Women Doing Well Executive Director Lynne Rienstra loves to make things grow. It’s how God created her to live, give, serve, and lead.
“I love to be in the right place at the right time when God brings seeds to life that motivate people to join a cause and to give more generously,” she says.
Pursuing Kingdom purposes
This has marked her career and ministry journey, starting as a high school English teacher where she nurtured a love of words, literature, and communication in her students, to her work as a regional director for Samaritan’s Purse. There, she cultivated relationships with donors and developed an understanding of what motivates people to give to Kingdom purposes. Throughout this time, she started teaching women at conferences and retreats, helping them grow in grace and truth.
“God has shown me His heart for women,” Lynne says. “We are life givers, natural maximizers, and passionate about alleviating suffering. That makes us dangerous to the enemy and his purposes—and wonderfully dangerous for fulfilling God’s purposes.”
Her role with Samaritan’s Purse took her around the world as she brought givers to see the impact of their generosity in the lives of others. When the opportunity came to serve with Women Doing Well, the transition was natural and Spirit-led.
“When I started at Samaritan’s Purse, God said, ‘Let me show you my heart for the nations.’ When I started at Women Doing Well, He told me, ‘Now, let me continue to show you my heart for women and how they can transform their communities, their country, and this world.’”
Guiding women toward growth
Statistics show that more women than men act as their household’s primary decision maker in determining where and how much to give. In fact, in nearly 90 per cent of high net worth households, women are either the sole decision maker or an equal partner in those determinations. Yet resources have been few for helping women with these decisions and guiding them to discover their purpose, passion, and plan for a generous life. That’s what spurs Lynne to serve.
She’s inspired by Jesus’ words from Matthew 6:21: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” It’s a verse that’s been meaningful to both her and her husband as they’ve grown in their understanding of generosity.
“Growing in generosity has led to an examination of our hearts,” she relates. “It’s an ongoing conversation. What are we worshiping other than Him? What competes for His rightful place as owner of it all? That verse in Matthew 6 is a compass for us.”
Loving, serving, transforming
It also challenges her as a leader of an organization that serves women. “Culture tells us we’re in competition with each other, whether it’s our appearance, our careers, our houses, our finances. When we have our hearts and minds focused in the right place—on Jesus—I can run with endurance the race marked out for me. And you can run the race He’s marked out for you. Then we experience a sense of identity, calling, and tremendous freedom. When our eyes are focused on Jesus—and not looking sideways at each other—we’re free to not compare, but to spur one another on to love and good deeds.”
That’s her hope as she cultivates the growth of Women Doing Well. “When women grow in intimacy with Jesus and understand that they’re recipients of His generous, lavish love, everything changes. Their hearts overflow with a similar generosity that can’t help but bless and lift others. I pray that Women Doing Well can nurture an infectious spirit of generosity among women that will transform the lives of many.”
