When people come along and question what you are doing in your ministry, how do you respond? When people make suggestions that don't sit well with you, do you have a hard time saying no? Women want to please people and a Women's Ministry Leader wants to please other women, but you cannot ever please all the people all the time.

You can however please God if you have your heart inclined towards Him and you have submitted yourself to church authority and the vision of your Pastor.

A friend of mine who has recently birthed a new Women's Ministry has been struggling with the criticism of another woman. She has shared with me that it tears her apart inside. When you have given yourself over to ministering to others and you believe that you are doing what God has told you to do - it is very painful to have someone come along and criticize you.

My advice to her was to make absolutely certain that her ministry goals fit well into the ministry goals of her church. I told her to go and speak with her Pastor and share her heart and ask him for his blessing. Then, assuming that he does give his blessing to her program, she can lovingly respond to her criticizer knowing that she is safely under her Pastor's spiritual covering.

What if you share your vision with your Pastor and he does not support your plans? What if he gives you different direction - or even asks you to work with other women on developing the ministry? Yikes! You might feel crushed - but trust me when I say that it is a good thing to follow his direction, even if you don't understand it at first.

It's not that we never have to explain anything. It is one of our first jobs to share the vision of our Women's Ministry with the women of our church. But if someone disagrees with our vision and we have submitted to our spiritual authority - we do not have to justify or change what we are doing to make other people happy.

You can visit 10 different churches and find 10 very different Women's Ministries. One may focus largely on bible study. Another might focus on social events. One may focus on acts of service to their church and yet another on supporting missions through fundraising. One is not better than another. They all fulfill very important needs and usually reflect the overall heart of the church.

Our church has a Mission Statement: "Bringing people into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ." So, our Women's Ministry Mission Statement is "Bringing women into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ." Simple enough isn't it? Our Pastor of twenty plus years has always focused on reaching the lost and growing up believers. It is also his heart to be about the important business of reconciliation and healing. In the Women's Ministry we keep our vision in line with these desires.

If you have never had a good talk with your Pastor about your ministry, why not make time for it now? You will be amazed at the blessing that comes from aligning yourself with his vision. And you will be able to handle opinions and criticism that come your way from a position of strength and security.