Oct. 30 /Christian Newswire/ -- Texting and sexting, school violence, drug abuse, car accidents, pregnancy. Teens--including teenage girls--all too often make the news for their problems and failures.
Yet throughout history there have been young women, like Joan of Arc, who are remembered for extraordinary personal accomplishments.
Just a few months ago Melanie Oudin, a 17-year-old tennis player, burst on the scene by producing a solid showing at both the U.S. Tennis Open and Wimbledon. Or what about Taylor Swift, who after going platinum with her first album at age 16, is now so popular that tickets for her concert at New York's Madison Square Garden sold out in one minute.
Both of them discovered their passion at a young age and have devoted themselves to achieving their goals. Swift began knocking on doors of record label offices on Nashville's Music Row at age 11, and Oudin gave up a normal high school experience for home schooling to fit in around a rigorous training schedule.
And then there's Michala Riggle, and Tori Cannon.
Haven't heard of them? They are teenage girls who have found their passion and taken the lead to change their world.
Authors Claudia Mitchell and Kim Goad introduce them to us through the ministry of One Girl Can Change the World, a new book and ministry with teenage girls that helps a young woman to find her passion then develop her leadership skills to accomplish what God has uniquely created her to do.
"We believe it is an honor to be about the work of inspiring the next generation of leaders, and we truly believe one girl can change the world," they write. "One Girl Can Change the World is all about showing girls how. It's about bringing young women to the understanding that they are leaders. It's about reminding them that they have a specific role to play in impacting the world, inspiring them to discover their passions and leadership styles, and empowering them to effectively carry out their purposes."
Tori Cannon is a teen whose heart breaks for the needs of others. She has been raising funds for the needy around the world since she was a child, including taking on the task of providing shoes for those in developing countries. In one project, she filled an entire garage full of usable shoes and sent them with short term missionary workers who could deliver them to those who needed them.
Michala Riggle is inspired to raise funds for autism research, specifically to build a research facility in Louisville. Sound a bit lofty? By mid 2009, this 12-year-old from Louisville had raised more than $300,000 by selling bracelets through her charity called Beading to Beat Autism (www.beadingtobeatautism.org). In addition to a fistful of awards she's already garnered, she's been interviewed on television shows that include Good Morning America and the Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was featured in American Girl magazine.
"Teenage girls combine the energy and passion of youth with hearts mature enough to see needs in their communities and the world," said Kim Goad. "Yet they lack the maturity and skills to put it all together to see how they can indeed make a difference."
In their new book, One Girl Can Change the World (Standard Publishing), Mitchell and Goad help girls first discover how unique and precious they are to God, then to think through their own interests to find their passion. They further encourage girls to write a mission statement, look for a mentor, and develop an action plan for what they want to achieve.
They also then challenge these young women to live and grow as Christian women and leaders. They provide inspiring examples of young women who have changed the world, introducing world changers from the Bible, from history and from down the street.
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