Mar 26, 2019 4 min read

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WAYNESBURG – Four years ago Amy Ayers of Waynesburg took her eldest daughter to a show at South Hills Bible Chapel called Secret Keeper Girl. She went in not knowing what to expect, only that it was marketed as a mother-daughter conference with a focus on religion. For two and a half hours she and her 8-year-old bounced from one high-energy activity to another, participating in live worship and interactive Bible studies and watching a modesty fashion show.

Ayers left feeling even closer to her daughter and inspired to bring Secret Keeper Girl to Greene County.

“(I) fell in love with it and the way it connected me and my daughter,” she said. “How they helped (our daughters) see the value in themselves as girls and not what the world is telling them.”

Secret Keeper Girl is a nationwide, girls-only conference targeted toward tweens (ages 7-12), though Ayers said it is appropriate for girls younger or older than that. The goal is to bring girls closer to their mothers/guardians and Jesus, and to educate them on modesty and true beauty, which means “they are a masterpiece created by the master artist,” Ayers said.

So last September, after attending a second conference with her two daughters, now 9 and 12, Ayers partnered with four local women to bring Secret Keeper Girl to Greene County for the first time.

Ayers worked with Tara Galbraith and Katrina Whipkey from Assembly of God in Waynesburg; Cathy Loughner from First Baptist Church in Waynesburg and Jennifer Jackson from Mount Morris Gospel Tabernacle.

“We are all mothers of girls of this age bracket,” Ayers said. “We’ve seen the impact it’s had on our own daughters and had a heart to bring (Secret Keeper Girl) into Waynesburg.”

Ayers said the brainstorming started last September. A month later the five women met and decided to go for it. Ayers immediately contacted the tour’s road manager and coordinated logistics. Meanwhile she and the other moms gathered a team of 60 volunteers and took on roles.

“It’s a big undertaking,” Ayers said. “But nothing’s been a struggle. Everyone’s split (responsibilities and costs) up.”

The deposit for the performers and event space was split between the four churches. Ayers said generous people have made donations for promotional costs and so tickets can go to those who can’t afford to purchase their own.

Ayers spread flyers and post cards around town to promote the event. She said she also sent personal mailings to over 50 churches in the county and got the event posted in Pittsburgh Christian Events, a bi-weekly mailing list, that reaches over 2,000 people.

“We didn’t want anyone not knowing this was happening,” Ayers said. “I want everyone to have the opportunity to go.”

The conference is set for April 14 at First Church of the Nazarene, 115 Deerfield Lane in Waynesburg. It costs $22 per person and tickets must be purchased in advance, through the Secret Keeper Girl website. Ayers said they’ve already sold over 200 tickets and can sell up to 450. Tickets can be purchased up until the night before the event.

“Everything fell into place so we know God is really the center of all of this,” Ayers said, regarding planning the event.

Secret Keeper Girl is headquartered in State College, about three hours from Waynesburg. Ayers said the Secret Keeper Girl’s spring tour consists of Waynesburg First Church of the Nazarene and 27 other churches all over the country. In addition to the tour the organization offers resources like books for both parents and daughters.

According to the Secret Keeper Girl website, the multifaceted organization all started with a bible study on modesty and self-love, created by Dannah Gresch, an author, mother and religious life coach.

“There are always those things, we look in the mirror and say we don’t like that or we want to change that,” Ayers said, “This is a really powerful event to instill in the girls that they are beautiful and they are important. “

For more information on Secret Keeper Girl or to purchase tickets visit secretkeepergirl.com.