The women at New Birth Church make time for themselves with their ladies’ night out events. Among the evenings’ varied activities have been spa nights, when they have transformed their church’s sanctuary into a spa, topping off the evening with relaxing music and pampering. Other bonding rituals include encouraging each other to get healthy with a weekly Pilates class as well as fun bowling nights. And a night on the town — getting dressed up and heading to dinner at some of the top restaurants — is another favorite indulgence. Now the church’s women look forward to hosting their “Madness Behind the Makeup” event, where the idea is taking off all the makeup to reveal the women behind.

The women, who range in age from 20 to 50 and come from all walks of life, leave everything behind and concentrate on themselves. It’s those time-away evenings that are important, according to Sheniqua Davis, president of the Women’s Ministry at New Birth Church and church co-pastor (alongside her husband, Bruce Davis).

Davis says the nights out are important to bring together women who fall across the age spectrum, allowing the ‘veterans’ to intimately influence the younger women and teach them how to take care of their homes and their children. Davis said the veterans serve as an example to the younger women to help them see that whatever struggles they face that they can make it through, as they too did. Sharing advice is common during the evenings.

“It’s encouraging them to know that what they’re in is only for a season,” said Davis.

The ladies’ night out serves to help women understand the different cultures they come from. According to Davis, even though they may all be Bahamians, they grew up exposed to different cultures in their respective childhood homes that may have influenced who they became later in life; no two ladies have the same lifestyle.

Davis’ testimony to her upbringing that she willingly shares with the women is of growing up in a household with an alcohol and drug dependent mother along with her grandparents. She says the only comments directed toward her were of a negative nature in the Montell Heights household, where six adults and eight to 10 children lived.

“I grew up hearing, ‘You’re so stupid’, and [that] I should go somewhere and die. These were words from my grandmother,” she said.

“That’s my testimony, but the word of God says we overcome him, meaning the adversary, by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony.”

On the other hand, there are women in her church who had the opposite experience and had the support of their family.

“They have heard ‘I love you’, ‘You’re special’, ‘You’re great’, and we share these things during our ladies’ night out,” she said.

The New Birth co-pastor, who says her husband is her best friend, says that, like most women, there are times when she doesn’t want to discuss how she’s feeling about him with him. Ladies’ night out provides the avenue she and other women occasionally need to move away from their husbands and children.

“It’s very important to be able to regroup. Having a social life outside the family is important for women,” she said.

“You don’t want to burden yourself out saying ‘I’m a wife; I’m a mother. You’re also a leader. You’re also a young lady. You’re also a part of society. You’re not just a wife. You’re not just a mother. You’re a woman of God. Women are also individuals that God uses. Sometimes we feel as if it’s only for us to get married, be a wife and have children — no! God has also called women to stand for what is righteous and holy, and you have a whole lot of strong women and they have survived because they decided to depend upon the strength of God,” she said.

The women are gearing up to host “Madness Behind the Makeup”, October 29-30, which Davis said, reveals the true woman behind the makeup. This year’s “Madness Behind the Makeup” will be held under the theme “This is who I am”.

The New Birth Church, which is known for its community outreach, also aids in picking up the tab for the women during their nights out. Up to 80 percent of those socials are funded by the church.

Davis believes a women’s ministry is extremely important in any church. She said the ministry teaches women how to love their husbands and their children, how to grow as a believer and how to be an influence in their communities.

“The scripture says we are to endeavor to keep the unity and the bond of peace. And this is actually speaking to the fact that you have women who have been burdened from [when] they were children and grew up with so many scars that they feel they have no one they can turn to... The importance of women’s ministry is to encourage other women to let them know they are not their scars — they are women of great wealth, women of great character and strength.”

She thinks that sometimes people forget that the way God designed the church was to speak to every area in an individual’s life, and a woman’s ministry is directed to women.

Davis and Deborah Sands, who were the only two women to start New Birth Church, said their vision for the women’s ministry is ultimately to build strong women.

“My vision for the future is to be able to impact not just the members and followers in New Birth Church, but women around our country. We decided to open up ‘Madness Behind the Makeup’ and other events we have by extending invitations... So my vision is to build women from the word of God who are going to walk in wisdom, in strength and live a life beyond what they’ve experienced beyond the tragedy,” she said.