Announcements > North America

THE FIFTH WEW TRACK (2024)

Remain (Jn 15:5) 

*Subtitle: Draw Me Nearer
*Dates: 1/27, 2/10, 2/24, 3/9, 3/23, 4/6, 4/20, 5/4
*Time: 9-11am EST, 8-10am CST, 7-9am MST, 6-8am PST
*This Women Encouraging Women cohort will have the following main objectives: 

1. Learn and incorporate into daily living the disciplines of listening in silence to the voice of God (Ps 46:10) through mindful awareness of God’s presence (Lam 3:22-23), breathing (Gn 2:6), Scripture meditation (Ps 1:2), and contemplative prayer.
2. Renew our minds to think and believe Biblically in accordance with the word of God (Ro12:2).
3. Strengthen one’s faith in our daily walk with Jesus, the source of all we need (Jn 15:5), and experience his presence within us (Jn 17:24-26).   

In this driven socio-cultural environment we live in today, it is a challenge to abide in Christ. Even as believers, our thoughts can be misguided by our enemy the devil (Jn 8:44), our ways of thinking, the trials we face, our emotions, and the information we encounter. Our thoughts determine our level of peace and joy as well as our health (Ro 8:6). Through consistent practice of the daily disciplines noted above and learning to recognize our unhealthy mindsets and reorienting to Biblical ones, we will experience the presence of the Holy Spirit increasing in our daily living and have the capacity to rest in Jesus amid a stressful world.

P. Abraham and Dr. Liz Lincoln will lead this track. It is our sincere prayer that at whatever stage of your journey of faith you are in, your time in this course will deepen and invigorate that further.  

Format:
- Two-hour interactive group learning sessions with small breakouts to foster fellowship with required guided scripture contemplation in between sessions of one hour weekly. 

Requirements:
- Be present and fully engaged (cameras on, in a private space with no distractions) in all 8 sessions. Since this is run in a group format, every individual’s presence is important to the whole.
- Be able to make time for the required guided weekly scripture contemplation in between sessions (at least one hour weekly).
- Have a firm foundation of faith in Jesus Christ.
- Be a committed and active disciple for at least 5 years +.
- Space is limited to 20 participants.

“If interested, please send an email to wewcohort@gmail.com for further information” (Liz Hembekides).
*Download a PDF file: https://ubf.org/sites/ubforg/articles/1699379219.pdf

The fourth Women's Cohort Track Report (2023):

We concluded our fourth WEW cohort, “Christ-like Compassionate Care for Women in Ministry: Understanding Anxiety and Depression and Flourishing” (led by Crystal Morla, Ph.D., Grace Sun Lee, D.Ed.Min., and Grace Ahn-Im, Psy.D.). We held meetings for 6 weekly sessions from March 4th through April 15th, 2023. Twenty-four precious women from around the world (North America, Belize, Nigeria, Mexico, Kenya, Zambia, and India) participated in this track. Women serving the Lord from ages 21 to 60+ joined together in one main group and small break-out groups. Presenters provided information on how Anxiety and Depression impact the whole person (mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical) and on how to seek care for themselves and serve others when they are hurting with the compassion of Christ.

Participants were also equipped with practical tools including helpful communication skills, supportive listening, empathy, and validation skills, and how to intervene when someone is feeling suicidal. Guest testimony sharers also provided their stories of what was helpful and not helpful to them when they were hurting in their ministries. The workshop concluded with personal reflections from many precious women participants who shared how God used this timely workshop to help them know how to care for God’s hurting people while they attended the workshop. Some of the women shared that they learned “that God’s people are not immune to mental health struggles” and that “having a mental health condition is not a sign of weakness”. Women also said they learned to “listen, listen and listen instead of being a fixer” and that “showing compassion is more important than giving advice” or “knowing the right answer”. Praise God for His mighty work and holy spirit to move women’s hearts with compassion as well as bless our cohort presenters to equip them to seek support and give support to those who are hurting in ministry.

By Dr. Crystal Morla and the WEW Team

THE FOURTH WEW TRACK (2023)

In this new year of 2023, we are pleased to announce the fourth WEW track, “Christ-like Compassionate Care for Women in Ministry: A Wholistic Approach to Understanding Anxiety and Depression and Flourishing” (led by Crystal Morla, Ph.D., Grace Sun Lee, D.Ed.Min., and Grace Ahn-Im, Psy.D.). This 6-session workshop will be held from March 4th through April 15th (not meeting April 8th on Easter weekend) on Saturdays. We will meet for 1.5 hours every week for 6 sessions. This track will equip women and women ministry leaders of all ages (21 years and older) to foster and seek compassionate care for themselves and those in their ministries who may struggle with Anxiety and Depression.

The workshop will be informative, interactive, and will include small breakout discussion groups. Those who participate will be equipped with tools and resources to recognize signs of anxiety and depression and identify strategies to care for themselves and others with the compassion of Christ. Praise God, “who comforts us in all of our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”—2 Cor 1:3-4

“If interested, please send an email to wewcohort@gmail.com for further information. Space is limited” (Liz Hembekides).
*Download a PDF file 

THE THIRD WEW TRACK ON "DELIGHTING IN THE TRINITY"

THE SECOND WEW TRACK ON "RECHARGE!"

We concluded our second WEW cohort, "Recharge!" after eight, one and a half hour biweekly sessions. Thirteen precious women from USA and Canada who have served in UBF for at least 20 years participated in this track. The course was designed specifically for women in our ministry. As women, juggling many responsibilities, we often neglect our own self-care, leading to stress and burnout. Using existing stress management tools, and adapting them to a biblical framework, this track was newly designed by Dr. L*iz and Dr. A*braham Lincoln to help women leaders abide in Christ in the midst of daily living. The attendees developed skills to recognize negative perspectives and reorient to Biblical mindsets (Ro 8:6), use scriptural meditation (Psalm 1:2), breathe (Genesis 2:7), and have mindful awareness of God (Ps 8:3). Through this, we learned to calm our minds and experience God’s presence more closely. Other simple self-care routines were covered. The women overwhelmingly testified that they experienced a recharge that enabled them to have more peace and joy in life and ministry. Through small group sharing time, they grew to know each other better and were mutually encouraged and strengthened by each other's faith. We thank God for blessing this track and strengthening our women leaders. Thank you for your prayers!

By Dr. L*iz Lincoln and WEW team

The first WEW track on Biblical Soul Care took place from September 4th to December 4th, 2021, with 16 track members from 10 North American chapters. For eight weeks, we were blessed to have the LoveBibleCounseling (LBC) team prayerfully share their expertise with us. The LBC team (led by Dr. G*race S L) presented on the subject of biblical soul care and led small group discussions.

This session ministered personally to our souls as we experienced the beauty and power of a one-another ministry that is Christ-centered, Scripture-based, and dependent on the Holy Spirit. We also learned practical tools that enabled us to apply the gospel to our lives and the lives of others in a new way, especially during the difficulties of life. Going forward, we expect to continue using what we learned. We give thanks to God for his blessing and for the LBC team’s ministry to us.

The second WEW track is being prepared to start in January 2022.

<10/5/2021>

WEW (Women encouraging women) and LBC (Love Bible Counseling) teams worked together this week. G*race S Lee and A*ngela Roh presented biblical soul care session 2 this morning on September 18. Thank God for building the community in Jesus.
 

<WEW Introduction>

Women Encouraging Women (WEW) is a UBF Headquarters cohort created to support, encourage, and inspire North American women leaders spanning the ages of 18-55. This cohort will be composed of tracks of varied subjects that will last anywhere from 8 to 10 weeks and meet for 1.5 hours for each session. Each cohort would ideally have 10 cohort members who commit to the duration of the entire track. During our time together, we hope to develop deep genuine friendships through times of instruction, discussion, fellowship, and prayer. 

We are pleased to announce the first track of WEW. Love Bible Counseling (led by Dr. Grace S. Lee and others; web: lovebible.live) is partnering with WEW of the UBF to offer an 8 lesson curriculum called "Biblical Soul Care" starting from Saturday, Sept 4th. We welcome the partnership. The cohort will meet for 1.5 hours every other Saturday for 8 sessions. Here is a brief explanation of the track:

Like sheep, Christians do struggle and wander from time to time. Therefore, we need our good shepherd Jesus who helps us through his word and care (John 10:11; Psalm 119:176). We also need one another for encouragement, comfort, and accountability. Our eight-week Biblical Soul Care sessions can equip Christians with practical Biblical principles to develop the ability to care like Christ, address common struggles, and have a greater impact in the universal church.

If you are interested in joining this first track, please contact us at wewcohort@gmail.com  (L*iz Hembekides) by Sunday, August 28. We expect to fill up fast, so contact us soon!

The WEW Cohort team