Today's post was written by our summer intern in Student Ministry Publishing, Alex Rhoades. Alex is about to begin her senior year at Union University, loves Jane Austen (we love that about her!), and splits her time interning with us and lifeguarding. And no, that's not her picture below.

Spend time with teenage girls, and you are likely to hear the following terms: horcruxes, planking, “Expelliarmus,” and owling. Don’t be alarmed if you hear these words—these are not names of drugs or any other illegal substance. Rather, they refer to popular, generally harmless entertainment. Impress your girls with your knowledge of these subjects, and you’ll likely find that they be will more willing to talk and open up about what is going on in their lives.

Horcruxes and “Expelliarmus”

If these words seem foreign, it’s because they are. These terms are from the world of Harry Potter, and with the last movie in the series opening earlier in July, it seems that many people cannot get enough of the boy wizard. While the series is highly popular with young adults who grew up reading the books as J.K. Rowling wrote and published them (including myself), many younger teens have latched onto the franchise. At the recent midnight movie premiere I attended, I noticed a large amount of young people who appeared to be in middle school—students who might not have even been alive when the first book came out in 1997! It’s safe to assume that probably a majority of your girls have watched or are planning to watch the last movie in this phenomenon, so here are some questions you could ask girls to facilitate discussion about the film:

• What themes do you notice in the movie?

• How does this movie present the idea of friendship? Loyalty? Standing up for what you believe in?

• Is there anything in this movie you might object to? How should we, as Christians, react to that content?

If you haven’t seen the movie, check out this review to get an overview of both the positive and negative elements of the film.

Planking and Owling

As a 21-year-old, I am just slightly removed from my teenage years, but even I was surprised by this recent fad. To “plank,” one lays face down, completely straight as a plank, with the arms pressed flat against the body. Once the planker is in position, another person takes a photo of the planking and uploads it to a social media website.

While the activity is theoretically not dangerous, plankers often try to take photos in public places that may be hazardous. Plankers frequently place their head on some object and their feet on a different object, completely suspending their body in the air. This practice has led to many injuries and even a death. If you know your girls are participating in this generally harmless activity, encourage them to use caution when planking.

Just as fast as the planking craze came along, it has already begun to fade. The new photo trend taking over is owling. The trend is what it sounds like – people take photos of themselves perched like owls on top of random, public places. For a more detailed explanation, check out this article. If your girls haven’t switched to owling yet, they probably will soon, so encourage them to owl safely and respect others’ land and property.

If you're like me, you hear snippets and soundbites of different web sites all the time. I hear about them at lunch. Sometimes I see them referenced in an article, on a blog, or on a FB or Twitter post. Most of the time, I don't pay much attention to them.

I'm glad I paid attention to tumblr. You don't have to become a member to "explore", which is what I did.

Some of the topics?

Cutting

Sexuality—and I didn't include a link to this because the pictures were too lude

GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) issues

Other topics included "I cheated on by boyfriend. Should I tell him?" And then there are various rants about the futility of life. And suicide. To quote: "You can never get the person you want because you’re inadequate in every single way; Kill yourself." Now that's helpful. 

There are valid and benign forums there: crafts, architecture, food, gaming, etc. Valid news sources use it as a legitimate way of pushing their material to a wider audience. The problem I have with this site is simply this: there are no filters.

I was able to get on this site without any declaration of my age. I saw pictures that no adult (or teen or child!) should ever be exposed to. And not to mention the language. Whew. The stuff of sailors. While a teen may be merely looking for the best way to create an updo for prom, she may find herself in a place she never should have gone. This is a rabbit-hole of gigantic proportions.

Beware.

This week I was reminded why the good folks here at LifeWay Girls Ministry do what we do. Let’s just say several people (including me) are experiencing heartwrenching situations that could have been avoided if one girl my age knew her own worth in God’s eyes. I’m pretty sure that she wasn’t part of a girls ministry during her formative years, and I think that things could have been very different for everyone involved if she only knew how much God loves her and wants what’s best for her.

So please don’t lose sight of how important the girls ministry work you’re doing is. Not only are you changing the lives of the girls you serve, you are potentially making a huge impact on her future friends, boyfriends, husband, and children. One girl at a time, we can reclaim the next generation for Christ and make life on this planet better.

I’ve quoted it before, but I just want you to be encouraged by this Scripture:

So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. —Galatians 6:9

Cool off!

Now, if you’re like me and are just about sick of the ridiculous heat that seems to have a deathgrip on so much of our great nation, here are some cool, but fun, ideas to do with your girls this summer:

• Make popsicles. Go here for some delicious recipes.

• Canoe a nearby river.

• Take a day trip to a waterpark.

• Have a water balloon fight.

• Go to the movies (preferably an afternoon matinee). Bonus points for you if the movie sparks a spiritual discussion.

Songs of summer

In the world of music, Nashville was host to Britney Spears on Monday night. I hear the concert was packed. (And that’s about all I heard. Not one word about the music itself.) But Britney’s not on the charts this week though. Here’s who is:

1.     “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO

2.     “Give Me Everything” by Pitbull

3.    "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” by Katy Perry (Have you listened to the words of this one? I’ve heard it on the radio a couple of times . . . sheesh! Katy continues to push the envelope, especially when it comes to glamorizing bad behavior.)

4.    “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele

5.     “Super Bass” by Nicki Minaj

6.    “How To Love” by Lil Wayne

7.     “The Edge of Glory” by Lady Gaga

8.     “Good Life” by OneRepublic

9.     “Tonight Tonight” by Hot Chelle Rae

10.  “Skyscraper” by Demi Lovato

Wild About You
Based on the book Do You Think I’m Beautiful? by Angela Thomas

Do your girls like magazines? If so, we’ve got a Bible study that they’ll love.

This magazine-format and DVD-driven resource will help teens understand that God loves and pursues them passionately because He loves them deeply. It will also help them to recognize false loves and lies that lure them away from a devoted relationship with God. In the end, it will challenge teen girls to celebrate and live in the freedom of knowing and believing in the unshakable and unquenchable love of God. If you'd like to see a sample of Wild About You, please click here.

If you’ve led girls through Wild About You, let us know what you thought about it in the comments section.

Today's blog is a special treat. We were able to sit down with Amy Pierson, Girls' Minister at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, to talk about mentoring and discipling girls. She's the co-author of Table for Two: Doing Life and Savoring Scripture Together. More importantly, she's a godly woman who lives what she teaches. Feel free to share this with other people interested in girls' ministry...

Lifeway Girls Live - Amy Pierson from LifeWay Productions on Vimeo.

Last night I had the opportunity to take advantage of one of Nashville's greatest treasures: live music. I went to a live broadcast of a radio show called Music City Roots, mainly to see Andrew Peterson. If you're looking for music from a singer-songwriter who speaks the Truth in a way that can get the secular masses eating out of his hand (which he did last night), look no further.

I've always been impressed with Andrew’s ability to massage words so that they communicate something much deeper than that amount of words should. In addition to being the closing act, he was interviewed during the live broadcast before he played. The rowdy crowd wasn’t paying much attention at first until they realized he was funny. And then, he was able to communicate his faith—over the airwaves during a secular show, no less. Purely, easily, and unashamedly, he explained the meaning behind his music.

It was beautiful.

I wish I could put my faith into words so eloquently and so humbly. I imagine I’ll never have a chance to woo a rowdy audience with my words (because I can’t really sing and probably will never be on stage in a show like last night’s), but I am thankful that men like Andrew Peterson take the opportunity to do so and do it well. I hope that many listeners were touched by his words and his music last night.

I don’t know about you, but I could use a little practice at sharing my faith in a way that doesn’t seemed forced or cheesy. And Andrew did quite well at what I’ve been taught for years: just tell your story. He didn’t get into the nuts and bolts of salvation; he just shared how God had worked in His life and that He was the motivation for most of Andrew’s music.

Do you practice the art of telling your salvation story with the girls in your ministry? Do you let them tell theirs? As summer winds down and they prepare to go back to school, take some time to help them think through what God has done in their lives, especially over the summer, so that they’re ready to answer any classmates or teachers who ask about what happened over summer break. We have more opportunities than we realize to share the gospel. It’s my prayer that our eyes are opened to them.

P.S. Andrew Peterson, a gifted storyteller through music, has also authored a delightful series of books—The Wingfeather Saga. Inspired by literary heroes like Tolkien, Andrew has created three books so far: On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, North! Or Be Eaten, and The Monster in the Hollows. Perfect for students in late elementary/middle school (or to read to younger kids), these books are imaginative and fun. Adults will appreciate all the puns and insight. And of course, there’s a great amount of Truth in there, for those looking for it. Enjoy!

Special thanks to Jennifer Stoltzfus, a student at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Florida and summer intern for the LifeWay Women's Event team, for writing the following post.

Before I knew it, it was 9 o’clock in the evening. I had spent the last several hours in a booth in the back corner of a crowded Chick-fil-a. Living in Nashville for the summer, I was having dinner with my younger brother’s best friend, a sweet young man I’ve known my entire life. We spent hours retelling stories and laughing about memories of long ago.

What struck me the most after reminiscing with Kyle was the memories that made us smile so big were so unlikely. They weren’t of magnificent trips, mega concerts, or any of the entertainment ploys that youth groups often take. Instead, we smiled about playing hide-n-seek in the church. We laughed about water balloon fights in the parking lot, the silly videos we recorded with summer interns, and watching movies in the student auditorium.

All too often youth groups become an entertainment gathering. We try to make our church the one with the coolest band, the best youth room, or the trendiest pastor. What we fail to realize is that what we use to get the students in is what often we must maintain to keep them. If we draw them in with entertainment, we likely won’t satisfy them with a simple Bible study unless we keep the entertainment factor.

With everything inside of me I believe that life with Jesus is the deepest joy anyone could ever know. Yet, we lose many of our students because they “just want to have a little fun.” We have deeply cheapened the gospel when students think they have to run from Christ to find fun and happiness. We must express to them that the fun of the world is “short term gain, long term pain.” And to do so, we must be the ones to model for them the joy of life with Christ.

You don’t need a big budget or a hip youth room. Your students will forever cherish the memories of everyday summer fun.

Here are some ideas:

• Have a Disney movie night for the girls. Make popcorn, show Cinderella, and talk about how your girls are princesses – Daughters of the King.
• Have a spa day. Enlist a few moms, or leaders to help paint nails and curl hair. Have the girls get dressed up and do a fashion show.
• Have a simple game day. Meet them for lunch and invite them back to the church to play dodge ball, sardines (Reverse hide-n-seek- One person hides while everyone waits for 3 minutes… then the search begins! The first person to find the “hider” joins them in their hiding place until everyone is hiding with them!), or any other game you come up with – be creative!
• Make tie-dye. Wal-Mart sells reasonable packages, but you can also find recipes online for homemade dye. Have the girls bring a plain white shirt and go crazy!
• Make a short film. Have the students create a storyline and characters. You can record on a basic family video camera, edit it, and watch it all together.

Hopefully this gets you started! Your students will remember the laughter and silly activities you lead them in. You can model for them that life with Christ is no chore. It is the adventure of a lifetime. They will cherish these memories for years to come.

Around this time of year, I begin to get emails and phone calls from men and women who want to begin a girls' ministry in their church. They often want some sort of tool to help churches and individuals catch a vision for why girls' ministry is desperately needed and why girls need the involvement of adults.

Here's your answer. I've seen it at least a dozen times, and every time I do, I am reminded why I go to work every morning. 

Feel free to use it in your own church. Hopefully it will revive your heart and raise up an army of people who will fight for the next generation.

Two weeks ago, a friend of mine from church passed away. He was in his late twenties, and like so many people these days, he was struggling to make ends meet. He was a sweet guy, full of silly jokes and eager to talk to anyone about anything. One of my fondest memories of him was when we were part of a team helping clean up a house that had flooded. He was so kind to the young newlywed couple whose flood-ravaged home we were tearing apart. He was a believer, so that makes the cause of his death even harder to swallow. You see, my friend died of a drug overdose. Despite his many attempts to get his life on the right track, his addiction to drugs had a stronghold on him that he just couldn’t shake. I knew it had been a problem in his past, but I had no idea he was still struggling with it.

That’s why this article from CNN Health really hit home with me. It says that the number one health problem facing teens today is substance abuse. The addiction started early in my friend’s life. And he’s not alone. The National Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) found that “9 out of 10 adult addicts started using before the age of 18.”

According to the article, whether it’s alcohol, tobacco, or drugs, “75 percent of high school students have used addictive substances with 1 in 5 of them meeting the medical criteria for addiction.” That means that it’s likely that three out of four girls sitting in your small group are using/have used drugs, alcohol, or tobacco. And let’s face it, it’s not that hard to hide.

With so many parents turning a blind eye to their students’ destructive behavior, I applaud CASA for saying that “parents need to engage their teenagers early and teach them the dangers of playing and experimenting with these types of addictive substance.” So true. And when parents aren’t willing to do so, that’s when the church, through godly leaders like YOU, steps in.

Like Leigh said in her recent post, it’s key that we get real with girls and find out what’s really going on in their lives and hearts. It’s easy to be superficial in Bible study. That’s why it’s important that you check up on your girls outside of the allotted one hour of Sunday School or small groups that you get with them every week. The accountability you provide just may be the difference between life and death for them.

Esther: The Role of a Lifetime
By Pam Gibbs

If the girls in your ministry think the Bible is boring, then they need to check out today’s featured Bible study!

This study explores a story of intrigue—the story of Esther. With a king and queen, a good guy and a bad guy, a murder plot, and a beauty pageant, teen girls will be swept up in a story of one woman who chooses the road of courage and action, changing the course of her nation’s history. This six-week Bible study guides students through Esther’s world and makes application in teen girls’ lives. This compelling study is applicable to every teen girl, regardless of her background. To see a sample of Esther, click here.

Have you used Esther: The Role of a Lifetime? What did you think? Leave a comment and let us know!

Special thanks to Leigh Hendry, a student at Auburn and summer intern for the LifeWay Women's Events team, for writing this post.

If there is one thing I have learned from doing high school girls ministry it is how frustrating it can be.  I grew up in a very comfortable home with great parents who cared about nothing more than loving my sisters and instilling in us a love for our Savior.  Not only did I have my parents there to set a wonderful example for my life, but I was put around countless older women mentors who truly showed me what it was like to live for Christ and to love Him with all your heart. 

With that being said, I could play the game better than any one else out on the field.  I showed up, but I was slightly less than interested in what they had to say.

I got to Auburn my freshman year and it was the first time no one was watching, no one expecting anything out of me.  It was fun, but it left me so empty.  In high school I was the girl who knew all the right answers, the face of my youth group, I had all the head knowledge.  Head knowledge can only get you so far when you are stuck in a dorm room alone on a Friday night.  It was when I was so broken and empty that I picked up the phone and called the older girls who had always been so constant in my life, the ones who I had taken for granted. 

I feel like the Lord has such a sense of humor.  As a Young Life leader at Auburn, I don’t think He could have given me girls that were any more like me as a 16 year old.  I get so frustrated sometimes when the deepest prayer request is for her grandmothers dog who has pneumonia.  So many times I just want to grab their perfectly done up faces and take their nicely manicured hands in mine and say, "be real with me for just 10 minutes, what is really going on in your heart."

This year, our Young Life team had to constantly remind each other, even though we may not be seeing the fruits of our labor right now, we are sowing seeds in these students' lives.  We may be the only constant things in their lives, and 5 years from now when their world crashes down, we will be the first ones they call.  I have learned that ministry is not just your 7:00-8:00 o'clock Bible study on Wednesday night.  It is not just Young Life club meetings on Monday nights.  Ministry is walking through life with these girls.  We are called to take them by the hand and care about what they care about.  God loved us so much, He sent His Son to walk life with us.  Ministry is letting them walk life with you.

Be ready to cry with them when that silly boy breaks their heart, shop with them for a prom dress, and hang out with her on a Friday night when no one else has called her.  She is watching you make sacrifices for her, even if you feel unappreciated. 

Even though I would not have admitted it at the time, I was watching my mentor’s life, taking note of how she handled situations.  I wasn’t doing anything with that information but stored it away.

Let this be a challenge to you.  When you feel exhausted, and feel like your ministry is going no where, think again.  Somewhere out there, there is a young heart who will one day look back and maybe actually thank you. 

And if you never get to see the evidence, still remember the Lord has called you for such a time as this (Esther 4:14).  The Lord promises in 2 Timothy 2:13, that even when we are faithless, He is faithful!  What a promise to hold onto in ministry, especially in ministry to high school girls. Your efforts do matter.  He promises to be faithful and our labor will not be in vain. 

A little more info on our guest blogger:

Leigh came to know Christ at a very young age. I grew up in an amazing and loving family with parents who wanted nothing more than for me to walk with Jesus.  Being a student at Auburn, the Lord has also blessed me with friends who have shown me how to walk with Him and push me closer to Christ every day.  After doing Young Life for two years, I decided to change my major to Human Development and Family Studies with a minor in Psychology and hope to go to grad school for a counseling degree. I have learned there is nothing that makes me happier than living life with teenage girls and I can't imagine doing anything else.