Delores offers some wonderful insights into Christian mentoring from the points of view of both mentors and mentees in this episode. If your interest is piqued after listening, you will find many excellent resources on the topic available from a variety of sources. Simply type the term "Christian mentoring" into your favorite search engine.

In this episode, Minister Moore shares with us a little bit about her experience of God's call to professional ministry, especially via her background in women's ministries. She also talks with us about what led her to engage in grief ministry and the shape that it takes in her congregation.

If you would like more information on "Friends Helping Friends," Minister Moore's grief ministry, please contact the office of AB Women's Ministries at info@abwministries.org, or by calling 1-800-222-3872, ext. 2288.

This first episode in the series is entitled "Waiting on the Lord". Hear Jan's compassionate understanding of how difficult it is to wait, and to face our own fears, as God stretches us through our experiences.

Internet resources on creative meetings:

"26 Ways to Make Meetings More Fun (and Productive": http://www.charliehawkins.com/articles/MakeMeetingsMoreFun.html

"Making Meetings Fun": http://www.getinvolved.wustl.edu/leadership/dictionary/MakingMeetingsFun.pdf

EffectiveMeetings.com (website devoted to helping you make meetings more effective--here are a couple of highlights)

Make Meetings Fun: http://www.effectivemeetings.com/meetingplanning/fun/meetinglite.asp

To Meet or Not to Meet: http://www.effectivemeetings.com/meetingbasics/tomeet.asp

For more information about the Girl Scouts Beyond Bars and the Girl Scouting in Detention Centers programs, visit http://www.girlscouts.org/program/program_opportunities/community/gsbb.asp.

For more information about AB GIRLS, visit http://www.abwministries.org/girls

For more information about the new G.I.R.L.S. program resource  mentioned at the end of this episode, visit http://www.abwministries.org/store/product.cfm?pID=174 (see "Related Items" for links to Volume 1.)

This episode of our podcast series is full of encouragement and ideas about how to host a planning retreat with your leadership team. Setting a time apart to listen to God and seek God's will for your ministry is key to having an effective ministry. Listen in for some ideas on how to go about holding a meaningful and productive day-long retreat for envisioning the year ahead.

I confess--I haven't always done the best job at inviting folks to volunteer and the results often show that. But when I follow the "best practices" shared in this podcast, I have remarkably better success. Additionally, I've been on the receiving end of some not-so-effective attempts to invite me to volunteer for things--some of which I agreed to anyway and was later sorry that I had, others that I turned down almost as soon as the words were out of the person's mouth--for reasons that I explain in this podcast. On the more positive side, I've had other wonderful experiences as a volunteer that taught me quite a bit as well.

In this episode, I'm going to share with you some tips, tricks, and admittedly a few pet peeves that I've gleaned from years of experience as both an askee and an asker!

AB Women's Ministries 3-year national mission focus on sex trafficking, Break the Chains: Slavery in the 21st Century, seeks to raise awareness and help fund ministries which serve women and girls coming out of a life of prostitution or those who are at risk for sexual exploitation. For more information, visit www.abwmbreakthechains.org.

For more information about NightLight Ministries and NightLight Design Co., Ltd., visit www.nightlightbangkok.com.

If you're interested in learning more about American Baptist missionaries overseas, visit www.internationalministries.org. For information about American Baptist home missions, visit www.nationalministries.org.

Htoo May, a leader in Karen Baptist Women's Ministries in the refugee camps, relocated to Omaha, NE, in July of 2007. An old friend, Catherine Allen, who had met Htoo May during mission trips to the camps over the years, was able to find her in Omaha and has been working with Htoo May to help realize Htoo May's dream--to bring women refugees from Burma who are now living here in the U.S. together in Christian ministry. Htoo May has begun traveling to the refugee communities and was recently in my own hometown. I was privileged to have the opportunity to interview her for this episode.

For more information about the civil war, or about refugees from Burma, there are several excellent websites available. Some of those that I use most frequently are:

Free Burma Rangers, www.freeburmarangers.org (excellent documentation of human rights abuses)

International Rescue Committee, www.theirc.org (several very informative articles available in PDF form, including some specific to women and children refugees)

Duane and Marcia Binkley--ABCUSA/CBF missionaries to the Karen, www.karenkonnection.org (great background information, cultural hints/tips, information about Karen communities in the U.S., and information about the Baptist connections to the Karen)

You may also want to simply google "Burma refugees" or "Burma refugees USA". It's also helpful to use Google or Yahoo's "news alerts" features to receive up-to-date news articles on the situation in Burma.

Therefore, a March 3 podcast episode never happened. My apologies! But I'm already working on episode 18--a fantastic interview with Htoo May, a Karen Baptist woman from Burma who spent 17 years in the Mae La refugee camp and has now been relocated to Omaha, Nebraska. She has been very involved in women's ministries in Burma and in the camps, and now carries that passionate involvement here into the United States. You'll get to listen in as she describes her experiences and her dreams for ministry.

Episode 18 will post as scheduled on March 17. I appreciate your patience!

Sandy Hasenauer, host of Real Women, Real Leaders: The Podcast Series

Patti is a very busy woman, devoting her life to all that God has called her to do. But as she discovered, doing God's work doesn't always leave her with enough time for the spiritual practices that come highly recommended. In this podcast episode, Patti shares with us many excellent inspirations that came to her about how to spend quiet time with God even in the midst of a very busy life.

Patti Stratton is the national coordinator for personal development ministries in American Baptist Women's Ministries. She is also a theological student, volunteer chaplain, pastor's wife, and mother of several very busy children. Patti is a deeply devoted Christian and an excellent leader--she knows that spending time growing in her relationship with God is key to being a strong leader in God's name.

October 15-30, 2007: a delegation of American Baptist leaders visited missionaries and mission partners in South Africa, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Virginia Holmstrom, executive director of American Baptist Women's Ministries, was part of the trip. She came home with plenty of recordings to share with me--it was difficult to choose one to use for this episode! I'm pretty sure we'll be hearing more about Africa in future episodes.

In this recorded conversation, Virginia met with Alica Ngaliema Koba, president of the Community of Baptist in Western Congo women's department. The conversation is translated by Marie Clare Bahama.

If you're interested in reading more of Virginia's reflections on her trip, visit her blog at www.reflectionsfromvirginia.blogspot.com; to read reflections from all the members of the delegation, visit www.abc-usa.blogspot.com.

You'll find a little more information, including pictures, about the Mitendi Women's Center in this 2004 journal entry from American Baptist missionary Wendy Bernhard at http://profiles.internationalministries.org/journals/view/743.

In the conversation, Alice and Marie Clare also reference the Baptist Women's World Day of Prayer, the first Monday in November, sponsored by the Women's Department of the Baptist World Alliance. For more information about the World Day of Prayer, visit http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=30.

(Virginia Holmstrom is third from the right in the photo of the delegates, missionaries and mission partners in Africa.)

Rev. Betty-Rae Taylor, pastor of the First Baptist Church of North Kingstown, Rhode Island, is an experienced preacher and Bible study leader. Having formerly served as the national coordinator of church and community ministries for American Baptist Women's Ministries, Betty-Rae is a very popular guest speaker at women's events locally as well as on the state and national level.

Rev. Taylor has also written a guide for how to prepare a Bible study, available for free from the American Baptist Women's Ministries website. Click here to check it out!

You may obtain The Real Deal: A Spiritual Guide for Black Teen Girls at http://www.judsonpress.com/product.cfm?product_id=7823 or by calling 800-4-JUDSON (800-458-3766).

Karen and I spoke together at our American Baptist Churches USA Biennial celebration in July 2007 about her early experiences, how she appreciates those women who walked before her in leadership, and how she sees ministry with women and girls as best able to help grow others in leadership.

Rev. Karen Selig has written a series of Bible studies for the Children in Poverty Initiative, one sponsored by National Ministries (ABCUSA) and AB Women's Ministries. These Bible studies are available as free downloads from the AB Women's Ministries website at http://www.abwministries.org/resources/category.cfm?CategoryID=58.

This episode has interviews with two teenagers: Becca, who had just graduated from high school when the interview was recorded, and Deborah, who is now in 8th grade. Becca and Deborah both give their opinions as to the value of ministry with girls and what they hope to receive from such a ministry and from their relationships with adult women.

An additional interview is with Dawn Doerr, who recently completed a three-year term as the national coordinator of AB GIRLS, AB Women's Ministries. Dawn describes the value of gender-specific ministry, talks about some things to consider in getting adult leadership for a ministry with girls, and offers some ideas for how to get started.

(Photo is from the 2007 National Gathering for Girls. Becca, Deborah, and Dawn are all in it but for safety reasons I won't identify them specifically. Girls come to Gathering from all over the United States!)

For more information on AB GIRLS (American Baptist Girls in Relationship, Leadership, and Service), visit www.abwministries.org/girls. You may also want to check out our new program resource for ministry with girls entitled (simply enough!) G.I.R.L.S. (Girls in Relationship, Leadership, and Service). Although G.I.R.L.S. is written by American Baptists, it is easily adaptable to a variety of settings including other denominations.

Carol is national coordinator of New Life 2010, American Baptist Churches USA, a discipleship transformation initiative for individuals and congregations. She formerly served as executive director of American Baptist Women's Ministries, ABCUSA.

In the podcast, Carol mentions a resource she likes to use to help groups discern their spiritual gifts. This book is entitled Discover Your Gifts and Learn How to Use Them, by Alvin J. Vander Griend (Faith Alive Resources, 1996). There is a leader's guide and student workbooks. It's available through Judson Press at http://www.judsonpress.com/product.cfm?product_id=8221.

Real Women, Real Leaders: Dynamic Leadership for Women's Ministries (the kit) also has three sessions devoted to discerning, claiming, and using your gifts. Explore this resource at http://www.abwministries.org/store/product.cfm?pID=129.

In this episode, I had the opportunity to talk with Alvina Pierola from California and Synia Rodriguez from Puerto Rico about how women's and girls' ministries are shaped in each of their churches. Alvina has been involved primarily with girls' ministries, but also with women's ministries, for many years. Synia serves as president of Puerto Rico Baptist Women's Ministries, and is on the national board of AB Women's Ministries.

Alvina mentions Rosebuds and Guild (a.k.a. World Wide Guild)--these are predecessors to the current AB GIRLS (American Baptist Girls in Relationship, Leadership, and Service), AB Women's Ministries ministry with girls.

In addition, you will hear reference to Love Gift. This is an AB Women's Ministries over-and-above offering to support the mission and ministry of American Baptist Churches USA. You will also hear about White Cross, a program through which American Baptists provide needed supplies to diversified ministries within the mission program of National and International Ministries, ABCUSA. AB Women's Ministries has a long history with White Cross and it continues to form a cornerstone for many mission and service programs in local churches.

We also received additional ideas from two women who are also every experienced in missions and fundraising, Janet Hogan of Massachusetts and Thelma Lowthert of Pennsylvania. This entire episode is full of practical and fun ideas for you to use!

Don't forget to share your ideas with one another on the message boards at our website!

Rev. Dr. Lauran Bethell is a global consultant with International Ministries, American Baptist Churches USA, based in Prague, Czech Republic. She focuses her mission on victims of sexual trafficking, working with women and children on the streets of Prague through Project Hope. She also works with others in the same mission around the world and is part of a global movement of organizations to join forces to eradicate human trafficking.

This episode also finds us talking about the need to understand ourselves as precious daughters of God and how to convey that same message to others, and the importance of waiting on God. There's a tremendous amount of inspiration in these 20 minutes!

For more information on Rev. Dr. Bethell, visit her missionary profile on the International Ministries website.

For more information on sexual trafficking, and the AB Women's Ministries two-year national mission focus on the topic, visit our Break the Chains website.

Rev. Joy Shih Ng has an active retreat ministry in her women's program at the First Chinese Baptist Church of San Francisco, California. Join us as she shares with me her experience and wisdom in planning and carrying out fun and meaningful retreats!

By the way, there is more about retreats in Come to the Edge, the 2007-2009 Ministry Resource of American Baptist Women's Ministries. Among many other resources, the book contains a three-day retreat outline based on Matthew 4:16 entitled "Survivor at the Edge: A Retreat Experience" (reminiscent of the popular television show Survivor), and an outline of how to plan a retreat with young adult women. You can check out Come to the Edge at http://www.abwministries.org/store/product.cfm?pID=180.

For more information on the ministries of Bethel Neighborhood Center, visit their website at www.bethelcenter.org. For information on other ABC-related neighborhood action centers, visit the Neighborhood Action Program section of National Ministries' website at www.nationalministries.org/caring_ministries/nap/.

Rev. Stark spoke with me about the importance of mentoring, and described many ways that the congregation of Third Baptist lifts up, develops, and celebrates the gifts of women and girls through their programming, worship, and mission experiences. As one of my grammar school teachers used to say, "Listen with your thinking cap on!" You never know what new ministry you may be inspired to begin...

Rev. Sandy Hasenauer, associate executive director of AB Women's Ministries, has led a wide variety of training workshops for youth pastors, youth leaders, and leaders in ministry with women and girls over the years. One of her favorite topics to address is building our creativity!

Two books are mentioned in the podcast--here are links to those books on Amazon.com.

A Whack on the Side of the Head by Roger von Oech (Business Plus; revised edition 1998)

A Kick in the Seat of the Pants by Roger von Oech (Harper, 1986).

Two books definitely worth exploring!

In this episode, Jackie shares her insights about special concerns for women between the ages of 18-24, how to go about beginning a ministry with this age group, and the importance of developing relationships.

We have more resources for doing ministry with young adult women posted on our website. Check them out!

Dr. Marshall was the Bible study leader at AB Women's Ministries' Women's Day celebration on June 29, 2007, as a part of the Biennial meetings and Centennial celebrations of American Baptist Churches USA. Later during the Biennial week, Dr. Marshall was able to visit with me in our AB Women's Ministries exhibit booth to have some conversation about women's leadership in congregations, Scriptures we might turn to for guidance, and how women's ministries can help develop women as leaders. Enjoy!

American Baptist Women's Ministries is producing this podcast series as part of our emphasis on leadership development for women and girls in Christian churches. We're producing episodes on such topics as "You Are Called", "You Are Gifted", and "Connecting with Needs Around Me"--and also about "How to Recruit Other Leaders" and "How to Plan a Retreat"! Everything from overarching issues to what to do at next week's meeting...you'll find it here!

Listen to interviews, hear a variety of perspectives, and share your own thoughts with us through our message boards at www.abwministries.org/forums. Let us know what questions concern you most and we may be able to address it in a future episode!

So settle back, relax, and join us, won't you?