Project ME

I'm so excited that Project ME is this Saturday night! It's a Junior High Girls Lock-in with a purpose in mind. The purpose is to help girls see that they were not only created, but specially designed by God. So many girls (and women for that matter) don't realize their worth...and a lot of the struggle with self-worth begins in Junior High. I wanted to plan a night that would help these girls see themselves as God sees them.

The planning for this event has been going on in my brain for quite some time. I wanted a way to incorporate our small group leaders and some of our high school girls into an all-girls event. And since we're talking about Junior High girls, what better way to pull this off than to host a sleepover, right?

The girls will be divided up into the same small groups that they meet in on Sunday mornings and any new students will be assigned to a group. All of the group names are design prints like zebra print, stripes, gingham, paisley, and polka dots.

During the lock-in, each girl will be designing a unique project of her own using fabric or paper with her groups' print. Some girls will be decoupaging and hot-gluing while others are painting and glittering. Then we'll take a look at what God's Word has to say about how He created us and what He has designed us for. Girls will be challenge to look at themselves and others in a different way. They will reflect on the projects they've created and think about themselves as God's special creation.

Following our small group time, we'll be creating another project: ice cream sundaes, individually hand-crafted by the girls. Then the girls will choose from a few free time activities like nail painting, hip hop dancing, or shooting some hoops. After they've burned off some energy and are coming down off of their sugar high, we'll settle down for a movie (and hopefully they will all fall asleep-I know this isn't reality, but I'm hoping).

Sunday morning, we'll wake up for some doughnuts and cereal (and coffee for the leaders). Project ME will conclude after Bible Study. This will give our new girls a chance to experience our Sunday morning program and allow our regulars to welcome them to the small group time.

If you're a 7th or 8th grade girl, or know a girl who would like to sign up for Project ME, it's not too late. Just download the form from our website. And bring it to Second Baptist West Campus with $15 on Saturday night. Check-in is at 8:00 pm...see you then!

Project ME

Project ME

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An Empty Spot in the Day

Normally at this time on Mondays, I'm running around making sure I have all the supplies I need for the 7th Grade Girls' Bible Study. I felt a little sad today realizing that I wasn't going to hang out with the girls because we wrapped up our study last week. Although we're done for the semester, we’re planning on picking this group back up next year.

On the last day I asked the girls to give me their feedback about the Bible Study. I asked them to let me know their favorite part, least favorite part, and if they'd do it again.

This is what some of them said:

"My favorite things was learning that boys aren't everything, and that God
is my one true love."

"I would definitely do this again because I'm not only learning more about
God...I'm doing it with my friends!"

"The Secret of Self-Worth was my favorite lesson because it taught me that
I am worth something."

"This was amazing and changed some parts of my life. I would LOVE to
do this again."

"I would so do it again, I would want to learn about getting friends to
come to know Christ."

God truly must have blessed anything that came out of my mouth, because I can assure you it was nothing profound when I was forming it. For the most part, their only complaints about the study were that they had to walk from school, that the lessons were too short, and that they were sad it was ending.

To be honest, any success of this study had very little to do with me. The girls created the buzz and brought their friends. I'm so proud of the way they committed to the study every week. We had a consistent group of about 18-26 girls over the 8 weeks, most of them brought their Bibles, and all of them participated in the conversations.

It touches my heart to know that this study made a difference in several of these girls' lives. I loved getting to know them and can't wait to do this again next year.

Still Unpacking...

Our Junior High Ministry went on a mission trip to Biloxi, Mississippi for Spring Break...it's two weeks later and I'm still unpacking.

Yesterday, as I was going through one of my bags, I found a list that I made on the bus ride home. We had each of the students on our bus share one word to sum up their favorite part of the trip. This is what they said:

• Acceptance
• Worship
• Roof
• Jesus
• Helping
• Mall
• Praising
• Growth
• Sleep
• Joy
• Shopping
• Snuggles
• Water
• Moose
• Michael
• Sprayed
• Everything
• Kenny
• Serving
• Changes
• Shrimp
• Basketball
• Hammering
• Patience
• Bus
• Friendship
• Food
• Work
• Tater-tots
• Laughter
• Teamwork

It's funny to see how each student took away something different from this trip. While some of these things were silly, a few of them were deep. Whether it's a fun memory that allows a student to feel like a part of the group, or a life changing moment that impacts them forever, it's worth it.

One thing I took away from this trip was the feeling of a "youth group" that is often missing in a large student ministry. It was nice to connect with a small group of students and see them interact with and encourage each other. I have so many memories of silly, embarrasing, and life changing moments from the trips that my youth group took together when I was their age. I'm happy to see them having the same kind of experiences.

So while I'm still unpacking my luggage, I hope that their still unpacking the memories and lessons they learned on Spring Break '09. And I'm off to do some more laundry!