God tells us in Titus 2:3-5 that older women should teach and train younger women. Teenage girls are included in this mandate. What better place to minister to teenage girls than through women’s ministry? This may be happening by chance in our churches through Sunday school and discipleship programs, but because of their unique needs, teenage girls need a unique ministry that is organized, intentional, and purposeful. Often ministry to teenagers is left only to the student ministry of the church. Whether ministry to teenage girls falls under the student ministry or women’s ministry of the church, training women to minister to the needs of teenage girls must be a priority. Why?
Girls ministry is an opportunity to fill girls with the truth of God’s Word at a formative time in their lives.
The church can make a difference in women’s lives by guiding them to make wise decisions as teens. Mentoring and discipling girls before their values are set may make the difference whether they make a choice that changes their lives forever.
Many parents raise their children by telling them what to do and what not to do, but they overlook the responsibility to teach their children how to think. The result is a young person who is prone to peer pressure. The child spends her formative years doing exactly what her parents tell her to do. When she becomes a teenager, she doesn’t know how to think through the process of making a decision. Automatically, she does what her peers tell her to do. The parents and churches have the responsibility to teach young women how to make wise decisions based on the truth of God’s Word.
A concerted, purposeful effort to reach and enrich girls’ lives will result in “a new generation of women” who will know truth and will not be bound by sin.
Girls ministry is one way we fulfill our calling to make disciples.
The foremost reason to begin girl’s ministry in your church is that God has chosen to use the church as the means to carry His message to the world and to bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Teenage girls are important to Jesus Christ and His kingdom. Who will the girls in your sphere of influence grow up to be one day? What part will they play in God’s kingdom purpose? Intentional and well-planned girls ministry can literally change the lives of women for eternity.
God accomplishes His Kingdom plan through the church and individuals. He has a unique plan for every person. He brings younger women across our paths so we may be faithful to Him and grow in Christ’s likeness. By mentoring a teenage girl, you can make a difference in her life, can experience the joy of possibly changing the course of her life, and can have the awesome privilege of being a part of God’s overall kingdom plan.
This article is an excerpt from Women Reaching Women: Beginning and Building a Growing Women’s Ministry compiled by Chris Adams.