By Dannah Gresh, Founder of True Girl
Are you concerned about how parents are being silenced?
What we are witnessing in our culture is the rise of an ideology, a mindset that actually believes teachers and other agents of the state can make better decisions for your child than you can.
It didn’t used to be that way. Check out what the Supreme Court published in 1979:
“The statist notion that governmental power should supersede parental authority in all cases because some parents abuse and neglect children is repugnant to American tradition.” -Parham v. J.R., 442 U.S. 584 (1979), at 603.
Apparently, many in power no longer find that idea repugnant in spite of the fact that it’s the law of the land.
We exist to keep parents in the driver’s seat of their children’s growing belief system.
For twenty years, the mission at True Girl (and now Born to Be Brave) includes planting a love of God’s Word early, engaging in intimate discipleship, answering the hardest questions our culture poses, and inviting the next generation to experience a relationship with God that is real and personal so they can stand strong. And from the beginning our secret sauce has been parent+child connection!
We believe parents have a God-given authority over their children. He assigns the task of moral development to parents. (Deuteronomy 6:1,2) The fifth commandment requires a child to honor his or her father and mother (Exodus 20:12). Christians should be concerned by any proposals which deny parents the right to be seated in a position of spiritual and moral authority.
That’s why we continue to partner with parents as they remain in authority to protect the minds and hearts of their children. And as we celebrate twenty years of ministry, some of those kids have grown up with incredible freedom stories to tell.
For example, Elaiyna Schwartzkopf was nine -years-old when she attended one of our Pajama Party Tour events many years ago and enjoyed a special moment on stage. (Look! Isn't she adorable?)
Though a very young dance student, she was already feeling the pressure to look the part of a rail-thin ballerina by denying her body necessary nutrients. But at our live event, we told her she was a “masterpiece created by God.” Elaiyna recalls:
“I had been facing many lies and I believed them when I looked in the mirror. The Pajama Party Tour gave me the confidence in God to fight them. I remember hearing that we are beautiful not because of the world’s standards, but because God handcrafted us. ”
That changed everything. Elaiyna began believing what God’s Word says about her.
Now, here’s the deal. I had very little to do with that. And it wasn’t my team who did it either. It was God working through a critical relationship in this sweet girl’s life. Elaiyna affirms:
“My mom has been my rock. Other than God, it is my mom and dad that have given me the strength and courage to keep fighting for truth.”
We don’t mind taking a back seat to Jennifer Schwartzkopf. Our mission is to keep parents in the position of authority given to them by God. We just set up conversations to drive important decisions and moral development.
Today, Elaiyna is on the True Girl stage again. This time as a leader. She’s part of our worship team for the newly re-imagined Crazy Hair Tour.
I originally wrote this tour curriculum in 2011 with my board member Suzy Weibel. We had a desire to teach girls to stand up against the lies in our culture and went around the country declaring “normal is overrated.” Then we challenged girls to stand up and stand out for Jesus!
We could never have imagined what would become “normal” in 2023. Eating disorders still abound, but now girls are the targets of a massive propaganda campaign that invites them to mutilate their bodies in a terrific gender experiment. When we began to re-image the script this past year, there was a sense that we need the courage to stand up to the culture's lies more than ever.
Elaiyna reported this from the True Girl tour bus a few weeks ago:
“I want these girls to hear what I did. That we are being sold the lie that our worth and value comes from our reflection and what our bodies can give people. It isn’t true. Our value comes from God’s love, and how we reflect that onto others.”
Nothing fights the lies of our culture better than Truth delivered through parent+child connection experiences. And we love creating them through our live events, online Bible studies, and box subscriptions.
Over 600,000 have participated in our live events and more than two million in 130 countries have been impacted by our mom+daughter resources. I’m reaching out to you because you’ve been a part of that in the past.
Will you continue to help us GIVE COURAGE to today’s parents and tomorrow’s leaders?
In order to continue to produce the biblical discipleship tools and truth-filled live events for parents and tweens in 2024, we need your support during this last month of 2023 as we reach toward our year-end goal of $600,000.
Could you help us GIVE COURAGE by making a one-time donation or setting up a monthly pledge by December 31st.
