Emily - Assistant Director & Purity Pledge Coordinator
This young woman is most definitely one of my 'soul sisters.' Her heart and passion for Worthy and what it seeks to do burns just as brightly as mine does, and she is the one that I look to before any big decision is made in the ministry. Her crowning contribution to our June retreat, aside from her years of wisdom and confidence in the Truth, is the Purity Pledge and Purity Pledge Ceremony. About two months before Worthy 2013 was set to begin, at a small leadership meeting of myself, Moriah, and Emily, she brought up the idea of a Purity Pledge. Her vision, and what became my favorite part of our June retreat, was the idea of a pledge of purity, displayed during the entirety of the retreat which girls could sign declaring that they are committed to living a pure lifestyle. By Sunday of the retreat, fifteen of the twenty-three women present had signed the pledge! Emily and I were both amazed by how God moved in the hearts of those young women. We didn't just leave it at signing the pledge and saying "Awesome job! Good luck!" though - we created Purity certificates and had a ceremony celebrating each girl for her bold commitment. Following the retreat a copy of the pledge as well as a list of the other young women who had signed the pledge and a hand-written note were sent to each girl, encouraging her to establish accountability partners and keep in touch with the other women from the retreat. Thus one of the long-range goals of this ministry was realized: it's meant to be more than just retreats, it's meant to be a community of young women living life together.
Jill - Strategic Planning Director
I first met Jill and bonded about purity in a small diner in Greece, NY on a gray January morning. Jill has a very prominent role at Hope Lutheran Church, leading the 'Twenty-somethings' young adult group as well as the Life Hurts, God Heals restoration and support group. When I met her I instantly thought she was incredible, from her stylish clothing to her warm smile and laugh, and the confident, trusting way she said "so tell me about your heart." After sharing my testimony with her, Jill invited me to come speak at Life Hurts, God Heals, and we spent the rest of breakfast discussing purity and various retreat ideas over oatmeal and chocolate chip pancakes. When we parted later that morning, I knew I had found a true gem of a woman, and my heart smiled that she wanted to help with the Worthy retreat. As the planning process has progressed, Jill has brought to the table not only countless excellent ideas and years of experience in ministry, but a wisdom and faithfulness to the Lord and what He's doing with the hearts of this generation's young women that I haven't encountered in a lot of people. I am so thankful that she decided at the beginning of this month to continue on with Worthy after the retreat, and I cannot wait to see how God uses her in this ministry going forward.
Moriah - Creative Coordinator
Moriah sort of just 'fell' into her role as part of Worthy. Considering that she is my best friend and thus heard absolutely every single detail of every vision God gave me for the June retreat as well as Worthy as a ministry in general, there came a point when I simply asked her "Do you want to be a part of the leadership team for Worthy?" to which she replied, somewhat sheepishly "I was waiting for you to ask..." While Emily is the one whom I can just sit and vision cast with, and Jill is the one whom I glean indispensable ministry skills from, Moriah is the strong voice calming my anxious heart and encouraging me when I doubt. A big part of the months directly leading up to Worthy 2013 was a series of three worship concerts to promote and fund-raise for the retreat. Faced with the daunting task of planning concerts (something I had no experience doing), organizing the worship team, and all the other intricacies involved in putting on an event, there were times when saying I was stressed out was a blatant understatement. Moriah is the one who was and is always there, calming me down and reminding me that God is what makes this ministry incredible - not how perfectly I place the LED candles or how awesome the worship band is - and that everything will work out how it's meant to (Romans 8:28).
Bianca and Ellie - Retreat Speakers
As I've mentioned previously, Worthy has been full of new experiences, one of which has been recruiting leaders. That is how both Bianca and Ellie came to be part of the Worthy team. When I first started planning Worthy, I reached out to a small group of like-minded young women to see if any were interested, and Ellie was one of those that responded. Bianca joining the team was truly an answered prayer; after one of the original leaders had to step back and I sent out a mass message to some young women on Facebook, seconds after pressing "send" Bianca texted me and told me she wanted to join the team. Both women have contributed so much to the whole planning process - Bianca's warm heart and matter-of-fact confidence, Ellie's likable personality and endearing vulnerability - they have been incredible assets to this ministry. While Bianca has decided because of senior year course work and an internship for her Social Work degree that she can no longer be part of the team, I feel extremely blessed to have had her impact on and in this ministry, and I know that God is going to continue to grow her wherever He leads her next. Ellie has chosen to stay on with the team, and I'm excited to watch her grow as a leader and a follower of Christ as she continues her Worthy journey.
The Interns
During the planning process between leadership meetings, in the day-to-day promotion of Worthy 2013, and especially amidst the long Thursday nights during the Worthy Worship Project, I began to feel God saying to me "Worthy is meant to be more than just this retreat." Tucking that revelation in the back of my mind and on the surface of my heart as I went along, a few key young women emerged whose hearts burned for the cause and who showed the diligence and servant leadership to lead me to ask them to join the team. April, Ashley, Kateryna, and Sarah all have such incredible hearts and beautiful souls, I am beyond delighted to have them on the team. April's immense and thorough knowledge of Scripture, as well as her dedication to being present at events make her an awesome addition to the team, and Ashley's eager and encouraging attitude and open heart to serve add a wonderful warmth to the ministry. Kateryna's sweet disposition and gentle spirit bring a quiet depth and a 'veiled' (Colossians 3:3) element to the team, and Sarah's all-around joyful mindset and true heart for ministry make her a huge asset to the team. As we continue on after the June retreat, planning the Leadership Summit in mid-August and looking forward to next year's retreat and all the events between now and then, the interns bring an excitement, eagerness, and focus that invigorates and strengthens me, reminding me that this ministry has an incredible opportunity to impact young women for Christ.
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