Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” — Matthew 20:28
Your life probably still looks completely different than this time last year. From the way the church looks, to family gatherings to even our friendships. The girls we get to pour into have taken such a hit to their community. So many of them have isolated themselves, and some have walked away from church all together and it has broken my heart.
I had a conversation just recently with a high school girl and she shared why church isn’t that important. It broke me. I didn’t respond to her by telling her about all the things I am a part of, nor did I tell her how many we had in our small groups, youth group or how many have signed up for camp. I just listened and prayed with her and then I asked her if I could pick her up from school one day. Suddenly the numbers didn’t matter but my time did. Social media tells our girls who they are every single day, and how to be better than others. We have to teach to break the “all about me” cycle by learning to love others through serving.
I believe that when we sacrifice our time, energy and talents to serve regardless of the outcome God seems to blow our minds and the people we serve get to see Jesus more clearly.
Friend, If I am honest I struggled with this blog because I couldn’t for the life of me think of how to encourage our sweet girls to serve. I know they are tired and lonely and truly need to be served themselves. But God sent His son to this earth to serve to the point of giving His life for you and I to go and do likewise for the sake of growing the kingdom.
The goal is to move our girls away from isolation, darkness and self seeking ideals and towards Jesus. Allowing them to serve outside of themselves creates community, while also growing the kingdom. As I began thinking of tangible ways I thought of 2 or 3 things that you can do right where you are.
1. Selfless Acts of Love
Start by writing down your girls names on individual slips of paper and put them in a cup. Then assign a name for each girl or let them personally draw a name from the cup.
Encourage each girl to do selfless acts of kindness for an entire week for the name drawn. Whether it be buying that girl’s favorite coffee, to posting a selfie with them while encouraging them through a social media post. You could also have them text or call each day to check on their person.
2. Not About Me Wall
Have each of your girls write things they love about each other on a board that you have designated. (If you aren’t meeting, you could do this through Zoom).
3. Clean Up Day
Have your girls meet on a Saturday morning to clean the church. From taking out trash, to wiping down the nursery to washing the windows. (I recommend cranking up some music and have a dance party while doing it).
These are just a few ideas that encourage our girls to think about others before themselves. Whether it’s cleaning, or encouraging, it truly helps to push our girls to see the beauty in pouring out from a place of love. Jesus was our example and if we are leading the way in serving, then our girls will also see the importance of serving others.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.” — Philippians 2:3
Oh, and the girl I spent some time with was on the front row in our student ministry this past week with her Bible on her lap taking notes. Isn’t it funny how a little bit of our time can impact the kingdom in mighty ways?
It is all about God.
More of Him and less and less of me.
Let’s go serve with our whole hearts.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Holly Myers is a passionate, energetic, and relatable woman that strives to minister specifically to girls and women. When Holly surrendered to God’s grace, her past ultimately drew her closer to her Creator and allowed her to experience freedom. Because Christ set Holly free from the bondage she was in, she recognized a calling to speak to other girls and women that may share her same story. Holly is passionate about seeing freedom in the lives of every girl and woman. Connect with Holly: Instagram // Website