Bellevue Bright Lights: March 2012

Friday, March 2, 2012

Coming Summer 2012 - Radiant Purity conference!

We originally started Bellevue Bright Lights last summer with a handful of girls, and have been praying for growth ever since. Our desire to increase the Bellevue group has been further prompted by the Lord to not 'hide our lights under a basket' so to speak, but to step out boldly, in faith, and see if there aren't others in the community who need to hear about this wonderful ministry.

To this end, the Bright Lights office suggested we host a video conference. Yes, of course!! They see the most growth and excitement in the ministry (understandably!) after the video conferences, as attendees catch the vision of BL and how beneficial it would be to join / or start groups.

Indeed, this is how Bellevue Bright Lights came into existence. My eldest daughter and I attended a Radiant Purity conference last year and were ready to hit the ground running afterwards in starting our own group.

An interesting side note to all this was that I had actually been praying for over a year that the Lord would bring along a godly young lady with a heart to lead the Bellevue group. Three potential 'candidates' fell through, and in the end, as my good friend pointed out to me...I was the one who was supposed to start and lead the group. Being already knee-deep in another amazing ministry which I had been involved with for the last 8 years (www.healinghearts.org) - I wasn't super thrilled about taking something else on at first. Gradually, the Lord worked in my heart, and ministering to youth became more and more of a desire until finally, attending the video conference was the last little thing needed to ignite my new found desire into full-on implementation...and thus, Bellevue Bright Lights was born! My other ministry is on hold for the time being, as I concentrate my efforts in this precious new ministry the Lord has graciously led me to. My hope is that some of the girls from our group would go on to lead their own groups in the future.

The Lord is making it clear that now is the time to get the word out about the ministry in our area in a new way...to prayerfully not only grow our own group, but to raise up new ones locally as well.

More information to come about the Radiant Purity video conference which we hope to host this summer - stay tuned! To get an idea of what a conference looks like, click here.

As for the Bellevue Bright Lights group meetings, we will be putting them on hold until September 2012 when we hopefully will have a BIG new kickoff with lots of smiling new faces in attendance! Until then, our efforts will be geared towards making the video conference a huge success and continuing with our fellowshipping outside of official meetings.

Please contact me if you would like more information on the Bellevue group, or the Radiant Purity conference happening this summer, by leaving a comment.

Blessings!
Chay :)

Meeting photos pre-blog

Shots from earlier meetings before I created the blog :)

We have some very talented chefs in our little group! Girls take turns signing up to bring tea snacks.

The girls learned how to use a Concordance at this meeting.

Some of the girls get a little help looking up scripture in one of the activities. This picture makes my heart smile...generations coming together over God's word :)

Reading letters from the AWESOME New Zealand penpals during tea time...

Cooling the tea down :)

Our first group ministry opportunity was to do a small neighborhood drive and gather items to help the victims of the Seattle Union Gospel Lighthouse apartment fire (July of 2011) in which over 40 people were left homeless and lost all of their belongings.

Working on an activity before the meeting while waiting for the other girls to arrive.

This was a fun meeting! We had a CPR instructor come the house and teach us this life saving skill.

Learning how to use AED's (automated external defibrillator's).

Blessings,

Chay

What is a Bright Light?

It is a girl who has given her life to Jesus Christ, trusting in Him alone for salvation and for the grace to live each day according to His will. It is a girl who knows how to respond "just right" to people and circumstances, demonstrating godliness in her actions and attitudes. It is a girl who has Biblical convictions and commitments (holiness), and is able to go through her teenage years strong for the Lord without stumbling as many do. It is a girl who touches the lives of others by her servant’s spirit, her radiant countenance, and the message of eternal life through Jesus Christ (testimony). God wants bright lights! There is a great need for more of them in this generation of darkness.

What does a typical meeting look like?

What is a Typical Meeting Like? If you were to attend a Bright Lights meeting, what would it be like? At each meeting the leader shares a lesson covering important topics that are essential for girls in order for them to be strong for the Lord in their youth, such as:

Developing a Close Relationship with Parents
Gaining a Clear Conscience
Spending Time in God’s Word Everyday
Keeping Yourself Pure from Polluting Influences
Accepting the Way God Created You
Choosing Wise Friends
Contentment
Sensitivity
Humility
Self-control

The lesson is reinforced by testimonies from older girls in the group. At Bright Lights meetings, we also enjoy singing, fellowshipping with likeminded young ladies, listening to biographies of great Christians from history, preparing for future ministry opportunities, enjoying other activities together, and snacks (often with tea in china tea cups).

Each girl receives a Bright Lights binder that she brings with her to the meetings each week. After each lesson, she receives a new handout to add to her binder. The Bright Lights curriculum is organized into eight sets which you can view here.

Statement of Faith

1. Everyone has sinned and broken God’s laws. Because the penalty for sin is death, each of us deserve to spend eternity in hell in separation from God. We are totally incapable of achieving heaven on our own. There is no way we can be good enough to attain forgiveness from sin or achieve eternal life by our own works.
2. God so loved the world that He gave His only son, Jesus Christ, to rescue us from our sin. Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day. He paid the penalty for our sin and took the punishment that we deserved.
3. Forgiveness and the free gift of eternal life is offered to anyone who will repent of their sin, and believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Redemption is wholly by the blood of Christ, and salvation is by grace, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. The Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God, and the final authority for our lives. It is literal, historical, and infallible.
5. There is one God, eternally existent in three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
6. The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God, born of a virgin, sinlessly perfect. His sacrifice is substitutionary and representative. He rose bodily from the dead and ascended to His Father’s right hand, where He now ministers as our Great High Priest.
7. Jesus Christ is coming again to rapture His church, and subsequently to return and reign over the earth.
8. God created the universe ex nihilo (out of nothing) by His spoken word in six literal days as the Bible states.
9. There will be a resurrection of both the saved and the lost to either eternal life or eternal judgment.
10. A true child of God who is justified by the blood of Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit is safe and exempt from God’s judgment and thus secure for eternity.