Great Commission Churches

March 2011

Dear Sisters,

I like to read instructions. I enjoy the confidence I get by studying a manual or receiving thorough explanations before I try a new project. Studying through Titus 2 with our pastors' wives over the past year, I felt like I was getting expert instruction in the most important "project" of my life--glorifying God by fulfilling my own role of a Christian wife and mother, and teaching younger women to do the same. Every letter of the series was useful and encouraging.

Our article this month by Sharon Wong (and contributions by Fran Miller) reminds me how instructive it is to watch someone accomplish a difficult task, especially if it's a task I want to do, and do well. Not only are Sharon and Fran wonderful examples of the obedient Titus 2 woman, but they also have mentored a group of younger women for the last seven years. Sharon writes about how this group aims to encourage women to love their husbands and children.

Sharon and Fran have embraced the opportunity to share what they have lived out from the Scriptures with women who greatly need their experience. This letter encourages all of us to be women who live out our high calling to honor, obey and teach God's Word.

In His Grace,

Sandy Hopler

---

Titus 2 Group

by Sharon Wong (Oak Ridge Community Church, Clarksville, Maryland)

I have greatly enjoyed the recent series that has focused on the verses in Titus 2. What joy to be reminded that as wives and moms, we have been created for a purpose with specific tasks on God's heart that we were uniquely designed to bear. And what encouragement it was to hear the practical counsel of wise women walking that same walk. Jan Gordon encouraged us to have firm convictions for our children as we love them. Carol Meyer shared with us that "to be successfully busy at home will be a reflection of the Spirit, not of your own personal ability. We must be connected to the source." Karen Haring defined being sensible as "right thinking" and "right living." I appreciated these and the contributions of other women as we explored this passage of Scripture together.

Another reason that this series of newsletters spoke to my heart is because my dear friend, Fran Miller, and I have been meeting with a small group of women for the past seven years in what we call our Titus 2 group. Maybe not the hippest name, it nonetheless reflects our focus and our hearts.

It started when two young moms in our church asked if I would be willing to meet with them for encouragement in raising their children. I pulled Frannie into the mix and soon after, the women began to invite their friends. We discussed parenting, loving our husbands, and more. The group began to grow. Over the next few years we had a house full of women, sleeping babies, and active toddlers. We now have a building to meet in, but continue to finesse things to accommodate changing needs and growing children.

Women from other churches have asked us how we got our group started. Well, it's definitely a God-thing. We could never have "planned" for it to work the way it does. However, there are some things that have helped make it successful:

1. Do it with a friend - My heart is to encourage others, but I was concerned that it might be too much for me when I was already busy raising my own children. Ecclesiastes 4:9 says, "Two are better than one," so I thought that if I did it with a friend, we could share the responsibility. Having Fran co-lead the time with me gave us the flexibility we each needed. The bonus was that we were able to build our own friendship and bring another person's perspective to the table.
2. Do it at a time that works for you and your family - We decided to schedule the time so that it suited our own schedules. It was important for us to do this in a way that kept our husbands and children as a priority in our lives. Evenings were difficult for Frannie and weekends were hard for me. That left us weekdays while working around my homeschool schedule with my daughters. We do realize that this has limited our group, but I have peace that we are doing this in the way that God has provided for us.
3. Initiate the standard of behavior and conversation while your group is small and new members will follow suit - People have noted that our group is very respectful when they discuss their marriages and children. We can't take any credit for that. I believe it is because the original women in the group had a high standard in these areas. As women joined our group they seemed to understand and adapted themselves to that standard.
4. Make room for conversation - Our meetings include books and Bible studies, but the heartbeat of our group is that someone will ask you, "How are you doing?" Often, we just go around the circle, checking in with one another. It is great to see one woman's journey spark a conversation or to hear the women minister to one another. I believe Romans 1:11-12 reflects our feeling about these times: "I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong - that is that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith."
5. What to do with the children? - It doesn't take long for the children to outnumber the adults. We've tried different ways to care for the children during the meeting. When they were small, the moms had the kids take naps at each other's house. We've had babysitters at times. Right now the moms rotate babysitting. We do emphasize that kids are always welcome. They are never an interruption because they are our priority.
6. What's our main message? - Frannie and I are there to simply love and encourage the women. Besides general encouragement, there are two main lessons they would say they have learned:

1) What they do every day as wives and moms is important in God's economy. One of my favorite promises is Hebrews 6:10, "God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them."

2) They can be purposeful in whatever they are doing. Whether we are managing a corporation or managing our household, we need to assess the needs around us and plan to meet those needs. Sometimes that might mean seeing an area of training needed in our child's life, or a discipline we need to develop in our own life.

We have loved the opportunity to come alongside these women. They have allowed us to be practical and honest with them and they have responded with sweet hearts. Watching them, I am reminded of the energy and commitment it takes in the younger years. Fran and I just want to be an encouragement to women at this stage of life. We know that if they do not grow weary in doing good, a rich harvest awaits them.

If you would like to respond to Sharon, please email info@gccweb.org.