Subscribe Past Issues Translate

Pittsburgh Presbytery
Women's Ministry
Newsletter

Life-Giving Leadership | Jamye Doerfler

From Feb 22 to 24, hundreds of women from North American PCA churches
gathered at the annual Leadership Training in Atlanta. I was grateful to be among
them, especially as a recipient of a Presbytery scholarship.

The theme of the conference was “Life-giving Leadership.” The cover of the
workbook features an oak tree sprouting from an acorn. The image resonated with
me. See, our church is the newest in the Presbytery; we just launched morning
services 6 months ago. Here we are at Redemption Hill Church, a gathering of
roughly 60 folks in a middle school cafeteria, just a seedling of a tree, a couple of
leaves at most. Yet we trust in God to protect this seedling as it takes root, to see it
grow over time to become a tree where many can take haven.

While some aspects of the training were practical application suggestions, much of
the content was focused on the heart of the women leaders in our church. In every
session, we were called to examine our hearts and look for places where we have
been self-serving, rather than dying to self. We were asked to honestly determine
whether our confidence comes from our own abilities, or if our full confidence is in
God and what He will do among our women. We were challenged to consider
whether the women in our church are flourishing—growing in their love and
dependence on Christ.
 As I sat in the training, my mind was stimulated and my heart was stirred. I wrote
down inspiring sentiments and questions for myself to consider later that would help
shape our women’s ministry team. My spirit was made hopeful that our women’s
ministry could be truly transformational in our women’s lives.

At the tables in each presentation, I met women from all over the country. Some
meetings were providential—women who had specific resources I needed—while
others were joyful reunions (I had no idea some old friends would be there!). In the
lobby, I perused the long PCA Bookstore tables full of books and Bible studies,
trying to discern what would be the best use of our church funds and my own
personal needs. In the end, I left with a workbook to use with our not-yet-formed
Women’s Ministry Leadership Team, full of tools to guide us in shaping a ministry
that will glorify God, help the church, and flourish the women in our care.

While I was in a unique position as someone just starting, I’m convinced that every
church would benefit from the teaching, encouragement and resources provided at
LT. Besides that, it provides a unique time to build relationships with other women
from our presbytery and larger region.

Thank you, Pittsburgh Prebystery Women’s Ministry, for providing a way for me to
attend this life-giving training.

Upcoming Events

There are 9 spots left for Dwelling in Scripture hosted by

New Covenant, Fri & Sat March 29 & 30!
Click to Sign up today!
Dwelling in Scripture is a workshop created to help women independently study
 the Bible in the context of redemptive history.
The speakers this year are Sandy Snoke and Jack Wilson.

The Ohio Women's Ministry invite us to join them for Sarah Ivill!

The Pittsburgh Presbytery hosted Sarah Ivill a few years ago. She will be in
Youngstown at Cornerstone PCA April 5 & 6 - register here, or find more info on
Facebook!

Fri & Sat, Nov 8 & 9 Aimee Byrd is coming to

Pittsburgh -- we would love for you to mark your
calendars & join us for this conference!
 PPWM News
The Pittsburgh Presbytery Women's Ministry is in a season of reflection and
vision. Please pray with us as we seek to provide leadership and training to
women’s ministries leaders to connect, encourage and equip them to
grow in a relationship with Jesus Christ to serve and reach others for
Him. If there are specific ways we can be serving you and your congregation,
we would love to hear from you, so please reach out.

We are also seeking to grow our leadership council! If you would love to utilize
your gifts to serve the women of the Pittsburgh Presbytery, please contact
pghpwm@gmail.com or a member of the council.
 Pittsburgh Presbytery News

Reaching students
for Christ.
Equipping them
to serve for a
lifetime in the
church.

University of Pittsburgh
Connection to the church is one of my favorite things about RUF. Five Pitt RUF
students joined churches this past year, and three were baptized, including
Amy. See her story below. | Callie Miller, Full-time Campus Staff, RUF at Pitt

Amy and Callie Miller at RUF

Summer Conference.

Amy is a senior majoring in

biology and English
writing. She will be starting a
Fellows Program at McLean
PCA Church in Washington DC
after graduation.

Here is a bit of Amy's story she shared as she was baptized and joined
City Reformed PCA:

“Growing up, I struggled a lot with feeling like I belonged.

I grew up in a traditional Asian family in one of the most Amish towns in

America. My family was and still is Buddhist, and for the first 18 years of my life,
this was how I identified myself. I searched for my identity in other places too,
except when I went to college, all of those places disappeared overnight. I
found myself scrambling to find security, discouraged, disconnected, and alone.
I was so frustrated and lost, I cried out to God for the first time in my life despite
not being sure He even existed. I was exhausted of trying to figure out the
answers on my own and decided I would give Christianity a try in a last search
for faith.

I found myself attending RUF regularly starting from one impulsive moment at
the beginning of the semester, and started going to City Reformed Church. I
listened and asked questions, and as I started showing up more frequently,
people started caring for me. They hugged me, texted regularly to check in,
invited me into their homes: it started to change my heart. Just over a year ago
our pastor was preaching about the sacrifices we’re often called to make as
Christians. As I looked around the room and saw all the parents sitting with
their children, I realized that if I chose this path, that there was a very strong
possibility that I would never be able to share my joy and faith with my family.

Throughout the next year and a half of my journey into Christianity

through RUF and City Reformed Church, God offered me what I’ve longed
for all along: a family to love and accept me unconditionally.

A place where people open up their arms and say, ‘No matter who you are or
how messy you feel, we’re just so glad that you’re here.'

I realized that the people love and care for me so well because they model it
after Jesus Christ. I’ve felt that love, time and again, and have yet to feel love
as genuine and selfless. I found myself believing in God and becoming a
Christian not simply because I wanted to but because I had to. I found no better
explanation for why the world is the way it is except for God and sin. Because
this was the truth.

God has given me an identity that fits better than any other identity I
could possibly find. I am a child of His, and I know that wherever I go in
life, I’ll always have a home in Christ.”
Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP)
RUF is at IUP!
Oliver and Kim Pierce moved to Indiana to plant RUF at IUP this fall, along with
a PCA church plant led by David Schweissing. About a month
later, Emilia Pierce was born! Please continue to pray for the Pierce's and
the Schweissing's as they grow in family and ministry!
More info about RUF at IUP!

PCA News
Check out the Connect PCA Women's Ministry & the new Northeast Women's
Ministry Facebook pages!
There are some great resources, and you might even recognize a few faces ;)
"The purpose of the Women's ministry is that every woman know Christ personally and be
committed to extending His kingdom in her life, home, church, community, and
throughout the world."

Susan Hunt, WM Consultant

Christian Education & Publications, Presbyterian Church In America

Do you have a desire to serve and encourage leaders in local churches, and pastor's
wives of our presbytery? Do you have a heart for a particular demographic? Do you
want to build or use your skills in ministry, writing, event planning, service,
administration, teaching, gospel encouragement?

To learn about opportunities to serve the women of the Pittsburgh

Presbytery, please contact pghpwm@gmail.com or a member of the
 council.

PPWM Council:
Callie Miller, interim chair, callie.miller@ruf.org
Kathy Mataya, kmataya@milestonecentersinc.org
Lindsay Miller, lindsayjoymiller@gmail.com
Kim Agate, kimmyna@comcast.net
Liz Morris, lizmorris@calvinpca.org

Want to change how you receive these emails?

You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

This email was sent to <<Email Address>>

why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences
Pittsburgh Presbytery Women's Ministry · 4016 Mintwood St. · Pittsburgh, PA 15224 · USA