A couple of years ago my daughter Emily came home from school, heartbroken because some of her girlfriends had become involved in Wicca. They were talking about chants and potions and spells, and nothing Emily told them could change their minds. To these girls Wicca was excitement, power, magic.

Emily and I began praying for those girls, and not long after that God led my friend Katharine and me to start 'Girls Only', a ministry to those girls and others of the same age (middle school). We addressed not only witchcraft but other issues as well. We taught these girls they were wonderfully made, that their bodies were gifts from God, and that if they were looking for mystery and adventure God was calling to them and could provide all of that and more. They signed covenants to keep themselves pure. Some who were as young as 12 years old prayed with me in private, because they had lost their virginity already to family members and neighborhood boys who then tossed them aside. It was a rich season of ministry and those young women still tell me of the impact those days had on them.

Debbie came to Girls Only and shared some of her experiences with these girls. She did a beautiful job. She led us all in asking Jesus to deliver some of the girls from what they had exposed themselves to. Several girls came up to me later, finally confessing that they, too, had involved themselves in Wicca. I am so grateful to Debbie for her wisdom and willingness.

I am telling you all of this because the other day I was listening to KCIV and heard an interview with a man who has studied Wicca and its effects on our young people. You can listen to it here. This radio show reports that Wicca is the fasted growing religion in our country. If it continues to increase at this rate, by next decade Wicca will be the third largest religion in the United States.

Many of you who read this blog work with young people. Please ask the Holy Spirit to alert you when you are in relationship with a young person who is feeling the pull. Our young girls are especially susceptible. The media promotes witchcraft with movies, books and TV shows that make it appear powerful, sexy, and fun. If you are a young girl who is feeling anything but powerful because of how you have been abused, and not 'sexy' as our culture demands of you, even at a very young age, and are looking for adventure and an escape from your life, the allure is almost irresistible.

My prayer is that God will use us to expose the lies the enemy puts out there in his attempt to steal the souls of our young ones. This fall, Irisa (my live-in staffer at Dakota House) and I are starting up Girls Only again. We hope to build a core group with the girls we take to Outpost at Calvin Crest this summer. We are starting younger now--not at middle school but in 5th and 6th grade. I am excited to once again look into their beautiful young faces, and to have the privilege of sharing with them that they are wonderfully made, and that God has wholeness, joy, freedom, and much love in store for them.