About 300 girls and young women attended the Park Church’s second annual girls lock-in Friday night, an overnight event design to build Christian self-awareness among teens in grades 6-12.

Minister Kim Alexander, wife of The Park’s senior pastor, Bishop Claude Alexander Jr., delivered the evenin “It Only Takes One.”

Alexander used the story of David and Goliath to illustrate how one child took one rock and made one decision that he would be the one to slay the giant.

“I think it’s important for our young ladies to get a sense of who they are in Christ and not let the world define who they are or what they should look like or how they should act,” she told Qcitymetro.com in an earlier interview.

Alexander said girls are pressured at an early age to conform to other people’s views and expectations. She said girls need to know early on that they are accepted for who they are.

The theme for the evening was “Christian Girls Rock,” a play on BET’s Black Girls Rock awards show.
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Minister Kim Alexander, right, poses with one of the girls who attended the Park Church's second annual girls lock-in Friday night. (Photo: Michael Gentry for Qcitymetro.com)
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Attendees entered the banquet hall by age groups, posed for photos then proceeded to their assigned tables, which were donned with purple napkins and purple ribbons. The girls were honored for areas in which they excelled during the past year --academics, athletics, music, dance, art, community service and “expressions of faith.”

They also heard from 17-year-old Olivia Joy Stinson, who created a book club in 2007 called P.E.N. Pals, which reaches out to children with incarcerated parents. She told her audience that children with incarcerated parents have a 70 percent chance of becoming incarcerated themselves.

This was the first year a banquet was held to kick off the lock-in. Alexander said the event added buzz and excitement to the weekend and allowed the girls to have fun in a Christian environment.

Following the banquet, the girls changed into comfortable clothing, split into groups by age and attended sessions. Grades 6 through 10 attended a class called “God Esteem: Understanding Who I Am and Who I Am Becoming.” Grades 11 and 12 attended “Transitioning to Adulthood: Real Talk About the Joys and Trials of the Experience.”

The girls enjoyed free time from midnight to 8 a.m. Entertainment options included makeovers, games, movies, exercise and music.

The Girl’s Rock night was part of the church’s E.L.E.V.A.T.E. mission, which is directed at teens. The acronym stands for Empowering Lives and Establishing Vision and Advancing Teens Everywhere.

Alexander said other E.L.E.V.A.T.E. events are directed at boys, and some involve boys and girls together.

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