First Fervent girls’ conference draws nearly 300, emphasizes abiding in Christ

COLUMBUS, Ga. — Nearly 300 attendees gathered for the first Fervent girls’ conference Saturday, Sept. 26, where students were challenged to consider how a relationship with Christ shapes their identity, relationships, and everyday lives.

Held at Calvary Baptist Church, the Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s NextGen Girls’ Conference combined teaching and breakout sessions with opportunities for girls from different churches to connect and encourage one another.

Keynote speaker Amanda Mejias, a Lifeway Girls brand specialist, taught from John 15, exploring Jesus’ description of himself as the vine and his followers as the branches.

Mejias explained that abiding in Christ begins with having a relationship with God. She then encouraged students to spend time with God to know him more deeply. As believers remain in Christ, she taught, that relationship produces spiritual fruit and develops Christlike qualities in their lives even in difficult seasons.

The message resonated with Hailey Batastini, a senior from Central Baptist Church in Warner Robins.

“I’m taking home the reminder to be all in for Christ,” Batastini said. “Following Him isn’t something I want to only do when it’s convenient.”

Breakout sessions brought that focus on faith into conversations about dating, social media and influence. For Julie Vinup, a high school leader at Central Baptist Church and a high school teacher, the topics addressed pressures she sees girls face daily.

“They are inundated with so many ideas of what the world thinks they should be, while also striving to seek out what the Lord wants for them,” Vinup said.

She described the sessions as “extremely applicable and exactly what young girls today need.”

Ashten Fraser, a youth leader at Dykes Creek Baptist Church in Rome, led a breakout titled “Identity: Social Media’s Impact on Mental Health.” She encouraged girls to consider how social media affects their view of themselves and to ground their identity in Christ.

“When our identity is found solely in what the world thinks of us, we will always feel like we’re falling short,” Fraser said. “Soaking in the truths that God speaks over us is how we can guard our hearts and minds.”

Fraser noted that her guidance was not intended to address diagnosed mental health conditions.

During the session, students gathered in groups of three or four to discuss experiences from their own lives and those of their friends. Fraser said the conference gave girls from different churches opportunities to encourage one another and discuss their struggles, victories, and applications of Scripture.

For Lily Ray Duncan of First Baptist Church in Moultrie, the setting made those conversations easier.

“Having a conference just for girls is great because it means that you actually get to talk about things that you can't talk about when boys are around,” Duncan said.

Batastini also valued meeting other girls who shared her faith and desire to grow closer to Christ. But her takeaway extended beyond the friendships and conversations of the day to the way she wanted to live afterward.

“I want to be intentional every single day about staying connected to Him because Christ is the true vine and the only source of life,” she said. “Just like a branch cannot bear fruit without the vine, we cannot bear fruit without Him.”