Director of Women's Disciple-Making and Leadership
May Article Continued
Mary Lou McDowell, in faithful obedience to our Lord Jesus, pioneered this ministry so well, attending to the details with a view to the big picture of equipping women in ministry. I, along with all succeeding leaders, will be standing on Mary Lou’s shoulders to continue to carry out the mission of equipping women as disciple-makers and ministry leaders. Praise Jesus & Thank you, Mary Lou!
As with all of the EFCA, we seek to partner with Jesus in what He is doing to build His Kingdom … and that always begins with making much of Jesus in our own lives so that He is the overflow of all we do.
With Jesus front and center, this ministry exists to connect, encourage, and equip you as disciple-makers and ministry leaders. We’re along-siders … coming along side you as you live out the mission of making followers of Jesus Christ in whatever sphere He has you.
Connect– We value that ministry leaders have the opportunity to gather together in a space designed for you. It can be easy to feel alone in ministry so we look to have regional opportunities for women leading ministries to share ideas, challenges, what’s going well, what’s not, etc. This would be a time to connect, share, collaborate and pray together.
Encourage –The Greek word often translated as “encourage” is parakaleo and calls to mind the idea of coming alongside another to provide support, guidance, affirmation, comfort and/or exhortation to persevere in the Lord’s will. While life and ministry are blessed, we also face challenges and the Lord has designed His people to inspire perseverance. “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works … encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:24, 25b). By the grace of our Lord, we want to be a part of the Lord’s encouragement to you … in person, presence, word, prayer and equipping.
Equip - Equipping is giving someone what they need—tools, skills, resources—to be ready for a specific task or purpose. Equipping means there is a task at hand, a mission to accomplish. (shared by Keri Early, EFCA National Director of Equipping for Women)
Our mission as followers of Jesus is to make disciples of Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20). This is His work yet He grants us the privilege of partnering with Him to see His Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven. We are His chosen method & we experience more of Him as we obey.
Making disciples involves Engaging the Lost, Establishing the Young Believer, Equipping the Growing Believer and Expanding into New Territory. We seek to equip women as disciple-makers and ministry leaders by providing new Equipping Opportunities annually and expanding by taking those opportunities regionally- that is near to you. Read more for details.
Over the past three years, we have provided disciple-making equipping opportunities –2023 – Overview of Disciple-Making; 2024 – Engaging the Lost; 2025 – Establishing the Young Believer.
Coming soon, October 10, 2026 in Ankeny, IA – Equipping the Growing Believer. Mark your calendars & invite those who are eager to help others grow in the Lord.
Don’t live near Ankeny? We understand this is a distance for many in EFCA Central … we plan to expand by taking these equipping opportunities to you! We will be working on where to go with these but feel free to email me if you are interested in hosting an equipping day for EFCA churches near you. And, if you would like to host one of our past equipping opportunities, I would be happy to make that happen.
We will continue to host video calls on a particular ministry topic and look to expand our social media presence in the coming months.
I value personal relationships – actually knowing you as people, as women with whom to share life and Jesus – so don’t be surprised if I reach out to connect with you either in person or for a video call. And, I love to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out to me. [email protected].
Samantha’s Bio – I was blessed to grow up in a God-fearing, church-going, farming family and came to trust Jesus through an unexpected personal encounter with Him in junior high. The Lord grew me significantly in Him through the ministry of CRU in college such that He changed the trajectory of my life, joining CRU for four years. Another surprise came when He moved my heart for disciple-making into the Church with a stop at TEDS where I earned a Master’s of Art in Christian Ministry and, even better, God gave me the great privilege of meeting and marrying my husband, Steve. I have been blessed to be a part of the team that has worked closely with Mary Lou over the past three and half years and have also enjoyed serving at Harvest EFC in Story City, IA as the Women’s Ministry Director for nine and half years. Steve & I love raising our two teenage daughters. I enjoy running, hiking, & reading along with family adventures and games.
Samantha FrykholmDirector of Women's Disciple-Making and Leadership
As with all of the EFCA, we seek to partner with Jesus in what He is doing to build His Kingdom … and that always begins with making much of Jesus in our own lives so that He is the overflow of all we do.
With Jesus front and center, this ministry exists to connect, encourage, and equip you as disciple-makers and ministry leaders. We’re along-siders … coming along side you as you live out the mission of making followers of Jesus Christ in whatever sphere He has you.
Connect– We value that ministry leaders have the opportunity to gather together in a space designed for you. It can be easy to feel alone in ministry so we look to have regional opportunities for women leading ministries to share ideas, challenges, what’s going well, what’s not, etc. This would be a time to connect, share, collaborate and pray together.
Encourage –The Greek word often translated as “encourage” is parakaleo and calls to mind the idea of coming alongside another to provide support, guidance, affirmation, comfort and/or exhortation to persevere in the Lord’s will. While life and ministry are blessed, we also face challenges and the Lord has designed His people to inspire perseverance. “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works … encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:24, 25b). By the grace of our Lord, we want to be a part of the Lord’s encouragement to you … in person, presence, word, prayer and equipping.
Equip - Equipping is giving someone what they need—tools, skills, resources—to be ready for a specific task or purpose. Equipping means there is a task at hand, a mission to accomplish. (shared by Keri Early, EFCA National Director of Equipping for Women)
Our mission as followers of Jesus is to make disciples of Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20). This is His work yet He grants us the privilege of partnering with Him to see His Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven. We are His chosen method & we experience more of Him as we obey.
Making disciples involves Engaging the Lost, Establishing the Young Believer, Equipping the Growing Believer and Expanding into New Territory. We seek to equip women as disciple-makers and ministry leaders by providing new Equipping Opportunities annually and expanding by taking those opportunities regionally- that is near to you. Read more for details.
Over the past three years, we have provided disciple-making equipping opportunities –2023 – Overview of Disciple-Making; 2024 – Engaging the Lost; 2025 – Establishing the Young Believer.
Coming soon, October 10, 2026 in Ankeny, IA – Equipping the Growing Believer. Mark your calendars & invite those who are eager to help others grow in the Lord.
Don’t live near Ankeny? We understand this is a distance for many in EFCA Central … we plan to expand by taking these equipping opportunities to you! We will be working on where to go with these but feel free to email me if you are interested in hosting an equipping day for EFCA churches near you. And, if you would like to host one of our past equipping opportunities, I would be happy to make that happen.
We will continue to host video calls on a particular ministry topic and look to expand our social media presence in the coming months.
I value personal relationships – actually knowing you as people, as women with whom to share life and Jesus – so don’t be surprised if I reach out to connect with you either in person or for a video call. And, I love to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out to me. [email protected].
Samantha’s Bio – I was blessed to grow up in a God-fearing, church-going, farming family and came to trust Jesus through an unexpected personal encounter with Him in junior high. The Lord grew me significantly in Him through the ministry of CRU in college such that He changed the trajectory of my life, joining CRU for four years. Another surprise came when He moved my heart for disciple-making into the Church with a stop at TEDS where I earned a Master’s of Art in Christian Ministry and, even better, God gave me the great privilege of meeting and marrying my husband, Steve. I have been blessed to be a part of the team that has worked closely with Mary Lou over the past three and half years and have also enjoyed serving at Harvest EFC in Story City, IA as the Women’s Ministry Director for nine and half years. Steve & I love raising our two teenage daughters. I enjoy running, hiking, & reading along with family adventures and games.
Samantha FrykholmDirector of Women's Disciple-Making and Leadership