply will not attend or it goes against the way things have always been done. A commitment to these details should never be an impediment to gathering women for educating and equipping them to live out their faith, but when the fanfare becomes a requirement for doing any women's ministry activity, the ministry becomes event-driven, not person-driven.

I believe that this is something we can take from the account of Mary and Martha in Luke chapter 10. Martha had invited Jesus into her home, but for what purpose? Scripture does not provide all the facts of the situation, but it is safe to assume that having Jesus in her home was not primarily so that she could entertain. But at a very significant moment, she did lose her vision for the person and was overtaken by the preparations. In women's ministry today, there is no "are you a Mary or a Martha?" because Martha did not remain focused on the event, she learned to focus on the person.

As you and your women's ministry teams think and plan this summer about your 2009-2010 schedule, know that it's okay to have larger gatherings that require little more than a beverage and a Bible and maybe a discussion topic. Time is precious when it comes to discipleship, and the large-scale events have the potential to suck the life right out of those who make them happen.

We live in a culture where it's becoming increasingly difficult to discern the church from the world around us, so discipleship has got to be a core element of all that we do as women's ministry leaders. Women's ministry is strategically positioned to impact lives - women, husbands, and entire families - for the sake of the Gospel. But only if we're not too buried in the details.