God’s WORD tells us we are
MADE FOR MORE…
MORE Purpose • MORE Value • MORE Mission
MORE Hope • MORE Belonging
…than the WORLD could ever offer!
We explored how God MADE US FOR MORE because of our creation design, gospel identity, and inter-generational friendships.
Main Conference: Friday, 7:00-8:30 pm
- Session 1, Creation Design with Paula Miles: Why am I here? What is my purpose? If we are honest, these are questions that women everywhere (including you and me) are asking. Many of us are weary of the world’s answers. We find them empty and unsatisfying. So what do we do? We look to our Creator, the One who fashioned and formed us. He has provided answers for us in His Word, full of hope and deeply satisfying. We are created in His image, uniquely designed female, with great love and purpose. Though distorted by sin, He has provided through Jesus a way for us to daily live out our creation design and purpose. As the Spirit grows us in our understanding and ability to walk in light of these truths, we will experience real joy and freedom as women, being exactly who we were created to be. You were made for more!
Saturday, 9:00 am to 2:30 pm
- Session 2, Gospel Identity with Ellen Dykas: Who are you? Who am I? These important questions get at the heart of identity. The Bible has a lot to say about our identity as girls, women and…people made in God’s image! The world’s voice (and maybe friends, books, music artists, etc.) tries to convince us that our body size/shape, feelings, likes/dislikes, or friend group, or personal ideas are what identify us, God says that we only know who we really are when we understand who Jesus is and what He can make us to be. Our identity as loved, unique, chosen and delighted in daughters of God is better than anything the world has to offer…and it will never change!
- Session 3: Jesus, Women, and Sexual Faithfulness: What This Means and Why It Matters with Ellen Dykas: What is sexual faithfulness, as unmarried and married women, and what does Jesus have to do with it? Jesus didn’t shy away from these topics and the gospels reveal our Savior as a gentle, pursuing, seeing, and healing Lord who cares about women in their experiences of brokenness. This break out time will show how our faithful Lord is what women need regarding sexual integrity, healing from painful relational experiences, and a living hope to grow towards wholeness and transformation.
- Session 4, Walking Each Other Home: The Joy of Intergenerational Friendships with Karen Hodge: Who or what is profoundly shaping your life? Where are you headed, and who are you following? In a world plagued by an epidemic of loneliness and isolation, we were made for more meaningful connections than the world can offer. We invite you to take a step on this journey of cultivating intergenerational friendships with those a few steps ahead of you and those alongside us as we live shoulder-to-shoulder. We were not made to be alone but rather created to experience the rich joy that can be found along the way as we share the gospel and our lives together.
Speakers
Ellen Dykas received her MA in Biblical Studies from Covenant Theological Seminary and a graduate certificate in biblical Counseling from the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation(CCEF). She serves as the Director of Equipping for Ministry to Women for Harvest USA, a national ministry focused on gospel-centered discipleship and teaching regarding sexuality and gender. Ellen loves ministry to women and is most passionate about mentoring, teaching God’s Word and spiritually nurturing others to walk deeply with Jesus. New Life Presbyterian in Dresher, PA, is her home church.
Karen Hodge serves as the Coordinator for PCA Women’s Ministry, where she seeks to connect women and churches to one another and to sound resources. She is also having the time of her life serving alongside her husband, pastor and best friend Chris, at Village Seven Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs. Chris and Karen have two adult children, Anna Grace Botka and Haddon Hodge. She is the host of the enCourage podcast and along with Susan Hunt, authored Transformed: Life-taker to Life-giver and Life-giving Leadership.
Ingram Link serves as the Director of Women’s Ministries at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, AL. She is also the founder and Director of Created for a Purpose Ministries. She and her husband, David are recent empty nesters who enjoy cooking and hosting people in their home. They have 3 grown children, Lucy Anne (Dallas), Hank (Auburn), Elizabeth (NYC) and Sallie James is a student at Ole Miss. Ingram loves to read, especially in a beach chair on 30A, hike and visit with friends. You can follow her on Instagram @the.hospitality.link.
Paula Miles is wife to Kevin, a ruling elder at Clemson Presbyterian, and mother of Wimberly Johnson (married to Charlie), Janie Gotfredson (married to Duncan), Clary (married to Elli), and Judy Livingston (married to Evan). She is also grandmother to 3 boys and has another grandchild on the way. Paula grew up in Anderson, SC and graduated from Clemson University. She has experienced the joy of being a full-time homemaker and public school teacher. Studying and teaching God’s Word is her passion, as well as coming alongside women to encourage them to understand their unique design and fulfill their individual callings. Paula is on staff at Clemson Presbyterian as women’s ministry coordinator since 2014, is a conference speaker, and serves on the PCA’s Discipleship Ministries (CDM) National Women’s Ministry Team as a trainer. She enjoys regular exercise, a good cup of coffee, watching sporting events, and investing in the lives of her family and friends.
We are partnering with:
What do the children in your church believe about God? About themselves? About their purpose? About their role? About others?
God has designed each of us for a unique PURPOSE and PLAN.
Are the young girls in your church hungry for something other than what the world offers them? Do they have an opportunity to experience what God has to give them?
Created for a Purpose began because a group of mothers wanted to make a difference! We believe that every girl deserves to hear that she is clothed in the righteousnessof Christ and a daughter of the Most High King.
Click here to find out more information for Created For A Purpose 2024.
For more information visit createdforapurpose.org
Ingram Link, Founder and Director
ingram@createdforapurpose.org | 205.447.4646
We long for the covenant children in our churches to be shaped by worship and to grow to be lifelong worshippers. Unfortunately, research shows that American churches have failed to do that. According to a Barna Group study in 2019, nearly two-thirds of American 18- to 29-year-olds who grew up in church have withdrawn from involvement as an adult. But how do we correct this? The same Barna Group study found that “belonging” and “‘connectedness” were seen as the driving factors for those identified as “resilient disciples.” The really great news is that this already fits into the PCA’s belief in Covenant Theology that shapes the worship and prayer practices of our congregations.
Teach Us to Worship will help churches consider the Biblical call to worship as a covenant family. Our prayer is that God will use this program to create a culture shift in our churches where children feel more welcomed in worship by equipping and encouraging elders, children’s ministry professionals, parents, and multi-generational congregations. We want to support churches in this endeavor by providing training resources that will help our covenant children grow to be lifelong worshippers.