One of my favorite weekends of the year is almost here. In just a few weeks, the girls of Christ Church Youth will gather for our annual Girls Retreat, and as we’ve been preparing, I've found myself reflecting on how God has used this weekend over the last three years in ways I could never have imagined.

 If I'm being completely honest, it all started because I wanted a cute pink youth t-shirt. God has a funny way of taking our small ideas and turning them into opportunities for His glory.

What started as a fun idea quickly became something so much bigger than I could ever have imagined. As we planned that first retreat, I began to notice something in our girls. They were hungry for community. They wanted a place where they could simply be themselves, ask honest questions, grow in their faith, and know they weren't alone. Looking back now, I can see that God was creating something our girls desperately needed.

Working in youth ministry has taught me something that I believe is true for every person, regardless of age: at the end of the day, we all want to feel seen and known. I've learned that beneath every question, every insecurity, every accomplishment, and every failure is someone quietly asking, "Am I enough? Am I loved?" I think that's especially true for the students we get to serve each week.

They're growing up in a world that constantly tells them to find their identity somewhere other than Christ. Social media tells them they have to look perfect. Parents and school tell them they need a 4.0 GPA. Sports and coaches tell them they should be chasing a Division I scholarship. Culture tells them to stay busy, perform well, and somehow keep everyone happy along the way. Sometimes I honestly wonder when they have time to simply breathe.

That's become one of my favorite parts about Girls Retreat. Before school starts and schedules become overwhelming, our girls get to pause. They get to worship, study God's Word, spend time with one another, make fun crafts, and simply breathe. More importantly, they get to experience what it feels like to be seen and known, not only by the people around them, but by their Heavenly Father.

One of the most meaningful moments from our very first Girls Retreat happened during our final session. We invited a panel of women from our church, ranging in age from 20 to 88, to answer questions from our students. My hope was simply that older women could speak wisdom and encouragement into the lives of our girls. God had something much deeper in mind.

As the conversation unfolded, these women began sharing their own stories with incredible honesty and vulnerability. They admitted that they had wrestled with many of the same insecurities, fears, and questions our teenage girls were carrying. There were tears. There was laughter. There was complete honesty. You could genuinely sense the Holy Spirit in that room. No one wanted to leave the chapel that day.

It wasn't just meaningful for the students; it impacted every woman in the room. That was the moment we realized this retreat wasn't simply another event on the calendar. It had become a sacred space where generations could remind one another of God's faithfulness and where girls could ask the hard, awkward, or "embarrassing" questions without fear of judgment.

If I could remind every student of one thing every single day, it would be this:

You are deeply loved. Completely forgiven. Fully pleasing. Totally accepted by God. Absolutely complete in Christ.

That isn't just my hope for the girls who come to this retreat, it's my prayer for every student who walks through our doors each week. 

Life moves fast. We become consumed with grades, sports, achievements, friendships, and trying to be successful. Everyone defines success differently. For some it's wealth. For others it's a career, a family, or reaching a lifelong goal. But if our identity is built on those things, it will always feel unstable because those things can change.

Our identity in Christ never changes. It doesn't depend on our performance. It isn't determined by our appearance. It isn't earned through achievement. It is secure because of who Jesus is. 

When we landed on the theme Beloved, it felt like the perfect reminder for every girl who will attend the retreat.

"See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!" 1 John 3:1a

Our hope and prayers for this weekend are simple: that every girl walks away knowing she is deeply loved by Christ; fully known, completely cared for, and forever His.

This retreat isn't about teaching girls to love themselves more. It's about helping them understand that their worth comes from whose image they bear. Their value isn't found in how they look, what they've accomplished, or what other people think of them.

Before they are athletes, students, daughters, sisters, or friends...

They are beloved.

The truth is that this message isn't just for our youth girls—it's for all of us. In a world that constantly tells us to find our worth in what we do, what we look like, or what others think of us, may we never forget that our truest identity has already been given to us. Before we are anything else, we are beloved.

Tags: church, community, faith, god, youth