A Note from Chris Adams: This is part 2 in a blog post written by Leslie Hudson, girls minister in White Bluff, Tennessee. You can read part 1 here and see how closely connected women’s ministry is to girls ministry. In today’s post, check out these practical ways for how you can begin to connect your women’s ministry to girls’ ministry.
By Leslie Hudson
Consider a few of these steps to begin connecting your women’s ministry to the teenage girls in your church:
- Open your home. Offer to host the next get together, game night, or sleepover for girls in your church. Don’t just host it; participate and get to know them.
- Reach out to girls you already know. Invite them over to your house. Take them out for coffee. Cook for them. Go to their plays, recitals, and ball games. Ask a lot of questions without saying much.
- Offer to share your talents with girls. Are you good at crafts? Do you love to read? Can you decorate? Volunteer to do your thing at the next girls event.
- Be open. Your testimony is powerful (Revelation 12:11) and your everyday stories about Jesus being part of your life are thrilling to girls.
- Start a discipleship group. Gather a handful of girls who might want to dig deeper into God’s Word or do a Bible study together. Invite a few godly women to help. Pray that each girl will seek out a back-up mom if they need one.
- Be a back-up mom to the girls who come to you for advice. Speak truth. Share your struggles. Become their advocate, cheerleader, and helper.
- Get a group of women and reach out together. Plan something fun that gives you an opportunity to connect with girls (a hike, cooking night, coffee bar, etc.). Pray that God will direct you to girls for you to love and encourage.
- Pray for them. Ask your student pastor for girls who need prayer and lift them up. Mail them a card telling them you are praying for them and invite them to share prayer requests with you.
Don’t get me wrong; being a back-up mom isn’t an exact science, nor always easy. You’ll find yourself knee-deep in hormones, boys, clothes, and tears. But there is nothing sweeter than watching a girl grow up in Christ because of your relationship with her.
I’m not asking you to overstep your bounds. You’re not her mother. But a back-up mom can have a lasting impact on a girl who will—in the blink of an eye—be a woman. And when that happens, you won’t be her back-up mom any more.
You’ll be her friend.
Leslie Hudson lives in White Bluff, Tennessee, where she ministers to girls through teaching, speaking, and being a back-up mom. She continues her communication with girls after they graduate through her blog. Leslie is also a freelance writer and mother of two. She is the co-author of The Mother-In-Law Trap: Avoid the Pitfalls and Enjoy your In-Laws, available here.
