Handmaidens
Vision: Our name is taken from Luke 1:38 “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word”. All handmaidens are to be ladies who are totally submitted to God’s will and desire to live according to the word of God. The vision is to enthuse & emboldened ladies to love & serve God & our community.
Mission: To encourage all Handmaidens to pursue a sincere and intimate relationship with God, family & community
The Handmaidens ministry is a way for women to get and stay connected. handmaidens Ministry offers women the opportunity to be involved in outreach to the community. The ministry’s aim is to help women to recognize how precious they are and assist them in dealing with the pressure of fulfilling the many roles of being a woman today.
This ministry may be reached at handmaidens@gracechapeluk.org
Handmaidens has been split into to groups as follows:
Esther’s Court (Ladies under 40)
Is to nurture Ladies who are obedient to the word of God (Esther listened to her mentor uncle Mordechai and she obeyed).
Nurture women who are sensitive to the spirit of God (As Esthers’ we should learn to be silent, its not every time you should talk, we learn and hear more when we are quiet)
Just like Esther we endeavour to have women who are not self-absorbed, Esthers’ take actions in Faith, they are sacrificial people (Esther was brave she was not complacent, she was humble).
Esthers’ court is not a coincident, we have been carefully chosen by God for His purpose, in our position in the home, place of work. God wants to work through us, so keep serving the Lord and everything will work together for good. Esther was not presumptuous, she did not mind taking the risk and sacrifice herself even unto death to save her people. She fasted and aligned herself to the people that were fasting and praying with her.
She was Prayerful, unlike Queen Vashti Esther 1 verse 1…Esther did not depend on her beauty, there are some women who use their beauty as a way of getting favours and they have no other weapon except their beauty.
Esther’s are women who know the word of God and depend on it and use it wisely.
Esthers are women who do not neglect their duties as a wives, mothers, their responsibilities within the church and community.
Esther was wise she knew how to get the attention of the king while using prayer and fasting as a weapon, in order to save her people. She warmed herself to the King through a banquet for three days before she let her request be known it is called wisdom, Esthers use wisdom in their homes, they respect and submit to their husband. Most women know how to talk but Esthers’ take action.
Handmaidens have been split into two groups as follows:
Abigails’ Court (Ladies 41 & above)
Abigails Court is a group of women of great beauty and wisdom that the Lord can use to build and edify the church. These are mature God fearing women with whose main mandate is to pray and be the spiritual gatekeeper for all women in church but also the church in general
These are women who made Jesus their Lord and master, seek the face of God and spend time in His presence. They love the Lord and their main focus is to serve and please the master. Their inspiration is Abigail who was Nabals wife 1 Samuel 25:1-42. She was a woman of great wisdom who protected and saved her husband, their tribesmen and employees because of her wisdom. Her husband was rich but harsh, unwise, mean and chose conflict and upheaval instead of peace. There would have been war between them and David’s men. Abigail rushed in and brokered peace between the two parties. She showed respect appreciation for David and his men who had helped them and spoke on behalf of the husband and family with great wisdom
Mature women of Faith
Abigail women are at the stage in their lives with time to focus on themselves and God. Some of them have raised children and looked after families, they have been in employment and sought after careers. They have trusted God who has seen them through thick and thin. Through sicknesses through loss through grief through lack through a lot of hardship. God has seen them through a lot of hardship and through good times as well. They have seen His provision His presence His joy His friendship His fellowship his healing, His direction. Through it all they have learnt to depend on God on his power on his ability to save of his ability to carry them through life challenges.
What they have seen of God they are willing to share with their peers and younger people to encourage them to trust and walk with God
Women of prayer
Main interest and focus is prayer for one another, prayer for families, prayer for the church and prayer for the community we live in and the work that the church is doing in the community. Every opportunity we take opportunity to pray for every petition. Women are encouraged to share their prayer needs as well
Women of commitment
Like Ruth, Abigails are fully committed to God and are loyal to the kingdom of God.
‘Entreat me not to leave you or to turn back from following after you for wherever you go I will go my people will be my people and your God my God’ Ruth 1:16-18
These are women who are committed to Grace Chapel vision and are willing to serve the Lord in any way they can
Women of the word
Women who use the scripture and allow the word of God to inform their lives. We study the word daily in our closets and we rely on the word of God for daily living. We rely on the word of God to continue us how to live as women. This year we have been studying the Influential women of the Bible to influence and teach us how to live for Christ and be influential and relevant to the body of Christ and we study a different woman every month we have so far studied
- Ruth—who committed to Naomi despite the odds
- Lois and Eunice 2Tim1:5 women of sincere faith who influenced Timothy and Timothy was instrumental in supporting Pauls ministry to the gentiles
- Lydia…Acts 16:13-15 who got converted after Pauls preaching was a worshipper got baptised and opened her home to Paul and those with him