I am not much of a movie watcher. My mind is usually thinking about what needs to get done next. I would often rather be outside doing something active, and there is still a frugal part of me that remembers when a movie ticket cost less than eight dollars. But in the spirit of a fun family night, after hearing the steady buzz from my Gen Z students about how amazing the new “Project Hail Mary” movie was, and watching it continue to dominate the box office week after week, I decided to go.
What stayed with me was not just the science, suspense, or survival. It was the reminder beneath the story. Beneath the space mission and the unknowns lies something deeply human: we were made for relationship, connection, and purpose. That truth matters for those of us serving women in the church. We spend so much time thinking about programming, calendars, volunteer schedules, communication plans, curriculum, and the endless details of ministry leadership. Those things matter. They help create environments where people can grow. But in the busyness of leading, we can sometimes forget the deeper questions every woman is carrying into our ministries.
Do I matter?
Am I known?
Is there purpose in my life?
Will anyone walk with me through what I am facing?
These are not small questions. They are worldview questions at the heart of every person, often lying quietly beneath everyday conversations, prayer requests, attendance patterns, and the things left unsaid.
The Longing Beneath the Surface
One of the story’s beautiful themes is that healing and courage often come through connection. Isolation weakens us, but relationship strengthens us. Being known gives us the courage to face what feels impossible. Many of us can carry hard things longer than we thought possible when we know we are not carrying them alone. That should not surprise us, because Scripture begins with a relational God.
God exists in perfect relationship as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Before creation, there was communion. Then, in Genesis, after declaring creation good, God says it is not good for man to be alone. Humanity was created to love God and love others. We image a relational God through our capacity for relationship, presence, compassion, and care. This means the longing women feel to be known, loved, and connected is not a weakness. It is part of being human.
Ministry becomes more fruitful when we recognize that many presenting problems are tied to deeper relational hunger. Sometimes what looks like apathy is loneliness. What looks like irritability is exhaustion. What looks like distance is fear. What looks like overachievement is a longing to be seen. What looks like self-sufficiency may actually be someone quietly hoping another person will notice they are struggling. As leaders, we should always ask: What is happening beneath the surface…in them…in me?
The Digital Haze We Are Living In
We are living in a moment when many women are surrounded by connection yet starved for community. We can spend hours staring at screens while feeling increasingly unseen. We can consume endless content while avoiding meaningful conversation. We can know what everyone posted and still not know how anyone is really doing. We can be more updated than ever and less connected than ever. There is a subtle temptation in our age to replace embodied relationships with digital substitutes.
When we are tempted to scroll for hours, text a friend. When we want to turn to AI for advice, call a mentor or a neighbor. When we want to binge on endless, meaningless dopamine hits from something that is not human, sit and laugh, cry, and share with someone who is. When we feel overwhelmed, let another person carry part of the burden with us. When we are hurting, choose presence over distraction.
Technology can be incredibly useful. It can help us learn, communicate, organize, and solve problems in ways previous generations could not have imagined. But for all its benefits, it cannot replace the ministry of presence. Digital tools can give us answers, but they cannot step into the real moments of life the way people can. A screen cannot sit beside you on the kitchen floor when the job falls through and you are trying to figure out how to pay the bills. ChatGPT cannot hold your hand in the hospital waiting room or look you in the eye when the doctor says the cancer has spread. A social feed cannot tear up with you at graduation, cheer when you get the promotion, or celebrate the answered prayer you have waited months to see. Endless TikTok videos and hot takes cannot disciple you the way faithful, steady people can over time, as you watch them suffer, forgive, repent, endure, laugh, and keep trusting God in both the beautiful and ordinary parts of life. The church still offers something the digital world can never manufacture: real people, real presence, real burdens shared, real joy multiplied, real tears witnessed, real prayers offered, real conflicts worked through, real meals shared around a table, and real laughter filling the room.
What This Means for Women’s Ministry
As you lead and plan this season, remember that women need more than polished events. They need places where they can be known. They need rooms where they do not have to pretend. They need leaders who notice when something feels off. They need friendships that go beyond surface conversation. They need spaces where questions are welcomed. They need spiritual mothers, sisters, and friends who will walk with them over time. They need someone brave enough to go first, say the hard thing, and choose to stay.
That may mean building margin into your gatherings for real conversation rather than rushing from one element to the next. It may mean training leaders to notice the woman standing at the edges of the room or to reach out to the one who suddenly stopped attending. It may involve prioritizing circles over rows when possible and creating smaller spaces where trust can grow slowly, naturally, and honestly. Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can offer is not more content but meaningful connection rooted in Christ.
A Gentle Reminder for Your Own Soul
Leader, this is true for you too. You are not only someone who creates connection for others. You need it too. One of the biggest lies I continually fight as a leader and pastor’s wife is the temptation to spend my energy helping everyone else meet with God and experience community while neglecting my own need for connection and relationships. It is possible to stand in the middle of ministry and still feel isolated. You need friendships that are honest. You need people who ask how you are doing beneath the ministry answer, and you need to be safe enough to give the real, sometimes hard answer. You need spaces where you are loved apart from what you produce, and people who look you in the eye and remind you that you are loved, worthy, and known for who you are, not for what you do. Do not let leadership isolate you; let yourself be known.
What We Were Made For
The ache for relationship, the desire for purpose, and the healing that often comes from being known all point beyond themselves. They point us back to the God who made us. One of the greatest ways we image God is through our relationships and our humanity. In a distracted age, the church has an opportunity to embody something holy and deeply human. We get to remind women that they were not made for endless consumption or quiet isolation. They were made for communion with God, meaningful relationships with others, and a life of purpose in His kingdom.
That is still, and always will be, the better story.
Posted on May 1, 2026
Jacki C. King is a respected and beloved Bible teacher, author, and dedicated ministry leader. Her passion involves guiding women toward a deep love for Jesus and His Word, encouraging them to embrace their mission in their homes, workplaces, and communities. She is the author of “The Calling of Eve: How Women of the Bible Inspire the Women of the Church” (Tyndale 2022). A proud native Texan, Jacki serves alongside her husband Josh, who serves as Lead Pastor of their local church, and their three boys. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies and Ministry to Women from Criswell College, and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Connect with Jacki on Twitter and Instagram at @JackiCKing
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