Missouri GAs celebrate missions

Missouri GAs celebrate missions

April 27, 2004

Michelle Perkins, who served as a missionary in Tanzania, shows a group of GAs how women dress in Africa.

JEFFERSON CITY — Girls in Action (GA), a mission organization for girls grades 1-6, is celebrating its 19th birthday this year, and the organization is sure looking good for its age.

To mark the milestone, approximately 1,100 GAs, leaders, and retreat personnel from more than 80 different Missouri Southern Baptist churches celebrated in style by attending GA retreats across the state March 26-27 and April 2-3.  Retreats took place in Chillicothe, Mount Vernon, Potosi, Van Buren and Warsaw. The events were sponsored by Missouri WMU and the Missouri Baptist Convention with the theme “Celebrate GA … It’s All About Missions.” 

The GAs learned about the mission field from International Mission Board (IMB) and North American Mission Board missionaries.  They also attended conferences and participated in activities ranging from learning how to do missions, pray for missions and give to missions to participating in the work of the church and growing spiritually toward a missions lifestyle.  The girls collected items to send care packages to more than 30 IMB missionaries. A highlight of the event was a fair-style birthday party with games relating to past, present and future GAs.

GA retreats are an important learning experience for the girls, that it changes their lives and even the lives of the leaders, said Teri Broeker, Missouri GA Specialist.

“GA retreats give girls an opportunity to grow in missions,” she said. “Getting away from the world in a camp setting provides a time for girls (and leaders) to hear God speak to them about missions in their own life. We may not see results in these girls’ lives for years but I believe GA retreats are an important part in helping girls grow to live a missions lifestyle.”