Two-Night Retreats, Part II

So how did we, as a smaller church, deal with a majority of the women being gone on Sunday morning?  The ministry hardest hit,of course, was the children’s ministry.  Careful pre-planning was needed so that the ladies could leave without major disruption.  Women who didn’t plan to attend the retreat were asked to step up to fill in, particularly in the nursery.  Sometimes classes were combined.  We had to keep in mind that the men we might call on to help, men whose wives were attending the retreat, were probably already overwhelmed with getting kids to church, etc.  But even when our church was very small, somehow God always worked out the challenges.

It could seem strange for visitors who were visiting the church for the first time, so an announcement was always made telling where all the women were!