She Seeks -- Part II

Good Morning!

Thank you so much for your responses to my last blog post. I'm so excited for how I already see God working in this new ministry venture! My heart is stirred, and I am ever-so-grateful for the opportunity to be used by Him to minister to this young professional age of 18-30. As so many of you have voiced, this is the age where many of us veered off course and needed insight, counsel and encouragement. It's our greatest desire to provide this and more through the ministry of She Seeks!

I am posting today a note I posted this week on Facebook. It is a little long, but if you are interested in being a part of this ministry, you will want to take the time to read it.

One more thing. You will notice in this post some questions I am encouraging you to ask women of this age that you come into contact with. After I posted these, God really sat on my heart and challenged me to back up and ask you to first answer these questions for yourself. I am doing the same. If we are to truly be able to minister to this group, we have to first know who we are, where we are coming from, and how we can be used to minister.

So...with no further ado...the note...

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Wow.

That's the feeling I have from all the responses I have gotten since posting about my new ministry endeavor several weeks ago. You have emailed, posted comments, and most of all, shared your heart and passion with me in such a way that I see the hand of God all over this! Thank you for wanting to reach young women and influence them to choose Jesus. The truth is, they live in a world that tells them otherwise.

As a favorite author of mine says..."You are most fully alive when you are on an adventure with God." (Erwin McManus, The Barbarian Way) I hope you are ready to start this adventure and anticipate what God wants to do in you and through your willingness to get involved in the hurts and needs of others. Friends, trust me when I tell you that you will never regret it, no matter what small sacrifice of time or energy it may require.

Kingdom impact. That is what She Seeks is all about. Hope. Understanding. Passion. Truth. The pursuit of a relationship with the only One who can give RELEVANCE to this life.

Speaking of RELEVANCE...this is a word you will be seeing often with this ministry. I firmly believe that the way we reach this group of women is to offer them RELEVANCE for the issues that effect their lives. We MUST reach them right where they are, in an honest and straightforward way. We MUST tell them the truth and not be afraid to speak with conviction, but coated with love. They will know our hearts AND our Jesus by the way we respond to their needs.

Having said that, many of you have asked what you can be doing while we get all our ducks in a row to officially launch this ministry. First, let me tell you where we are and when you can expect to see this "baby" be born! :)

Our goal is to launch within (3) months, with the blog/website being up and running first. I am in the process of beginning to meet with the graphics person from P31 to firm up these plans and see this happen! In the meantime, I am meeting with women in this age group and asking them some questions to attach myself to the issues that are RELEVANT to them. If you have access to women in this young professional age (or are one, yourself!), I would love it if you would get together with some of them...take them to lunch...or send an email to them to pick their brain and ask them some of those questions to help me in my research. Some of those questions are...

~What are your top 3 needs right now in your life?
~What are the top 3-5 issues you face on a daily basis?
~What things/people/sources do you seek when making a major life decision?
~What qualities make up the kind of relationships are you the most drawn to?
~What is your current view of God? (see Him as a Father, friend, good person, no opinion or tie to Him at all)
~What kind of person do you respect? why?
~Do you believe in living with a purpose? Do you have one? Why or why not?
~What are your dreams/passions/goals? What might hold you back from those?
~What is your current view of church/church people?
~Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
~What do you want the most out of life?

Of course, the list could go on. But these are some questions to at least get you started. When you ask them, listen to their responses without judgment or fear. Remember...we must know what is RELEVANT to this group so we can know how best to minister to their needs.

Some of you have already submitted devos, and please, keep them coming! I am collecting them now and will plug them in once we launch. I will need a good surplus to get us started, so continue to submit. Some of you have asked about format. While I have not determined all the phrasing to use for the devos, I can give you an idea of how to structure them so you will know how to write. You can email all submissions to me at sheseeks@proverbs31.org.

~Title
~Your Name and a less than 10 word way to describe why you care, how Jesus has changed your life, or what former thing you struggled with or still struggle with -- no titles or formal "bio" statements, please (i.e., Lisa Whittle -- Loves good hugs and people who tell me the truth)
~Short statistic on your topic (if applicable)
~Body: 350-500 words
~Relevant Scripture (It's all relevant, but to your topic. :)
~Relevant Additional Resources
~Now what? (a specific motivating statement or inspirational counsel for the young woman to do next)

And one more thing...I need all the help with research I can get. If you come across a quote or statistic, etc., please send them my way. I truly believe that when we join our hearts and heads, we can have the influence on this group that may well make a difference in their lives.

And most of all, keep praying! There is much to do.

On the SEEKING journey with you!