Midwestern Women Start a National Friendzy

Springfield, Mo.—Armed with Bibles, bowls and utility knives, Pam Morton and Kathy Jingling have started storming churches.

With their publishing company, Daisies in the Rain, the pair announced today the national launch of their new women’s study curriculum, Creative Friendzy. The program combines creative projects like new recipes and gift ideas with Bible studies, and couches the whole package in a context that is highly relational. The curriculum has been available on a limited basis for several years.

“You have books that teach a creative skill and you have Bible studies that teach a lesson,” Jingling says. “This combines the two.”

Creative Friendzy sessions typically include an introductory skit or icebreaker, a creative project or idea to teach students, a topical Bible lesson and discussion time. Leaders say it’s just the combination they’ve been waiting for.

“You can either have a fun time or you can do a Bible study – that’s what women think,” says Tracy Hamm, who organizes a biweekly Creative Friendzy group through her church in Wichita, Kan. “This so beautifully incorporated both.”

A well-visited Web site, a monthly e-mail newsletter and appearances at the Assemblies of God National Women’s Ministries Directors Conference helped Jingling and Morton build initial buzz for their idea. They’ve taken orders for their curriculum from 30 different states and had inquiries from as far as the United Kingdom – and that was before the current national push.

“God has made this a very special friendship, that we can tolerate each other at such a high level,” Morton laughs. She and Jingling develop lessons together, do speaking tours together, and continue to teach weekly classes together. Students say their chemistry, and the hilarity it often produces, is part of the secret to Creative Friendzy’s spreading success.

Jingling and Morton attribute their relationship to providence – and to a steady nourishment of chocolate, chips and salsa.

“We have age differences and marital status differences – that allows us to write for all types of women,” Morton says. “I think we’re Creative Friendzy, the philosophy, personified.”

Founded in 2004, Daisies in the Rain Publishing Company exists to produce materials to help individuals grow and develop character in their pursuit of a life pleasing to God.