Sister Circle Blog

Pam Gibbs, LifeWay Girls Ministry Specialist was asked a few questions about Girls Ministry at LifeWay. Here is what Pam had to say: 

Q. Tell us what our goal is with LifeWay Girls Ministry?One of the markers we follow is this: “Girls ministry provides a culturally relevant, holistic approach to meeting the real-life needs of girls, their parents, and their leaders, helping girls to discover and embrace their identity in Christ while launching them into the world as godly, confident leaders.” Our main goal is to help teen girls have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, grow that relationship so that they can reach out to others and make that relationship known to other people. We want girls to know who they are and whose they are. That impacts everything in their lives—the decisions they make, the people they hang out with, the lies or truths they believe. We want them to know Truth in a personal way and have that truth change their futures. So much of what happens in women’s ministry is repairing the damage that was done during the teen and young adult years. We want to come back a generation and prevent some of those mistakes before they reek havoc on lives.

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Q. What resources and events will LifeWay have to help carry out this goal?We have loads of resources that have already been released—from Wild About You, which was our very first girls’ specific Bible study, to the Girls’ Ministry Handbook, which is a how-to to begin girls’ ministry. Just go to lifeway.com/students and search for girls’ stuff. It would take too long to explain them all!

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In terms of events, right now, there is one event that we have for girls. It’s actually for girls and their moms. It’s called “You and Your Girl” and it will be taking place in four cities this year: Katy, TX; Elizabethtown, KY; Broken Arrow, OK; and Las Vegas, NV. It’s a one day conference that not only challenges girls to remain faithful to God in a godless culture, but also encourages moms and daughters to strengthen their relationship with each other. You can go to the lifeway.com and check out that event, too.

In the future, we’ll be hosting our own Girls’ Ministry Forum, where leaders, both paid staff and volunteer, can come to be trained, enriched, educated, and challenged in all things girls’ ministry. Can’t wait for that!

Q. Tell us 5 words that describe what LifeWay Girls Ministry is all about?I’m a writer, so I can’t do anything in five words. So here’s my best shot at it:
discipleship,
culture change
building leaders (does that count as two words or one?)
prevention ministry
Spiritual warfare (Satan will do everything in his power to thwart the efforts at reaching teen girls)

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Q. Five years down the road, what do you hope LifeWay Girls Ministry has accomplished? Gosh, several things: I want to build a network of girls’ ministry leaders. I know about people across the country, but they often don’t know about each other. It would be so awesome to have a network of ideas, accountability, encouragement, and support.

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I want people to see LifeWay Girls’ Ministry as a resource house—a place where they can find training; a place where they can find biblical solid but relevant resources for their needs (Bible studies, training, events, whatever!); a place where they can find information about current issues and trends in girl culture and church culture. I want girls’ leaders to look to us for help in whatever aspect of girls’ ministry they are facing. 

Q. What are the newest or upcoming releases for LifeWay Girls Ministry?I am totally excited about the resources we have releasing this year. Of course, Esther: The Role of a Lifetime released in November. Then, in April, we will be releasing a retreat in a box entitled “Woven.” The theme of that is unity, helping girls understand the importance of being a united group and the damage that cliques and exclusive groups can do. The box contains 10 student books, a leader’s guide, promotional posters, and a CD-ROM with lots of extras. In May, we’ll be releasing the Girls’ Ministry Idea Book. It’s written by Jimmie Davis, the girls’ minister who wrote “Girls Ministry Handbook.” Jimmie has been doing girls’ ministry for forever and has put into written form lots of her ideas and ministry projects. It contains everything from physical education and teen girls to rites of passage.

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In June, we will be releasing Girl Talk: The Power of Your Words. And as the title suggests, it’s a discussion of the power of our language. It tackles everything from lying to trash talk to the importance of being an encourager. In August, we’ll release our final Bible study for the year. It’s called Confident. It focuses on how God created women (and men) to be confident because of their standing in Him. It discusses how women lost their God-confidence at the fall, and how Christ’s redemption also opens the door for our confidence to return. It really challenges girls to evaluate where their confidence is based.