A Tea and Testimony Timeline
Tips for getting started and running a women’s testimony event
Getting started:
Pray the Lord will show you a friend or another woman in church who will partner with you. Talk to women in your church; would they come to an event like this?
Check the church calendar and put a date in. Approximately 8 weeks away should be enough. Your date should avoid the six weeks of summer holidays, the Christmas and Easter Holidays and half terms. Although you may only have a few women with school age children in your church, you want to maximise women's availability.
We hold ours on a Saturday between 2:30 - 4:30 and it’s balanced out to one in February, one in May or early June and one in October.Look for speakers! Between the two of you, does one of you have a story of God’s provision over the last year. Do you have a great coming to the Lord story? If yes, you have your first speaker! Are their widows in your church? What about students not originally from your area? Do you have any mission partners? Or how about the wives of your elders or pastor? Do you have women who have overcome health issues? Or elderly women who have been part of your congregation for many years? All will have amazing stories to tell. Ask God to lead you to them.
Ideally you want 3-4 speakers. Try to find 4 different voices if you can. Different ages and different marital status will lead to hearing different stories which point to one amazing God. Try to schedule stories which are distinct from each other. Women have tales of obedience, of provision, or protection and of healing.
Here are some questions you can ask women you think might have a great testimony to share:
‘How has God spoken to you through this (work, family, health) situation?’
‘Have you felt guided by the Lord, and if yes, was it difficult to be obedient?’
‘Did you find particular songs or scripture spoke to you in a new way?’
‘Where are you now in your walk with the Lord, how has this issue, or role bought you closer to God?’
Not everyone will want to speak. However we have found when you explain that they are only required to speak for 10-12 minutes, and that only women will be in attendance, they become less anxious. Pray with them and ask them to think and pray about it. God will put on the hearts the women he wants to step forward.
4-6 weeks before
Publicity. We’ve used a different image each time; although we are working on a logo. You simply need picture of cakes or women together, plus information and sign up. We advertise ours by saying
“Tea and Testimony. A place for women to gather together and be encouraged. To worship and pray, to hear stories of Gods provision, and to eat cake!”
A poster with the same information should be placed on any notice boards with a sign up sheet. If you have any keen bakers in your church then a “please do bake and bring a cake if you’d like” is a good idea.
This should also be emailed to everyone on your church members list.
Now is the time to establish any music and a host. Does your church have a worship band and if so, would the women be available to supply worship. It does not need to be elaborate. Women’s voices alone praising our Saviour is such a beautiful thing, that can be enough. That too goes for hosting.
If you are having a band, then you will need a woman who can look after your tech. Do you or your T&T partner have the skills for this? If not, try to find a woman in the tech team to take this role. Obviously if there are less than 20 participants, then tech might not be necessary.
4 weeks before
The event should be publicised at the Sunday service, with a notice to speak to the organisers if there are question plus a call to sign up!
How are your speakers. Check in with them, pray with them. Let them tell you a little bit of what they are planning to speak about and pray the Lord will encourage them with the right words.
Allocate speaker placement on the running order depending on testimony. Who has an miracle story to end with? Who has an amazing provision to open?
Find another woman who will pray for each speaker once they have finished. This is so nurturing for both. We have had mothers pray for daughters and not a dry eye was in the house.
Find volunteers for your kitchen and room set up. Every church has it’s own room set up and kitchen regime. Hopefully you can find women who do this regularly happy to look after the refreshments and be on hand on the day to receive and slice cakes as well as supply tea and coffee to attendees or facilitate women helping themselves.
2 weeks before
Another announcement in the service. Especially if you are low on numbers or there some new women in church.
Check in with speakers and let them know their placement on the running order.
Check in with your worship, tech, room set up and kitchen volunteers. You may now have some idea of numbers so can let the room set up volunteers know roughly how many tables and chairs will be needed. You may want to dress the tables with a table cloth, and a small vase of flowers. This brings something special. It shows that this is a different event from anything else, the flowers are a great conversation starter for anyone coming along by themselves, and it looks pretty - which is reason enough!
1 week before
Final church announcement. Check in with your speakers, worship, tech, volunteers.
Go over your running order with your partner together.
Pray!
Here’s a basic running order from our last Tea & Testimonies.
1:30pm - Set up tables, cups, cakes etc tech check
2:15pm - Speakers arrive, pray together.
2:30pm - Doors open - refreshments are available
2:45pm - Announce you will start in 10 minutes so now is the last chance to get tea and cake (for now).
2:55pm - Welcome speech, any health & safety notes and pray.
3:00pm - Two worship songs
3:10pm - Speaker 1 plus prayer
3:25pm - Speaker 2 plus prayer
3:40pm - Break - more tea
3:50pm - Speaker 3 plus prayer
4:05pm - Speaker 4 plus prayer
4:20pm - 2 worship songs (cut to 1 song if running over time)
4:27pm - Thank the speakers, volunteers and everyone for coming. Encourage anyone who may like to share next time to speak to organisers. Close in prayer.
4:30pm - Clear down, put away.
After the event:
How did it go? Have a debrief with your partner. Talk to the women in church.
Send out an email thanking the speakers and telling them WELL DONE. Let them know what highlight you took away from the day.
Send emails out to attendees thanking them, giving your highlights of each speaker and encouraging anyone else to come forward for your next T&T.
Thank God and start praying for the next one!
If you’d like to know more about Tea and Testimonies check out Suzanne’s super interview.
~Suzanne Smith
