www.creativeladiesministry.com

[BANKLADY]

I wrote asking for ideas for a friendship theme, I got my plan together, now how do I get people to sign up and come. Everyone is giving excuses
and I am a little dissapointed.

[OkieLady]

Bank Lady, Don't get discouraged. I have an annual Ladies Spring Banquet each year and the ladies tend to wait until a couple of days before to buy their tickets. This is a city wide banquet and until you do an affair like that you don't realize how much work it involves. I am always scurrying at the last minute trying to get more programs printed and more favors for them to take home. Then there is the caterer that I keep having to call and change the count. I think it is a very common problem. One thing I did was to have the ladies in my church sell tickets and if they sold ten tickets before a certain date they got their ticket free. That gave them an incentive. Also get on the phone and call each one individually. Be enthusiastic about it!!! Make it sound like it is going to be fantastic! If you have doorprizes tell them about the different places that have donated to that and if there is one special one...really build it up. The timing may be wrong also as graduations, Proms, Mothers day and all sorts of things are happening this time of the year. That is why we started doing ours as a Ladies banquet in March instead of Mother/Daughter because it was hard to work around the different activities. Our group also has Christmas in October for the same reason. We know December is so busy that October we decorate for Christmas and have it early and it is a wonderful experience. Don't take it personally if they really can't come. There are reasons that are legimate.... Enlist the help of some of your ladies to help push the banquet. And if there are just a few comes make it just as special as if there were a hundred. Those that come then will probably make the others wish they had come and next year it will grow. God bless you in your efforts.
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I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me!!!! Sylvia

[jodi]

I know how you feel...it is very discouraging to put out so much work and have no response.
One thing I have found helpful is to give as many ladies a job as possible. If a lady has had a part in putting on the event she will not only feel obligated to come but she will also want to come so she can enjoy the fruits of her labors. Plus she will be more inclined to encourage others to come.
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Jodi
Jer 32:27 Behold, I [am] the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

[cecilia]

Sylvia:
Please share some of your past favors and menu ideas. Our Tea is May 1 our theme is Embracing His Light. Any help?? sounds like you have done this for a while!!
Thanks from TX

[OkieLady]

Cecilia, I'm not as good at this as most of the ladies here. What I have been kinda thinking is perhaps you could light a large purple candle in the center of each table on a mirrored tile so that it would reflect the light. The purple would represent royalty for our King of Kings. At each place setting place a votive cup with a candle in it but not lit. During the course of the evening have a match next to each plate and the ladies could put the match into the large candle flame so that they could light their own individual candle showing that they have embraced His light. This would be a good time to turn out the lights and see the beauty of how Christ light in us lights up a dark world. I told my ladies a couple of months ago that when you turn on a flash light in the day time it isn't that noticeable...but when you use it in the dark, every corner permeates the light. Sometimes it takes dark times in our lives for His light to really shine thru us. As far as favors let them take the votive cup and candle home for a remembrance of their night. I hope this helps some.
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I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me!!!! Sylvia