The Girl-Effect

Last weekend I took a girl from the youth group and her friend to a girls retreat called "Girl Effect". I am posting my notes from the main conference teacher specifically for all the other girls in the youth group who couldn't go, but also for anyone else who would like to read it. It's called the girl effect because it was a teen girls retreat, but the truths apply for anyone; boy, girl, old, or young.


1. The Christ Effect – According to John 1 and Colossians 1, we were created by Jesus, who is The Word. We were created for His glory. Before we can begin the “girl-effect” we must first make sure that we have be affected by Christ for salvation and then for sanctification. Have you come to a point in your life when you have turned from your sin, confessed that sin to God, and trusted in the shed blood of Jesus, and that alone, to save you from your sin? If you have accepted His gift of salvation, are you allowing Him priority in your life? God is in the business of changing lives, and if you let Him, He will change you and shape you into exactly who He wants you to be. When God wants to get ahold of your life He will. If you are serving the Lord actively, my question to you is who are you doing it for? Are you serving Him to look like a good Christian, or are you serving Him in following His leading in your life in order to give all the glory to God? Ephesians 6:5-9 tells us that the things we do should not be in order to please men, but they should be done from the heart to do the will of God. This passage is talking to the “bondservant/master” relationship, such as an employee to a boss, but I believe that the principle also applies to anything we do. Make sure that your service to the Lord is of the Lord and for the Lord.

2. The Word Effect – It is 100% necessary for you to allow the Word of God and your prayer life (both together make up our communication with our Lord) to take root in your everyday life. The Word of God is profitable to us. It is in our life for doctrine (belief system), reproof, correction, instruction. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) Verse 17 tells us that the Word of God COMPLETES US! Have you been saved for a long time but you still feel empty? Do you wonder why you still feel like there’s a hole there, something missing? If so, the first thing I would ask you is how often do you read you’re Bible? How often do you pray? You must cling to the Word of God as if your life depends on it. Read it constantly, memorize it, and keep it in front of you everywhere you go. The Word of God lasts forever, we need to know it, and it will equip us for life. Without it, we are incomplete, ignorant, and ill-equipped to do ANY good for the Lord. Outside of the Word of God and Prayer our works are only for ourselves. Let the Word of God engulf you! (Hebrews 4:11-16; Psalm 19:7-11)

3. The Greenhouse Effect – 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 is just one passage of scripture that shows us the calling of people within a church. A church is supposed to nurture and take care of each other the way a greenhouse nurtures plants through any season. The outside may have storms, freezing hail, or intense heat but the inside should be constant, nurturing, and caring. I would not be where I am today were it not for the vast number of people in the church who took the time to invest into my life. We HAVE to do life together and share our lives with others in order to follow God’s call of making disciples. Just as you must not neglect the Word of God and your prayer life, you must also not forsake assembling with other Christians. (Hebrews 10:25) Get plugged into a church and start sharing your life with people.

4. The Soul Saving Effect – God commands every Christian to go out and make disciples. (Matthew 28:18-20) God has given all of us special gifts and talents that He expects us to use to bring others to Him. We have been given the best gift of all in our salvation, and we should be sharing that with every single person God allows us to. If you allow the first 3 effects to take root in your life, then this one will come very naturally to you. When you eat, sleep, and breathe the Word of God it will seep out of you along with the love of God that is essential in reaching a lost and dying world. God may be calling you to go to the other side of the world to bring people to Jesus, or He may be calling you to the other side of your cafeteria at school to talk to a fellow student. This is the effect, that we would reach one person at a time and help equip them to reach one person at a time. It doesn’t matter what age you are either. I Timothy 4:12-16 says don’t let anyone despise your youth, but be an example to the believers. God LOVES using teenagers (or younger) to start revolutions. I firmly believe that teenagers hold the required amount of tenacity and boldness to get things done. Take a stand in your youth group to start a revolution. Get in the Word of God as if your life depends on it. Pray with boldness. Let other Christians in the church into your life and invest your life into other people. Then take a stand! If you can’t stand in your own youth group or church among other Christians, then you will never be able to stand under pressure out in the World. When you feel God leading you to talk to somebody, just do it. Let God worry about the results, you just stand up and do what He’s called you to do. One girl, reaching one girl, reaching one girl all over the world. This is the girl effect!

Why Are Girls So Mean?

I recently read an article in a magazine about a teenage girl who committed suicide. She was a beautiful, intelligent, and loving girl who always enjoyed life. The article depicted something that I see in a lot of teenage girls; a completely unwarranted mean streak. This girl had moved here from another country and, because of what could only be construed as pure jealousy, the “popular” kids in school tore this girl down almost from day one. The horrible words that were spoken to her and the cruelty that was demonstrated to her through gossip, backbiting, and other verbal abuse drove this happy, beautiful girl to take her own life. By the time I finished reading the article I was completely in tears. What really had me so upset was the fact that I see this kind of ruthless behavior in so many teen’s lives that it’s not even close to funny. This leads me to my question, why are girls so mean? I used to ask my mom this question when I came home from school as a kid. For some reason I always felt like the odd ball. I was always picked last for teams, I was very often made fun of, and if I wasn’t being point blank made fun of then I was being tormented in some way by fellow students. Her answer was the same as any mom’s would have been; they’re just jealous, there’s nothing wrong with you, it’s probably just your imagination, I’m sure they like you. Well, regardless of the reasons behind teenage girls behaving like vipers, I for one am fed up with hearing it happen. How many more girls are out there who are being verbally and emotionally abused every single day from these girls?! You want to know the real kicker about my experience with this? Shhhhh… I went to a CHRISTIAN School! That’s right, surrounded on every side by other Christians, most of whom had parents who were very active in their church, I was still treated like the kid nobody wanted. I’ve seen girls in the various youth groups I’ve worked with exhibit these same despicable qualities and it is absolutely appalling to me! If you are a girl who is getting picked on ruthlessly, I beg you to talk to your parents, your youth leader, or another Christian leader who you respect. Find someone who will help you find your identity in Christ, because that is all that matters! God made you so special, and there can only ever be one of you! Please, please, please do not allow these horrible girls to tear down your spirit. Stay in the Word of God every day, memorize it, and draw close to God so He can guard your heart. Satan wants nothing more than to use these girls to devastate you so that all you can think about is how hurt you are instead of how you can reach others with the Gospel of Christ. Don’t let him win! Practice what the Bible teaches about returning good for evil. Put all of your energy into being kind to the very ones who are hurting you and see what God does. He loves you and has an incredible plan for your life. If you happen to be a girl that spends her time tearing other girls down just so you can feel superior, SHAME ON YOU! God didn’t create you any better than her, He has a specific plan for how He made you just like He does for her. If you were truly secure in your identity in Jesus Christ, then you would have absolutely no need to tear anyone else down. God tells us in His Word to love our neighbor as ourselves and to be kind to one another. Gossiping (either talking or listening), slander, backstabbing, malicious words, hateful talk; all of this is sin and it is time that Christian girls stand up in their faith and put all of these behaviors far away from them. If you truly believe that Jesus died for the world because He loves the whole world, then you should be looking at everyone with the same love that Jesus has. Why on earth would you treat anyone in such a hateful way, when Jesus loves them the same as He loves you? It is time for a “come-to-Jesus” moment girls! Examine your hearts and be brutally honest with yourself and with God. Are you someone who’s always tearing people down, especially those you don’t like? Or, are you an encourager, always building people up and being a good friend. Confess your sin today and go make things right with the people you’ve hurt. The bottom line: Show me a girl who constantly tears others down with her words and actions and I will show you a girl who does not know who she is or what she's here for. Learn who you are in Christ, and you will learn how to build others up instead of tearing them down. Learn who you are in Christ, and you won't be bothered by the hatefulness of others.