A few years ago, I went to the Women’s Life Office and the receptionist was talking about her Discipleship Group. When I inquired about the groups, Denise O’Donoghue asked me if I would be interested in leading one!  She assured me that it would be a valuable addition to the Biblical Counseling degree that I was pursuing.  I prayed long and hard about becoming a D-Group leader, since I am in my late sixties. The Lord and the Holy Spirit guided me to lead a D-Group. This reminded me of Philippians 4:13 . . .

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

With the Lord’s guidance, I could move forward more confidentially.

Discipleship Groups, which are commonly known as D-Groups, are required of every first-year college student at Southeastern.  According to the Office of Discipleship and Spiritual Formation,

“The D-Groups are an incredibly effective forum where students are encouraged, challenged, and equipped to better pursue an authentically Christian way of life.”

The curriculum that the students work through orients them around the beliefs of the Christian faith. It explains why and how our beliefs should be lived out as we love God and love one another.  After the first year, students who have participated in a D-Group should be equipped to start leading their own D-Groups, whether in the local church or here at Southeastern.

In 2011-2012, I decided to lead my first D-Group. We were permitted to use the conference room in the Women’s Life Office for our meetings. Four young ladies worked through the D-Group materials and discovered the challenge of diversity.  The second semester, one of the ladies decided to complete her D-Group requirements at a local church.

In 2012-2013, I again volunteered to be a D-Group leader. I was assigned to co-lead the group with the (then) Women’s Ministry Coordinator, Carrie Gilliam. We actually already knew one another! Carrie and I were assigned four young ladies who helped to make our sessions very stimulating.  Once again, we met in the Women’s Life Conference Room. During this year, we realized the necessity of encouraging consistent attendance. This time all of the girls remained with us for the second semester. We were thankful that they realized how important studying I & II Timothy would be in equipping them for discipleship.

Each year is different than the last. In 2013-2014, I volunteered for another year of D-Group activities. This year, I was assigned another co-leader, the new Women’s Ministry Coordinator, Lesley Hildreth. Lesley thought that she would be the oldest women in the room, but we really have a great generational cross-section.  I am seventy-one and Lesley is 43 (and not the oldest one in the room!). One of our ladies is a 35-year old spouse of a seminarian with 3 children. Another young woman is 21 and has spent some time in Costa Rico. Our youngest group member is eighteen, but she has already traveled to India a few times because her father is from India.

One thing that is important for our group this year is that each person respects the others’ ages and opinions.  Further, it is interesting to hear how things are different from one generation to the next.  Sometimes, we are not able to finish our lessons exactly the way that we plan because of other concerns that we need to address. We are thankful that the Office of Discipleship and Spiritual Formation  has given us enough flexibility in the lessons to discuss such things. Our goal in all of our lessons is to glorify God.

Another neat aspect of our group this year is that we are able to help each other in so many different areas.  For example, Lesley can help the ladies with parenting questions relating to both sons and daughters, because she has both.  I can help answer questions about daughters, because my own daughters are 48 and 46, a little older than Lesley.

As D-Group leaders, we prepare well for our lessons, because we know that we cannot glorify God with a poorly prepared lesson.  We pray on a regular basis for members of our group. We talk through assignments together and offer suggestions to make things easier. We are encouragers and mercy-givers. We love to nurture people in the Lord and we enjoy helping people grow in their Christian walk.

Are you interested in D-Groups? Contact the Office of Discipleship and Spiritual Formation at gmichael@sebts.edu.

According to Merriam-Webster, a mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person.

As a new student's wife, new mom, new to Wake Forest, with a new job and with no friends or family nearby, I needed someone I could talk to.  I needed someone who had been through the things I was going through, both past and present.  

I came across an email from the Women's Life Office of SEBTS.  The email mentioned that they had a mentorship program.  I looked into it and read through the list of faculty wife mentors available, wondering Do I really need this?  God kept pressing on my heart, Yes, Stephanie, you do.  Yet I decided to pray about it for a few days.

I did pray about it and found myself sending an email to set up a time to talk about the mentorship program.  God led me to pick the faculty wife who had been a missionary.  Why God would want me to pick the person with missions experience was beyond my understanding at the time.  But I did as God told me, all the time saying, Really God?  Missions?  Okay God.  You're gonna have to show me this one.  

Little did I know that it wasn't because of her mission experience that God crossed our paths this way; it was because of her "other" experiences that God allowed our paths to cross.  She had been where I was and was still dealing with them at the same time.  AMAZING how God works things out.

The mentorship program was exactly what I needed at that time.  Without it, I'm not sure where I would be today.  My mentor and I would set up times to meet over coffee, lunch, frozen yogurt, dinner.  It gave me a time to talk, to ask questions, tell her what I was struggling with (which is a hard thing for me . . .  I'm sure it's hard for most people to admit that they are struggling!), to ask for prayer, and to know I was truly being prayed for.  Not only did it help me with the things I was struggling with at the time, but I gained a new friend.  

Almost three years later, I'm still friends with my mentor.  Even though my family and I have moved more than 6 hours from SEBTS and I'm no longer a part of the program, I know that because of our mentorship, I have a forever friend.

Would you like to know more about the Thrive Mentoring program?  Contact Women's Life at 

919-761-2340 or womenslife@sebts.edu 

to see how you can be involved!

Welcome to August, SEBTS girls!  Can you believe it's here already??

With the start of a new school year comes the start of new events, deadlines, & ministry opportunities from Women's Life.  For those of you who are new and for those who are returning...we're glad you're here & can't wait to minister to you and with you this school year!  

Here's what you need to know for the Month of August:

1.    Classes begin August 19^th!!! We can't wait to see you gals on campus again!

  
2.  New Student Orientation begins this Friday, August 9^th for College At Southeastern (C@SE) students. Women's Life is planning a “Pinterest Party” for the new girls on Saturday, August 10^th at 8:00pm.  We hear it'll involve fabric, ribbon, paint and maybe some glitter.  You new girls won't want to miss it!!  If you're a returning girl & would like to help out at the event, contact Carrie at cgilliam@sebts.edu.  The Women’s Life Office will also have an “Open House” on August 15^th, from 3:30pm-4:30pm.  All you new ladies, stop by & see us!!       

3.       If you are interested in taking classes in the Biblical Women’s Institute, we are currently accepting applications. If you're new, let us know if we can help you get started.  For our returning students, don't forget to register for you classes as soon as possible.

4.   Connecting Point will start back up very soon and we're super excited about the events we have planned for this year.  Our date reminders are being shipped to us as we type...but until they get here, you can go ahead & mark your calendars for September 6th at 7 pm. 

 5.   It's official…Beth Moore is coming to SEBTS!  Well, sort of...we're "officially" hosting her Living Proof Live Simulcast on Saturday, September 14^th in Binkley Chapel.  

Please go to 

http://www.sebts.edu/news-resources/conferences/bethmoore_simulcast/default.aspx
for registration information.  Feel free to help us spread the word about this event as well!  We have free posters that you're welcome to take to your church or business.  We'd love for you to invite your friends, family and co-workers. Our hopes are the we'll have a packed house!  

 6.  If you're a returning student and have a heart for public speaking and teaching to women, we are also accepting applications for the LEAD program.  LEAD is a ministry of SEBTS Women's Life that partners with local churches to provide speakers and teachers for their women's events.  We'll do a feature post on this in a few weeks, but in the mean time, feel free to contact us if you're interested! 

7.  Every year, we have girls ask us about mentoring.  For those of you who are in churches that do not have mentoring programs, we offer opportunities to be mentored by SEBTS faculty wives and staff memebers through our Thrive Mentoring Program.  If mentoring is something you'd like to explore further, please let us know.  We'll be happy to talk with you about this. 

And…as always, please call or e-mail if you have any questions!  Welcome to the new school year!!

Women’s Life 919.761.2340