Specialized Ministry — October 2005
Honoring Widows
By Judith Moore, Administrator, Iris B. Vest Widows Ministry Center
Did you know that there are over 12 million widows in the United States (according to the 2000 Censes)?
Did you know that 45% of women age 65 and over are widows?
Did you know that 80% of all women will be widows?
Did you know that half of the women over 65 live on $550 per month or less?
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Those are staggering statistics. Most of us do not like to talk about this or even think about these statistics. Why? Because we worry that we may become one of the statistics. Isn’t that true? I am here to tell you that God wants you to think about widows, it can actually be an act of righteousness.
The Word of God speaks specifically of widows in over 120 scriptures.
James 1:27 tells us, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (NIV).
I must share with you, when I was first called to be the director of Widows Ministries for the Church of God, I was somewhat apprehensive. The last thing I wanted was to fall in love with these great women of God and then watch them in their suffering. But God has a different plan! Widows have a very important role in the body of Christ.
Why Now?
As the ministry of widows has begun to be birthed across the nation, crossing all ecumenical barriers and intensifying all over the world, I have asked the Lord, why now?
Could it be since we are in the last days, that God has given us a new urgency for the mandate, "Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” (John 4:35, NKJV)? As we work to bring in the harvest for the kingdom, we indeed witness many people receiving the gift of salvation, but we must never lose sight of the reality that some souls are being left behind. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us, "The Lord is . . . .not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” So as these souls are left behind . . . how do we reach them?
We know that according to the law of Moses the widows were instructed to go back into the fields and glean from the edges of the harvest (Leviticus 23:22).
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Today God is sending the widows back into the field to gather the souls that have been left in the fields, to reach into the edges (those hard to get to places). We see widows becoming intercessors, protectors, and guardians of the hurting. They reach beyond themselves to care for others.
Time is short. As the return of Christ draws near, widows are taking their place of power and honor in the body of Christ and souls are being won to the Lord.
Churches must rise up and fulfill this mandate of caring for widows . . . so the widows can take their place of power in these last days.
Do you want the ministries in your church to be blessed? Deuteronomy 14:29 tells us:
". . . the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns
may come and eat and be satisfied,
and so that the LORD your God may
bless you in all the work of your hands” (NIV).
Wow! What a promise!
Exciting news!!
The International Church of God is coming forward to heed the call. The Church of God has established and built the Iris B. Vest Widows Ministry Center in Sevierville, TN. This is a lovely independent living facility for women that have served God faithfully through the years, ministering to others. These widows have found themselves in need of a covering, a home, a haven, and the Church has risen to the occasion, fulfilling the mandate of James 1:27. Did you know that the first church council (elders, deacons) in the New Testament (Acts 6:1-6) was established to care for the widows? God has chosen the Church of God to spearhead a new concept in ministry for this last day and time. Other denominations and churches from around the world are coming to the Widows Ministry Center to glean what God has been teaching us about widows’ ministries.
What does the Bible have to say about widows and ministry?
Many illustrations in the Bible show how God uses widows and their lives as examples of the type of behavior He expects from the body of Christ. Consider the Book of Ruth. Ruth gave her life to faithfully care for her mother-in-law. God honored her devotion by allowing her offspring to be the lineage of Jesus Christ.
- Exodus 22:22―God tells us . . . He will "certainly hear her cry.” Very rarely in scripture is this phrase used. There is a double emphasis in this passage of God hearing the widow’s prayer. We have found the widows to be mighty intercessors in prayer.
- 1 Kings 17—God used the widow of Zarephath to feed the prophet Elijah during the time of famine. Her obedience is a great example of faith even in the face of starvation.
- The Shunammite widow in 2 Kings 4 tells of the widow’s plea to Elisha the prophet. The incident teaches us that even though we think we have nothing to offer—in her case only a little bit of oil—God can use small things to supply our needs above and beyond what we ask.
- Consider Anna the prophetess in Luke 2, a widow devoted to prayer and fasting. Upon seeing Jesus, she was among the first to speak of the child who was to bring redemption to Israel.
- Jesus, himself, used a widow to demonstrate true sacrifice. The widow’s mite is one of the most powerful examples of giving in the body of Christ.
- 1 Timothy 5―The scripture tells us to "honor the widows.” We often see widows as victims not as victors. We must allow widows to take their place in the Kingdom work.
God has taught us that He has given us a directive to care for the widows. The exciting thing is, as the body of Christ fulfills this directive . . . not only are we pleasing our heavenly Father, but these widows are rising up to be a powerful force in the kingdom of God.
Widows Ministry Center
The Iris B. Vest Widows Ministry Center serves as a resource to churches for the developing of widow’s ministry. Please feel free to contact us at
Iris B. Vest Widows Ministry Center
509 Park Road
Sevierville, TN 37862
Phone: 865-453-7707
Email: WMCDirector1@aol.com
