7 minute read
Charter Organization Spotlight
CALVARY HILLS,
BAPTIST CHURCH TX0334
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
This issue, AHG is excited to shine a light on Calvary Hills Baptist Church in San Antonio, TX, home to TX0334. Charter Representative Cheryl Wood and Troop Coordinator Jocelyn Whalen reflect on 10 years of chartering an AHG Troop at their church and the significant impact AHG has had on their faith community.
ARGUABLY THE MOST IMPACTFUL FORCE IN THE WELL-BEING OF AN AHG TROOP IS THE CHARTER
ORGANIZATION. Every Troop is owned by a Charter Organization, which is typically a church, school, or similarly-aligned Christian organization. Without the support of their Charter Organization, an AHG Troop would not exist. When the Charter Organization and Charter Representative are involved beyond simply providing meeting space, the AHG Ministry can have an incredible impact on the outreach of the organization. 16 | AMERICAN HERITAGE GIRLS Cheryl Wood
Charter Organizations serve a crucial role in the AHG Ministry, as they own and operate AHG Troops. Though volunteers implement the AHG Program, the Charter Organization is able to customize their AHG Troop to best accomplish their ministry goals.
Calvary Hills Baptist Church has been involved with several youth mission focused organizations such as Girls in Action, Royal Ambassadors, Classical Conversations, and Mother’s Day Out programs. A few members of our church proposed establishing an American Heritage Girls Troop and we were happy to support!
HOW MANY YEARS HAS YOUR CHURCH HAD AN AHG TROOP?
This Troop was established in 2012, so we’re celebrating 10 years!
HOW HAVE YOU SEEN GROWTH IN YOUR YOUTH/FAMILY/WOMEN’S MINISTRY PROGRAMMING SINCE CHARTERING AN AHG TROOP?
Both the Troop and our church have benefitted from this relationship; in the past few years specifically, we have seen abundant growth in our church population of young families. Several families joined AHG after hearing about it at church, and many families who joined AHG from the local community became church members. It has been an incredibly fruitful and supportive partnership.
HOW ELSE HAS AHG AFFECTED YOUR ORGANIZATION’S MINISTRY EFFORTS?
Our AHG Troop has partnered with the church’s community outreach programs, such as Fiesta De Cristo, Trunk or Treat, Food Pantry organization, and food giveaway opportunities. We also host a Bless CHBC night where they honor the Charter Organization by donating time and talent to support facility needs. CHBC has our AHG and Trail Life USA Troops under the ministry of the Missions Team, so we include our youth in many ministry outreach opportunities.
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER POTENTIAL CHARTER ORGANIZATIONS LOOKING TO CHARTER AN AHG TROOP?
We would highly encourage it! Ensure the members of church and Troop leadership are grounded in their faith, foster a great relationship between the AHG Troop Board and the church leadership team, and go all-in to serve and bless one another.
For more information on the chartering process, visit
americanheritagegirls.org/start-a-troop/charter-organizations
As God created the stars to SHINE in the sky, He has created His light to SHINE within each of His followers with the light of His Good News—the salvation He brings!
He reminds us throughout Scripture that even on the darkest night, we can reflect His Light. In today’s culture of darkness, confusion, and conflict, today’s believers must find and emanate His Light stronger than ever before. The light of Christ reminds us we are loved and encourages us to share His Light by shining brightly for others around us to experience His love too. As your Troop and family join other Christ-followers, together we can brightly shine the Light of Christ, piercing the darkness! AHG is looking forward to a year of faith, service, and fun as we kick off the 2022-2023 Program Year Theme—SHINE! WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SHINE? As we enter this new Program Year, we seize a new opportunity to pour into the faith lives of each American Heritage Girl entrusted to our care by God. To be a girl who stands for truth and seeks to be a beacon for Christ in her community is no easy task. Nevertheless, the same words ring true for the girls today as they did back in 1995 for AHG Founder, Patti Garibay— “why curse the darkness, when you can light a candle?” Together we can empower our girls to SHINE boldly for Christ. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the word “SHINE” means sending out or reflecting light. In Matthew 5:14, NIV, Scripture says, “You are the light of the world.” The Greek word for “light” in this verse is phōs. It means to shine, especially by rays of light. Without a source of light, there would be no rays of light. It is exciting to parallel this to our relationship with Christ. He is the ultimate source of light, and because of our relationship with Him, we are able to SHINE like rays of His Light. God reminds us He has placed His Light within us to openly and publicly expose His love and character. The Light that comes from God is pure and shines brilliantly. As Christfollowers, the Lord has placed His Light within us to SHINE. Our relationship with Christ allows us to SHINE His love, kindness, forgiveness, and His many attributes for others to see—reflecting His glory! SHINING THROUGH THE DARKNESS In order to encourage our girls to SHINE for Christ, we must know the darkness they are up against. Today’s girls, both Generation Z (those born between 1995-2010) and Generation Alpha (those born 2010-present), live in an unmistakably dark cloud of fear and culturally imposed difficulty. They’ve never known a world without terrorism, an America without war, school years without mass shootings, economic growth without impending threat of another crash…and now, a cough or sneeze without fear of pandemic-level illness. Youth today fear being crippled by debt and being left with an unhealthy planet. Put simply, they are tackling grown-up fears from a young age. Combine those fears with the waywardness of today’s cultural landscape, and it’s easy to see how they might be more susceptible to feelings of anxiety or depression in adolescence compared to children of past generations. Confusion around gender and sexual identity, deep-seated cultural doubt in the existence of God, rising rates of self-harm and attempted suicide … it can feel impossible to cut through the dark cultural cloud that envelopes our girls. But God! He redeems us, pulling us out of darkness and into His Light. Paul’s letter to the Colossians speaks to this truth: “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14, NIV). By recognizing our deep reliance on God and connecting with other believers to form the community He designed us for, we can teach our girls what it means to be hope-filled, and Spirit-led young women of integrity. SEEKING A PLACE TO SHINE Parents of today’s girls are looking for hope in today’s dark world. In fact, recent data shows a reported 73% of parents, regardless of faith tradition or no religion at all, are concerned about their children’s spiritual development, and 83% desire to see their children form deeper, more meaningful relationships with their peers. Christian parents, specifically, seek a place to counter the culture and find fellowship with like-minded believers—in turn, raising up Christfollowing servant leaders who seek to make the world a brighter, kinder place. With over 50,000 members in over 1,200 Troops, American Heritage Girls is that beacon for faith, service, and fun in communities nationwide. Thanks to a program fully developed and centered around Christ, AHG is a steadfast place of truth, agape love, and growth for girls and the leaders who shepherd them.
Before a girl can SHINE Christ’s light to the world, she must first discover the Light, and confidence, within herself. Learning a wide array of life skills, like those taught through AHG Badge and Award Programs, inspires girls to become lifelong learners and doers. A lifestyle of learning brings with it an interesting paradox—an attitude of confidence, through accomplishment and testing of ability, as well as an attitude of humility, through realizing that there is always more that can be learned. Both of these attitudes are integral to being able to SHINE for Christ. A girl needs confidence in Christ to speak and act boldly in His name but also humbleness of heart to serve and honor others above herself. SET FORTH AND SHINE It is AHG’s prayer that the call to SHINE for Christ in this 20222023 Program Year would be met with a great zeal to live out the gospel message. May your Troops, girls, volunteers, and families be encouraged and inspired to seek Him first and let your lights SHINE so that others can see your good works and glorify God (Matthew 5:16)!
1mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and-services/ our-insights/addressing-the-unprecedented-behavioral-healthchallenges-facing-generation-z
2stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/106695
3barna.com/research/christian-parents-concerns
