Ever set down to write, plan, or prepare anything and it just wouldn’t come together no matter how hard you tried? But once you let it go, God gave you exactly what you needed? That’s where I am right now in writing this. I can’t tell you how many times I sat down to write and couldn’t decide what the content should be. I even thought I knew what I was going to write this week and as I sat down to begin, God changed the direction.
What I am sharing today, is for those of you who are ready to start a girls’ ministry. If you haven’t yet read my Girls Ministry 101 blog, I encourage you to read it first. It is the foundation to girls’ ministry answering what it is and why you need one.
After establishing a foundation answering those questions, I want to answer the next three most often-asked questions. How does it work within my current ministry? What are the benefits? Where do I start?
How does it work within my current ministry?
It’s a partnership. Student ministry and girls’ ministry go hand in hand. You aren’t creating a new program but building on what you have in place to better connect your girls with God, godly role models and each other. I would venture to say that you probably already have some form of gender specific small groups. That will be a place to start – investing in those women leading the groups so they are equipped to invest in their girls. Then you can begin to add other elements and events that fit within your ministry for your girls.
What are the benefits?
There are two major benefits with girls’ ministry – having a girls’ minister and the actual ministry.
When you have a girls’ minister on your staff or a head volunteer running your girls’ ministry, these are the following benefits…
Girls have someone they can relate to and talk with about those things only girls understand.
There is a woman the girls can look up to as a role model.
Your male leadership has someone who can help protect them and step in when needed in conversations.
You have a female perspective in your planning for the ministry.
There is a woman who can equip lady leaders plus disciple and plan events just for your girls.
The benefits of the girls’ ministry are…
Student ministry growth. Your girls will talk. As they discover a safe place to belong in your ministry and know they are accepted, then they will show up and bring friends with them.
Stronger women of God. Having godly women pouring into your girls will equip them to become the women God has created them to be. What you pour into them through the ministry will also help them to become godly leaders, wives and mothers later in life.
Where do you start?
Prayer
Seek God first and ask Him to guide each step from beginning to end.
Determine Your Structure
You first need to determine if you will have a paid staff member or head volunteer. Remember, you don’t need a staff member to have a girl’s ministry. A woman who has a heart for teenage girls is all you really need.
Then you need to determine her job description. What are the guidelines and expectations going to be? These will be slightly different if she is a volunteer and not paid. If you go the volunteer route you need to determine her level of involvement with the overall student ministry, set a structure that honors her time and decide how much input she has in the ministry as a whole.
Identify the Girls Minister
Again, you are going to pray and seek God’s directions. The woman you bring in may already be at your church, serving in your ministry.
Vision Cast and Set Goals
Share your vision for the girls’ ministry and then let her share where the Lord is leading her in accomplishing that vision.
Brainstorm ideas together. Dream big. The skies are the limit.
Narrow down your ideas. Determine what can be done in the existing structure of student ministry. Start looking for small ways to improve what is already in place like your girls’ small groups or girls' events. Then plan out a timeline for adding other events. Not everything needs to be done the first year.
Create A Team
The girls’ minister can’t do it alone. She needs a team of women beside her working to reach, connect with and disciple the girls in the ministry. And you don’t need to go far to find this team. Utilize those ladies already serving in student ministry and add more as needed.
Invest in girls’ ministry today. You won’t regret it. I’m here to help you get started.
