Starting a Secret Sister Program at Your Church

Getting to meet people at your church can be difficult. Some people don't want to socialize, while others are so busy volunteering during the church service they don't have time to interact with others. And if you have a fairly large congregation you can lost in the shuffle or if you are a new church like my church is, not having a permanent location can make it even more tough.

A really beneficial and easy to implement program is the Secret Sister program. This program can be implemented no matter where you are and invites the women of the church to meet each other. Through signing up for the free program, women receive the name of another lady in the church that they can send cards or gifts to and pray for. In the meantime, her name is given to another woman who will do the same for her. After a set number of months, everyone who signed up for the program meets at some type of event and reveal themselves to each other. The intent is to get to know other ladies of the church and encourage them and be encouraged.

Implementing the program is a lot of work, but well worth it for all the blessings that come from it. Here's how I did it at my church:

1. Appoint someone to coordinate the program (that's me!)

2. Create forms for women to fill out when they sign up. Include: first and last name, address, favorite color, favorite Bible verse, number of children, number of grandchildren, birthday, anniversary, three of their favorite things, favorite author and type of book (memoir, biography), favorite type of music, hobbies, working or not working. Don't limited yourself to these items.Feel free to include whatever you'd like.

3. Have the Secret Sister program and a brief explanation about what it is printed in the church bulletin and make an announcement during the church service.

4. Set a time that the coordinator will be available for women to sign up.

5. Provide form and instructions on when the form needs to be returned. I gave the gals at my church one week.

6. After you are certain that you have everyone's information begin the administrative work.

7. Record everyone's information in case anyone calls later and needs clarification on something. This way you will have something to refer to.

8. Type up a letter to the ladies welcoming them to the program, explaining a little bit more about it and who their Secret Sister is.

9. Place in an envelope so they are concealed and either mail them or hand them out a table at church to save a little money.

10. Send your Secret Sister cards, bookmarks, flowers, books, CD's, homemade baked goods, or any thing else you can think of.

11. Set the number of months the program will run - usually about 6 months to a year.

12. Plan a luncheon for Secret Sisters to meet each other. Look for my an article from me in the near future that offers tips on how to do this.

13. Be blessed by the program and the wonderful women you meet because of it.