Meet Kristen Clark and Bethany Baird (sisters), founders of Girl Defined. They are friends with a very dear friend of mine and she told me about them after speaking at their recent conference “Radical Purity.” They are regular contributors to the ministry of Nancy Leigh DeMoss and have spoken at one of the True Woman conferences she hosts.
These young women are fun, lively and passionate about the Lord and they vlog regularly on all sorts of topics related to young women. My daughters are enjoying them and I am thrilled to have found a (younger) source of inspiration and encouragement to point them to.
You can find their YouTube channel HERE and their blog is Girl Defined. They also wrote a book, Girl Defined, that is on its way to my house now, but I’m sure it will be a great read for my teen girls.
So grab your girls and a cup of coffee, pull up a chair and y’all enjoy some encouragement together! These talks should spark some good conversations between you.
Here’s one example of a recent vlog:
7 comments
I am a younger reader, and I follow Girl Defined as well. I absolutely love their material they faithfully put out. Their book is definitely worth the money ten times over!
Melissa
Oh great! Thank you for that. I’m so glad to have discovered them.
Thanks for this info! Our first (and so far only) girl is 2yo, but I’m already on the lookout for good resources for girls. I appreciate this post very much!! 🙂
Hi Kelly,
I don’t mean to be the spoil sport here, but I see things a bit differently. In my search of listening to these girls I honestly feel like this is another movement (kind of like the Quiverfull or Purity Balls or the Botkin Sisters). As an example, as Christian parents hopefully we are teaching our children about modesty, which is so much more than our clothing. But then we tend to swing to the other spectrum of legalism, where we put a rigid rule of what is/is not modest for all Christians, as though this is our righteous standing before the Lord. Or making purity pledges (that do not have to be an outward pledge but a commitment before God) to the whole world, as something so noble.
I listened to Jasmine Baucham (before she was married) and while her desire to not pursue a career outside of the home (and be a stay-at-home daughter) is noble and good; I do not see much Biblical support for this as the only way for a girl. As parents we should not be shooing our kids out of the house as soon as they “graduate,” but neither should we be restricting them from seeking an education or moving overseas, as they feel led. Whether our children are born-again believers or not, there comes a time when as parents we do need to loosen our ties.
In a world where we are continually bombarded by self-help books and guides, I shy away from titles such as, “7 Habits of a Strong and Courageous Girl.” There are no 7 or 5 or 3 habits…..it’s simply looking to Christ and surrendering our lives to Him on a moment by moment basis. We do not need to be burdened by “5 Ways to be a Better Christian Wife.” We simply need to seek the Lord that He may minister to each of us as needed.
I’m sorry for sounding “grumpy” about your post. But I just sense that more and more Christians are looking for help in the wrong places and putting burdens on themselves when they don’t live up to all the “Christian” advice that so plentiful on the world-wide web. It’s a caution more than anything that we will never find freedom in someone else’s standards or helpful hints, but only through looking to the Lord, individually.
If you don’t find this comment helpful, I will in no way be disgruntled if you chose to delete it. I will continue to enjoy your many, many wonderful posts. Just my own thoughts on the matter. 🙂
I hear what you are saying, and totally agree that we do not need to be following a movement or allow ourselves to get tangled up in legalism. Does that mean we can’t glean some incredible things from different ministries? Absolutely not.
Where I’m not quite sure I understand where you’re coming from is the example of this ministry.
Do you see legalism? I haven’t watched all their videos but I enjoyed the sense of what I felt was the girls’ teaching from principle more than practice. Yes, they offered some practical suggestions, but they were certainly not legalistic at all.
For example, this video, despite its name, is a teaching of biblical principles. Listen to the “ways” to be strong and courageous:
1. Be a “God-defined” girl, looking to God’s word for instruction for her life. That’s what we’re after and that’s what I’m trying to teach my children.
2. She “prays like it matters.” Also biblical and not legalistic.
3. She “searches for truth.” Yep, that’s what we want.
4. She looks for lies (of the culture).
5. She “says no to evil.”
6. She “says yes to righteousness.”
7. She “does hard things.”
And the reason I think ministries like this ARE important (provided we make sure they are teaching from a solid, biblical perspective) is that all of us need the truth fleshed out in different ways, especially our children. They desperately need to see other peers living out a life of righteousness when they tend to feel isolated in a culture that hates God. They are bombarded with ungodly examples so to me, that makes the rare example of a young person living with godly intentions so much more important.
But, that’s me. 😉 I have always felt that peer influence is powerful and the more often we can place other godly influences (besides ourselves) in the lives of our children, the better. Of course we don’t lift them up beyond their human status, or idolize them in any way, but merely add them to the voices that are saying, “His way is the right way.”
But if you see specific warnings–things these ladies are saying that you don’t feel are biblical, I’d really love to look at it.
We have ministries for older women like Nancy Leigh Demoss and dozens of other teachers that teach from God’s Word, would you say they all pose a danger? Or is your concern more with the younger people in ministry? Maybe not as mature? I’m just trying to hear you better.
Thanks Kelly for being willing to “hear me out.” 🙂
I absolutely believe that as Christ followers, we do benefit from receiving instruction and encouragement from other believers. We need each other as much for accountability as for encouragement. I really enjoy reading your blog, especially because you are REAL about life being difficult and you’re committed to bringing the Lord into every aspect.
I want to be careful not to go into too much detail about what I sensed in listening to Girl Defined on their YouTube channel. My aim is not to tear them down, especially when you have so much traffic on your blog. I just sense that our Christian culture is desperate at times to jump on a bandwagon. That we are constantly looking for ways to redefine our commitment to God (“Radical Purity”, as if it’s not enough to simply teach our girls about God’s design in waiting for marriage and the beauty of remaining pure). It seems to be all the rage now with blogs and little videos to sum up life in “5 easy steps…..”
Like I said, I want to be careful not to use your blog to tear down something that you feel has been very helpful in your family. Maybe it’s just better for me to say that I did not share the same excitement when listening to their “vlogs” on Youtube; I got a whole different feel just listening to them. I can’t really say much more without coming across as judgmental, but I thank you for answering my cautions with kindness. 🙂
Thank you for sharing! Besides Kings Blooming Rose, I haven’t found much Christian encouragement for my daughters involving good examples in younger girls 🙂 I’ll have to check this out!