Pampering with a Purpose
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Once a month, a group of dedicated professionals ventures into their community to serve those less fortunate than themselves. They're not carrying hammers and nails to build a house, or ladles and pots to work in a soup kitchen. Rather, they're armed with blow dryers, scissors, and nail polish. Oh yes, and love.
The volunteers of HIM—Hairdressers in the Marketplace, a ministry at Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago—host monthly "day of beauty" sessions where women in need receive free pampering, from haircuts to manicures, but also hear about God's love for them. HIM also goes to nursing homes for the poor, homeless shelters, and facilities for the mentally handicapped to provide free haircuts.
Hairstylist Teresa Russo-Cox founded the ministry in 1998 after trying numerous volunteer positions at Willow Creek, where she attended. None felt like the right fit for her skills and passions. For a while, she wrestled with God. "Why did you give me a talent that's so much about vanity?" she prayed. "How can I serve you?"
She says God answered those prayers with a vision for a group that not only communicates God's love and care to women in need but also reaches out to stylists themselves. "That's what sets us apart from other ministries that offer haircuts to the poor," explains Teresa. "We focus on evangelism to the beauty industry, which is filled with so much darkness. Its underlying message is all about external things—glamour and glitz. I want to bring the light of God's Word into our industry."
Day of Beauty events are hosted by various local salons on Sundays when they'd normally be closed. Social service organizations that help women, such as support groups for those struggling with addictions, unwanted pregnancy, or domestic abuse, provide the clients. In addition to the beauty services, HIM also sets up a boutique of used clothing and accessories, donated by volunteers and their friends, family, or neighbors, and provides a "goodie bag" to each participant.
"We start the day with a welcome and prayer, and close with prayer as well," says HIM volunteer Susan Fignar. Teresa or another leader gently shares with participants the reason for this ministry: They want to show God's love. But rather than a formal presentation, the gospel's presented through the informal exchanges between stylists and clients. The session concludes with an opportunity for clients to talk about what the day meant to them.
"I told Teresa I wasn't sure I wanted to do hair on my day off," says Melissa Carroll-Chmura, who joined the ministry five years ago and now coordinates the events with another volunteer, Susan Johnsey. "But it's not just about the haircuts, or helping the poor. It's the total experience of the day, sharing God's unconditional love, bringing them joy. That's worth taking a day off for."
Originally published in: Today's Christian Woman, 2006, November/December, Vol. 28, Issue 6, Page 54
Related Topics:
Encouragement, God's Love, Sharing, Hairstylist Ministry, Job, Using for Ministry, Service, Social Services, Volunteering
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