Welcome!

Amy-Jo is the Girls Minister at Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, TN. She has been serving in this role for 11 years and still can’t believe this is what she gets to do for a job! Originally from Springfield, Illinois, Amy-Jo graduated from Southwest Baptist University and attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary to pursue a Masters in Christian Education. She is the author of Faithful One, a study of 1 & 2 Thessalonians for teen girls, and the founding editor of www.girlsminister.com, a website created to connect and resource girls ministers, moms, and youth workers. Amy-Jo is married to Darrel and they have a son, Scout.

Almost 13 years ago, I got the opportunity of a lifetime.  I was asked to be a girls minister for 6th-12th grade girls. I was told to dream and build a girls ministry blueprint. The great news was that I had a clean slate to work with. The bad news was that I had a clean slate to work with.  There was no precedent for my new ministry title although as I would soon find out, there was definitely some precedent for ministering to girls without an official title.

As I began to dip my toe into the waters of girls ministry, I found myself quickly up to my neck in the rapids of girls ministry needs and no one to turn to besides Jesus, my mother, and my mentors.  It was in those first few months that I remember feeling completely inadequate and also desperately wanting to help. It was this tension that took me to my knees often. It was this tension that had me driving 6 hours to my childhood home to pick up my 8th grade journal and try to jog my memory of what it felt like to be a jr high or high school girl again.  It was this tension that reminded me that I needed to find other women who were serving in similar positions across the country so we could support one another.

I was able to track down one girls minister named Whitney Prosperi who had recently left her ministry position to become a wife, mother, writer, and speaker.  I had one conversation with Whitney regarding whether or not this position was the right fit for me. It felt so good to hear someone else know things that I was going through.  I was on the search from that point on to find more girls ministers.  I found one named Chrissie who dialogued with me on occasion regarding Modesty and any rules they had for their girls.  I dialogued with another girls minister from California regarding counseling.  As the years went by, I started getting the calls from new girls ministers.  I realized, there was a need for a network of girls ministers that could connect online and have their questions answered as well as share what was working or just share encouragement.

In 2008, I became aware that God was calling me to equip moms, girls ministers, and those who work with girls, using my unique passion for social networking. I launched a resource site called www.girlsminister.com which features free articles and tips on a regular basis. But I couldn’t shake that fact that there needs to be more. I was excited to find out that Lifeway felt the same way.  For those readers who are girls ministers, girls leaders, mom, volunteers, or student leaders—there needs to be a place to ask questions, share their resources, have webcasts, be encouraged, get connected, and find great content by girls ministers and for those who work with girls.

That’s our hope of this blog. We pray that just like the tagline, it ultimately helps you point girls to Christ. And we’ll do our best to get those resources in your hands. Amy Byrd and I are excited to be your hosts on this journey and we pray that this becomes your go-to site for all things girls ministry. So what are you waiting for? Join the conversation with those who work with girls and let’s keep helping each other to point girls to Christ!