Mentoring others and being there for people are things dear to my heart. Over the years I’ve received many questions about the girls’ ministries I lead in my church. I finally put how these ministries came about into a blogpost. If you participate in women’s ministry of any age, this blogpost is for you!
I can’t really take credit for any of the groups I lead at my church. You see, they are simply carried over visions of other women that God allowed me to be influenced by. The first group I began mentoring in my church is called the Beautiful Girlhood ministry. This was originally geared towards any girls in the youth group and older, and has since morphed into a group specifically for 7th-12th grade girls. The Beautiful Girlhood was already in place when I joined my church; it had been born from the love of several women who cared deeply about the teen girls. My pastor’s wife asked me to take it over in 2014, and ever since then I’ve been leading it. The other group is for any single ladies graduated from high school and older. We call this group Fitly Framed, taking the name from Ephesians 2:21. Fitly Framed came about as my teen girls started growing up. God showed me the need for a ministry directed towards young adult single women, and Fitly Framed was born.
For my Beautiful Girlhood, I strive towards directing their hearts to Jesus. I want them to know that God loves them, that He wants to use them in His service, and that they can make a bright difference in this darkened world. I encourage them to participate regularly in various church ministries like music, cleaning, visitation, and nursery. Once a month (unless the church calendar is already fairly full) I plan some type of activity – a Bible study, a shopping outing, a game night, etc. A couple times a year we also have what is called the Secret Mentorship – kind of like a Secret Sister thing, only this is between the ladies of the church and my girls. Using Titus 2:3-5 as our guide, I ask for willing church ladies to secretly mentor my girls for a period of time in whatever ways the LORD leads them to. Then, we end each Mentorship with a Reveal party of some sort. This has especially been a really neat way to watch the spiritual strength grow among the women of our church.
The Fitly Framed is all about being secure in who we are as Christian women. I want my ladies in this group to know that they are not misfits like society tries to tell them, but are in fact vital parts of the LORD’s church. We kicked off this ministry with a 5-week Bible study on Biblical personal security, and have continued on with various activities for them as I do for the Beautiful Girlhood. I have encouraged this group that their purpose should be to go about doing good as Jesus did in Acts 10:38. It is a special blessing to reach out to my Fitly Framed ladies, because many of them are near my age, and our friendships are strengthened through good old fashioned fellowship.
Besides the more formal realm of reaching them through church activities, I really love doing life with my girls. In a way, they all feel like my daughters – even the ones who have moved away or fallen away from the Lord. He loves them, and so do I. It is my desire that they know that the Ormsbys’ door is always open to them. I am grateful that my husband also welcomes the opportunities God gives me to minister to my girls. When I get the chance, I invite one of them to run errands with me. I ask one of them to come with me on a hospital visit. I let them help me with my little people. Sometimes I think the best lessons are learned when we simply do life with others – we find that example in the way Jesus walked on this earth with His disciples. Journeying on with fellow believers is all about the daily things that make up this beautiful thing called life.
There is a lot more I could say, but let me say helpful things – what questions do you have about these ministries? Comment below or contact me on our Facebook, Instagram, or email!
