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Visiting Over the Fence: Cross-Denominational Relationships

By Juli Nelson

As women in ministry, we are a minority. Building community is important for anyone in leadership; you learn from others, they learn from you. But as a minority, women may especially benefit from networking with other women in ministry. "Seeing" ministry by women normalizes that model and helps women to take their own place in ministry.

Since women in ministry are still a minority, some community-building may best happen by visiting "over the fence" or building relationships with women in other denominations. The challenge is that you may need to make it happen, because women in ministry (just like men in ministry) tend to be busy people. But in my experience, they are also collaborative people, and will respond helpfully if you reach out.

Cross-denominational relationships are so rich. You find out how much you share in common: your love of God, your desire to see "God's will done on earth as it is in heaven," your ministry joys and frustrations, etc. You also discover your distinctives: different doctrinal emphases and different religious language. But there is so much ministry work to be done, and some of it is best done together, so it's worth the effort to forge those cross-denominational relationships, both for support and for collaboration.

How do you find those women who are "across the fence?" Well, start with some of these ideas:

• Call another church in town that you know has a female pastor. Ask if you can meet with her.

• Call the local Ministerial Alliance. Many towns have organizations of pastors. Find out when they meet and show up.

• Call local representative churches of several different denominations. Ask if they have a listing of female clergy serving in your geographical area.

• Go to Web sites of different denominations. Give your e-mail contact information and ask if it could be given to female clergy in your area.

Any effort you make to "visit across the fence" will be well rewarded. The ministering woman on the other side will learn from you and you will learn from her. And your respective ministries will benefit from your networking.

Go visit now, and God bless ....

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