This past Sunday I heard a pastor compare sharing the good news of Jesus' love to pancakes and butter.  Interesting right?  He said that many of us think that if we  "plop" Jesus love in the middle of our community -- much like we would "plop" a dab of butter in the center of a pancake -- than it will certainly "melt" all around and cover the entire pancake.   The problem with this line of thinking, he went on to explain, is that our community isn't like a pancake.  It's like a waffle ... It has walls.

So true.  I would say the same thing applies to girls ministry.  I think that as girls ministry leaders we are really good at sharing Jesus' love and truth with our girls ... in the best way we know how.  But since our girls ministry is more like a waffle than a pancake we have to begin considering new avenues of getting the love of Jesus past the walls our girls have set up so that it can melt into all the nooks and crannies, covering every part of our girls ministry waffle.

How do we do that?  I think we have to depend on one another.  It is sooo easy for us girls to fall into a competitive trap when it comes to this world of girls' ministry.  Why? Because we are GIRLS and so naturally competitive!  Embarrassingly plaguing thoughts like "how come she got to speak at that event?" or "why didn't I get that book deal?" are dangerous traps to which not one of us are invulnerable.  The truth is that we need each other.  The experience that the girl next to you has may minister richly and deeply -past walls-into the lives of some of the girls in your ministry that you could never reach.  It's why we have been created as the body of Christ ... where CHRIST is the head and each of us have a different gifting, a different calling, occupying a different part of the body and fulfilling a different function.

So, here is the challenge for us.  If we are really going to butter our waffles well we have to pull together.  If you have done an event, written a book, started a ministry, been rescued from addiction and want to share, etc ... WE WANNA KNOW ABOUT IT.  If you have a gift or talent that the Lord is using to reach girls, tell us so we can connect you with girls' ministries who need you to butter that part of their waffle.   (I mean, are you loving this analogy or what!?)

One last thought.  Sometimes we can't be a resource to one another simply because we have never heard of each other.  I noticed that when I moved from the east coast to the south west that "movers and shakers" in the "ministry world" changed completely!

Girlsministry.net really, really wants to help connect girls ... across location, age, race, culture, and community ...

"... so that the body of Christ may be build up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."   Ephesians 4:12

So here are a few girls' who might be great resources to help you "butter your waffle ..."
^{(these are just off the top of my head.  This is not extensive.  There are many, many, many more.  If you know of some, add them in the comment box!!!)}

Marion Jordan

www.redeemedgirl.org

Merritt Johnston

www.sageministries.org/

Jourdan Burks

www.jourdanburks.com

Amy-Jo Girardier

http://www.amyjogirardier.com

www.girlsminister.com/

Pam Gibbs

www.lifeway.com/girlsministry/

Monica Rose

http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=12482

Michelle Myers

http://www.crossbooks.com/BookStore/BookStoreBookDetails.aspx?bookid=56614

http://twitter.com/MichelleLMyers

Amy Peirson

http://www.amypierson.org/

http://www.lifewaystores.com/lwstore/product.asp?isbn=1415868417

Meghan Charles-Goad, Rebecca Bradford,Kristy Lohr

http://www.simplyyouthministry.com/resources-adult-leaders-development-girls-ministry-from-start-to-finish.html

Whitney Prosperi

http://www.zondervan.com/Cultures/en-US/Authors/Author.htm?ContributorID=ProsperiW&QueryStringSite=Zondervan