Girls Weekend - November 1-3
One of the areas I have always joked about in my world, is that I am secure in masculinity, even though I have been surrounded by females my whole life. (Trust me, it has rubbed of in many ways because I am not your typical guys guy!) I didn't have any male cousins, my grandfathers passed away when I was younger, my own father wasn't present in my life and my uncles also passed away when I was young. So, as I sit here, contemplating our girls weekend coming up in November...as a father of 3 daughters, I am beyond excited for this event!
I have been doing youth ministry for 17 years and while youth culture changes every 3-4 years, one thing that hasn't changed in all of those years, is the influence the media, culture and peers play in the lives of female adolescents regarding their image and self esteem. I have seen it in youth ministry and I have seen it played out in my own house. Young girls are being bombarded with "what pretty is," or "what a real girlfriend is like," or "what you wear determines how you feel about yourself and how others define you"....I could go on and on for pages here, but if you have a female in your house under the age of 18, you know what I am talking about.
For years I have wanted to have a girls only weekend, but for as connected as I am to the feminine side of life, you wouldn't want me putting together a girls retreat. That would be a disaster of epic proportions!
Over a year ago, God dropped a blessing in disguise into our laps in the youth ministry department, with the hiring of Kari Hines! We had no real idea the talent and passion she was going to bring to this position of youth ministry assistant....we only knew we needed help, especially in the area with our female students.
Kari has been prayerfully and diligently putting together an amazing girls weekend for quite a while now, and it is shaping up to be an amazing opportunity for our female students to have a life altering encounter with God, as they focus on the theme, "are you walking with God or running with the world?"
The retreat is over a full weekend and mainly focused on high school girls, but Friday night is a celebration for all of our female students from 6-12 grade. Kari has lined up some very powerful moments that will draw each girl to take a look inward, as they connect and uncover the beauty that God has created in each one of them. But more important, it's not just the "what" they are going to focus on, but also the "how."
Christin Hoffman, one of our former students here at Alpharetta First UMC, will be graduating from Auburn University in December and I have had the pleasure of waking along side of her the last 2 years as I have watched God completely grab a hold of her heart and do a radical transformation in her life in the area of connecting with her gifts and abilities and her relational skills with girls of all ages. She will be our main speaker for the weekend and if you have ever been in the room when she opens her mouth, get ready to fall out of your chair laughing and then have a box of tissues handy as well!
We have also been blessed to build a relationship with the UGA Wesley Foundation over the last year and their talented worship band and the girls from Wesley Foundation are coming to lead us in worship on Friday and Saturday.
Meals will be provided and there are more activities planned than what I have space for here! Please go and sign your female student up for this event! I signed my 6th grade twins up this afternoon and can't wait for the opportunity they will have in joining together with their peers and the older girls of our church, as they meet together to worship our God, encourage one another and dig more deeply into what it means to walk with God.
Thank you to Kari Hines for her direction, gifts and passion for the female students of our church and community! They don't know how truly blessed they are to have you walking with them at this crucial point in life. And thank you you to all of the mom's and volunteers who have agreed to volunteer for this event...from hosting girls in your homes, to serving the meals, to shuttling these girls to the Methodist Youth Center! Your service to our girls is appreciated far more reaching than what I could actually communicate. As a dad of 2 daughters that will be attending on Friday, thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you are about to create in the lives of each student that participates. (I am speaking as a father here, not the youth pastor)
Get your student signed up now at www.afumc.org and look for the youth tab. You can register online or at the Methodist Youth Center. If you would like to help in the volunteer area, please contact Kari Hines at khines@afumc.org.
Lastly, this event has been prayed up for months now and we ask that you join us in praying for everyone involved in this upcoming Girls Weekend! Invite your friends from school. This is an open event to all female students in iur community!
In His Joy,
Jay
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