Out of Eden targets girls with new video curriculum

Gotee recording artist Out of Eden has partnered with Interlinc to create the Out of Eden: This Is Your Life Girls' Event. According to Interlinc’s founder, Allen Weed, this will be the most focused comprehensive curriculum his company has ever created for young women.

“Out of Eden has extremely significant things to say for teen girls,” affirms Weed. “I’ve been doing this for a long time and I haven’t seen an artist that says it in as relevant a way as they do. And while most church youth are young women, most directors are men. With the Out of Eden Girls' Event we are giving youth workers and parents a poignant tool that will allow them to teach and connect with girls in a way that most of them never have.”

Interlinc describes the Out of Eden: This Is Your Life Girls' Event as “the perfect weekend retreat or six week series to help girls in youth groups discover Biblical principles essential to live in their crazy world.” Additionally, the event is perfect for a comprehensive 'at home' study for parents to use with their daughters. The six-part series will cover such topics as personal destiny & purpose; security & acceptance; modesty & fashion; dating & sexual purity; abuse; and parental relationships.

“I'm so pleased with this,” says Out of Eden’s Lisa Kimmey. “We finally have an opportunity to use the many things that God has shown us over the years. While we don’t have all the answers, I think this is a very effective tool to share the ones I believe we do have. It's like every teenage girl that gets this video is going out to lunch with Out of Eden.”

The studies featured in the Out of Eden: This Is Your Life Girls' Event were written by women who are involved in youth ministry and have been for over 100 combined years. Each youth worker or parent who makes use of the program will receive one six-session video (featuring discussion starters, Out of Eden interaction with young women, music videos, and two previously unreleased live performances), one six-session leader’s guide, a specified number of six-session student devotionals, and the same amount of Out of Eden’s This Is Your Life CDs.

“Each session is titled after one of the songs on Out of Eden's new album,” explains Weed. “That way when each girl takes home her This Is Your Life CD, she’ll have the songs to remind her of what took place in the teaching.”

The series will also include guest appearances by Stacie Orrico and her father, Dean; Plus One’s Jason Perry; Mrs. Frankie Watts (wife of U.S. Congressman, J.C. Watts); selected young women from Mercy Ministries, along with Nancy Alcorn, President and Founder of Mercy Ministries; and Out of Eden's pastor, Tim Johnson (former Super Bowl winning defensive tackle for the Washington Redskins and NCAA Championship winner with Penn State). Posters will be included with each pack for promoting the series to youth groups.

“Making the video became a real healing process for everyone one who was involved,” affirms Out of Eden’s Danielle Kimmey. “I believe it will be a very effective way to reach today’s young people.”

The initial distribution of the Out of Eden: This Is Your Life Girls' Event will take place immediately through Interlinc. Their direct marketing to youth workers has already begun, and the teaching series is being made available online at www.interlinc-online.com. Youth leaders can choose from three different group packages for 10 students, 20 students, or 50 students. National distribution of a retail version is being planned for the summer of 2003.

While planning for this special Out of Eden project began four years ago, the trio spent the past two and a half years doing research on their own in conjunction with Interlinc. Out of Eden has done multiple focus groups nationwide to determine the crucial areas of need for teen girls.

“This has been in the works much longer than the actual This Is Your Life album,” explains Out of Eden’s manager, Jim Chaffee. “The songs for the record were actually written with this project in mind.”

“Making this video has been incredible,” says Out of Eden’s Andrea Kimmey Baca. “Girls are always asking us out on the road about different issues such as modesty, and living a Godly life. In the video we are able to talk about these things in a real way and in a real setting. And we learned a lot ourselves from the girls that participated.”

Currently both the Out of Eden website (www.outofedenonline.com) and Interlinc’s web site (www.interlinc-online.com) carry more information on the event with details on how to order the video with the curriculum and Out of Eden’s This Is Your Life CD.

Youth Specialties has described Interlinc as youth ministry's “most trusted” link to the resources of the Christian music community. Interlinc, which is involved in 50,000 churches and over 40 denominations in 38 countries, is committed to helping youth workers use music as a redemptive teaching aide in student ministry.

Out of Eden will be featured performers during the Girls of Grace conferences this spring.