this One’s for the girls

Team members assemble gifts to give at four Fox Valley clubs.

At many churches, Wednesday night means youth group and adult classes.  Those things happen at Christ The Rock too, but Wednesday night also means it’s time to reach out to a group of women who are often misunderstood, despised, or simply forgotten — women who work as exotic dancers.

For the past three years, I’ve been part of a ministry called this One’s for the girls.  We visit local exotic dance clubs to meet and connect with the women who work there.

Eight team members take turns visiting two local clubs, bringing small gifts several times a year to show the women that they are valued and important.  At Christmas and Easter, the gifts contain a Gospel message, and we expand our efforts to reach two additional clubs.  During other times of the year, we include information about ministries that fit their age and stages in life, and a message that affirms their dignity and worth in God’s eyes.

Our desire is to listen, love them, build relationships over time, help in practical ways if we can, and ultimately, to be the face of Christ for women who work in very dark places.  We hope to show and tell them how God loves and values them, and that his church loves them too.

Most of the women we talk to are young — between 18 and 30 — and about half of them are mothers.  Some of them grew up in “normal” families, while some have backgrounds that include abuse or abandonment.  What is true about all of them is this:  they are daughters of God, and he loves them dearly.

We’ve felt honored to be invited into the lives of the women we meet.  I want to share one of those stories, one that had a deep impact on me.

A young woman told us she was undergoing some tests for cancer.  We asked what day the tests would happen, and said, “We don’t know if you’re a praying person, but we are — and we will be praying for you on the day you’re having your tests.”

Her face lit up, then she hugged us and said, “I knew there was something different about you ladies!  I could tell you just had some kind of special energy about you.  I always have a good night when you’re here.”  And then she added, “Normally you wouldn’t think that religious people would set foot in a place like this.”  It pierced my heart that she would think that church people — and maybe even God himself — do not care about her.

We have been so blessed to see glimpses of the work God is doing:  a woman crying as she read our brochure, a woman who told us that our gift was the only one she received for Christmas last year.  We are looking forward to this Christmas with great anticipation.  We hope you’ll join us in praying that each gift will bring a woman one step closer to the arms of her Savior.

Find out more at www.thisonesforthegirls.org