We are so excited about our first annual Women's Conference. Gwyn Oakes has graciously accepted our invitation to minister to us. I was in a meeting many years ago in which she spoke about prayer. It was powerful and inspiring to say the least. We will also have tables available for rent in a Mini-Trade show allowing the ladies or churches an opportunity to showcase items for sale (crafts, clothing, etc), hobbies, or ministries. After Friday night service, we will be heading to a catered banquet where we will play some relationship building games and will have door prize draws. All in all, it is bound to be a great time of spiritual growth and fellowship.

Click on the pictures to enlarge...you can then print them off.

Fundraising Ideas

Fundraising can be both painless and fun. With participation from others in your congregation, it can build camaraderie, loyalty and commitment. Below are a few ideas to help you along.

• Bottle drives - Our church puts up posters, places ads in the paper, uses word of mouth, our youth go door to door and we even utilize facebook (our city has a facebook group called Medicine Hat Garage Sale which has 8000 members where we put a free ad on). Yahoo groups may also have a freecycle or buy/sell group for your city that you can place a free ad on. This is a sample of the blurb Life Church in Medicine Hat uses, "Wanted: free bottles for youth group fundraiser. For pick up or drop off location, please call.....) This has proven to be very effective for us, especially the part stating that we are willing to do pick ups. In Alberta, the refund on small cans and bottles has doubled, so the profit margin has greatly increased for the same amount of work as before.



• Crafts - Talented ladies (and even men) in your church can be put to work crocheting, knitting, wood working, etc. Try selling your creations at farmers markets, in boutiques, consignment stores, conference meetings, on facebook garage sale groups, etc.



• Baked goods - Many smaller grocery stores and malls are willing to allow charities or church groups set up tables selling home baked goods and/or homemade candy items as a fundraiser. With this idea, it is important to choose people to cook or bake, who you know practice cleanliness in both their person and their home. When you are uncertain about someones cleanliness or abilities and don't want to offend them, it is a good idea to plan a church baking or cooking bee at the church or in a home known to be clean. Choose a person to be in charge with a list of acceptable, fail safe recipes. This avoids the dreaded, "cat hair cinnamon buns", the "hockey puck biscuits" and the "dander filled cupcakes" and yes, this IS experience speaking...lol. Another good idea is to package your goods as professionally as possible. We usually have a grocery store donate or discount new meat trays to us and we saran wrap the food very tightly, securing them with tape on the bottom. At Christmas time we purchase cheap tins from the dollar store and place the goodies on crumpled tissue paper or wax paper and then wrap it in saran wrap. Printed labels with your church name is a nice professional looking touch. When you display your goods for sale, a clean white table cloth and even a table skirt adds a look of cleanliness and order to what you are offering the public. This makes sales much more likely than a sloppy and garishly decorated table would.


• Themed Dinner Events - Hosting a Mexican night, Ukrainian night, Italian night, etc. and selling tickets for the event is a fun fundraiser. Done right, you will become known in your city and will sell out tickets early. Search for fail proof recipes that suit the theme. For example: Our church hosts an Italian night for which the tickets have been secured sometimes a year in advance so people don't miss out on our limited seating. People who have never attended a service (yet) have returned time after time to our Italian dinner and rave about it to others. We place bowls of Italian salad at each table along with crusty bread and a olive oil and balsamic vinegar dipping blend. We serve a choice of chicken fettuccine Alfredo w/ bruschetta topping or spaghetti w/ bolognese sauce. For dessert is homemade tiramisu, or chocolate mousse w/ chocolate covered strawberries. We decorate each table with a simple checkered green or red and white tablecloth and a recycled wine bottle (which we purchased from a bottle depot for $.20/ea.). We dripped candle wax over the top of the bottles for authenticity and placed a lit candle in the top. For a cheap backdrop we purchased a roll of newsprint paper from the local newspaper office ( or you can use a roll of canvas for a reusable backdrop) and stamped a grape vine all along it and hung it on the walls. White Christmas lights in greenery placed in the entry area is a wonderful touch. Romantic Italian instrumental music in the background adds the finishing touch of ambiance. The same goes for a mexican theme....cactuses, sombreros, ponchos, pinatas, a sandy desert painted backdrop and huge tissue flowers for the ladies will build the atmosphere. Playing mexican instumental music and even playing the limbo game iare crowd pleasers. Placing chips and salsa on the tables and serving tacos, mexican rice, refried beans, etc. are crowd pleasers. Keeping an eye out for decor items on sale throughout the year and store them in labeled boxes for that event later in the year. I like to check out garage sales as well thrift stores which makes it an affordable way to purchase many items for these type of events.


• Rummage or Garage sales - Once again, don't be afraid to utilize your local newspaper, city facebook or yahoo group to place an ad for people to donate garage sale items. Many people don't have the time or inclination to host their own garage sale but don't want to just toss their unwanted items in the garbage. If you place an ad stating that you are willing to pick up, you will soon fill a garage (or two) with items you can resell. Once again, experience is talking....hold the garage sale as soon as possible. A marriage saving tip: immediately after your sale, load the leftovers into a truck and drop them off at a thrift store or the dump. You see, the darling husband will NOT be impressed that his garage has been taken over by, "moth eaten rejected junk!" hehe. We also set up a BBQ and sell smokies, hotdogs, pop and water.

• For more fundraising ideas, you will have to wait for my soon to be published fundraising booklet. lol

There are many more fundraising ideas that I am sure you can come up with. Brainstorm with your ladies. If you have ideas, please post them for the rest of us. God bless!

Mothers Memorial Offering Deadline is July 1

The annual Mothers Memorial offering date is quickly approaching. This years deadline is July 1.

Please watch this presentation on the purpose of Mothers Memorial:

http://www.ladiesministries.org/downloads/Mothers_Mem_09.zip

Last year our district raised a total offering of $1000. The goal for this year is $2000. Please work together with your ladies in fundraising so we can achieve this. If every church in the district contributes an offering of $200, we will surpass this goal.

INCENTIVE: The Ladies Ministry Leader of the two top contributing churches (usually but not always the wife of the Pastor),will be presented with a "thank you" award at our District camp meeting.

Please let Sis. Zilinski know what your offering amount is by July 1st and you will need to forward your offering checks to Bro. Donald Taylor in Lloydminster.

God bless you for your commitment!!