“True Girl,” a ministry that connects mothers with their daughters, has been a fruitful one for Rachel Cobb, minister of children at First Baptist Church in Richmond, Kentucky. It has been impactful for her and her three daughters — and this year’s conference at her church attracted a crowd of more than 400 participants.
“True Girl” is a one-night conference that “is designed to give moms and their daughters a few moments to be vulnerable together, to talk about struggles, to spend a lot of time talking about their identity in Christ and to stand boldly for the cause of Christ,” said Cobb, noting that the conference helps girls to understand that the Christian lifestyle “is not normal in this world, and it is OK to stand out because you are standing for Jesus.”
‘A true girl after God’
In addition to the mother-daughter connection, the Feb. 18 conference included practical Bible teaching along with fun and games.
It was 14 years ago that she and her oldest daughter attended the conference, which was called “Secret Keeper Girl” until the name was changed in 2019. Founder Dannah Gresh said the conference is designed to connect moms and daughters to each other and the Lord. The decision was made to rebrand the conference “True Girl” to “present a more positive, empowering tone … and more accurate name to increase the opportunity to reach girls,” Gresh said. “Our goal is to equip moms to protect their daughters and raise a generation of girls who are grounded in truth so they will be confident in their faith and in themselves, becoming all that God meant for them to be — a true girl after God.”
Cobb recalls attending the conference when her oldest daughter, now 21, was only 7. “She shared with me things she was struggling with as a 7-year-old. It opened up conversations that night that have continued through her teenage years and now until her adult life.
“I’ve been taking my girls and groups of girls (to the conference) for years now, and taking my third daughter, who is now 10. I’ve had a very similar experience with my second daughter and now my third — with open lines of communication where they can be honest and vulnerable.”
This year’s conference at Richmond FBC resulted in four decisions to follow Christ.
“I’m very excited about the possibility of growing this in our region. We had people come from all over, and our church jumped on board. We had amazing volunteers. It was a great night, and we are looking forward to hosting it again next year.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Chip Hutcheson and originally published by Kentucky Today.
