Teaching teenage girls about the importance of giving is crucial when it comes to discipleship. Unfortunately, it’s also something that’s often neglected. As a girls ministry leader, mentor, or parent we often forget to instill in girls the importance of giving because we’re unsure of how a teen girl can give, we weren’t taught it’s importance ourselves, or because we don’t truly understand its value. However, teaching girls about giving is simple and powerful. When teenage girls start giving out of obedience to God’s Word, it will have a huge impact on their relationships with God, their friends and families, and their communities!
So what do teenage girls need to know about giving?
1. Every girl has something to give.
Whenever we think of giving, we often think of money. But if we only talk of giving in terms of money, it will make notoriously broke teenagers think they aren’t responsible to give! The truth is, every girl has something to give – whether it’s her time, her talent, or her treasure. (2 Cor. 8:12) If we aren’t teaching girls to give of whatever they have cheerfully, then we aren’t teaching them to be obedient to the Word of God! (2 Cor. 9:7).
However, while you shouldn’t focus solely on money, don’t forget to teach girls about tithing! Whether they have a part-time job now or you’re preparing them for later, let’s not wait until students are grown up before we teach them the biblical mandate of tithing!
2. Everything belongs to God first.
Everything that we have was given to us by God first. Whenever we have a hard time giving back, it’s usually because we forget that it wasn’t ours to begin with. As daughters of God, it’s so important for us to remind ourselves and the girls who we are leading that holding too tightly to anything other than Jesus will ultimately hinder our ability to give the way that we’ve been called to give! (1 Chron. 29:14)
3. We give because Jesus gave.
Everything we do comes back to this: Jesus. As Christ-followers, our mission is to imitate Christ. He was the ultimate giver—the One who gave us His life! Giving is a big deal, because Jesus made it a big deal and as His daughters we should be known as great givers too.
Ultimately, we are called to give the most powerful and precious thing we could ever share with anyone: the gospel! That is why we are called to give – to make way for the good news! When we give to others to meet their physical needs, we will often have the opportunity to meet their spiritual needs with the Word of God as well. Giving opens doors and creates pathways for life change!
Let us as daughters of God be givers of the gospel and let us teach the girls we’re leading the importance of doing the same.
If you’re looking for practical ways to teach girls about the importance of giving, here are a couple of easy ideas!
Have your girls collect products for a local women’s shelter at your next girls event. Ask girls to include Bible verses and words of encouragement with their donation. Then take time to explain why giving is so impactful.
Have a girls only mission day! Show girls that they can give their time by planning a local girls mission project. It can be as simple as helping a widow with her landscaping or even spending time at a nursing home.
Be on the lookout for ways you can ask girls to give their talents to your ministry! If you know a girl who loves photography, ask her to take photos at your next event. If you know a girl who is great at calligraphy, ask for her help on your next design project. Give girls the opportunity to learn what it’s like to give their talent to God!
Taylor Cage is a Nashville native, currently living in Oklahoma City with her husband, Baron, who serves as a student pastor at Trinity Baptist Church. After college, she spent three years as a Girls Minister and she’s passionate about building gospel-centered community among women of all ages. Taylor is the Social Media Coordinator for Well-Watered Women and a regular contributor for the Lifeway Girls blog. Most days you can find her writing about God’s Word with a cup of coffee in hand or chasing around her Goldendoodle, Posie. Connect with Taylor: Instagram