If you Give a Girl a Cookie…

June 20, 2022

story

THE GIRL

The room was brimming with options and buzzing with students.  It was the annual fall club fair.  Over 30 clubs competed to captivate the freshmen’s attention.  Students milled about the room looking for clubs to booster their college resumes, fill their high school careers, and offer them a place to belong.  That day Christy had already signed up for too many clubs when she spotted her 6th grade volleyball coach behind one of the tables.  She intended just to say hello, but Jen encouraged her to sign up for the Christian Fellowship Club promising cookies at the first meeting.  So, Christy, not having anything against Christianity, decided why not.

THE COOKIE

When Christy arrived at the first club meeting, she was ecstatic to see fresh baked Whole Food cookies sitting front and center on the table.  She selected a large gooey chocolate chip cookie from the box and sat down.  For the next half hour, Christy, Jen, and a handful of other high school girls talked.  The conversation was good, but the cookies were great, so the next week Christy came back.  Week after week she returned selecting a chocolate chip cookie from the box as she settled in for the discussion.

The next school year, Christy returned to Christian Fellowship Club anticipating her weekly cookie, but this year she went a step farther.  She decided to attend the club’s Fall Retreat hosted by FOCUS (a partner ministry designed to serve independent school students.)  Christy and four of her closest friends traveled with the club to New Jersey for the Gospel-centric weekend.  By the end of the weekend none of them had claimed Christ as their savior, but they continued to attend club.  Even when the pandemic ended weekly cookies midway through the spring semester, Christy continued to attend club meetings virtually.

THE CHANGE

Her Junior year, the pandemic limited club interactions, but by the summer the restrictions were lifting and she was able to attend the Seaside Retreat a service trip in Florida.  After this retreat and before the first club meeting of her senior year, Jen gave the student leaders copies of the materials for the upcoming school year.

That year, Christy came to the first meeting with her Bible full of sticky notes, ready to lead the meeting.  Jen and her co-worker, Haley, were impressed with her initiative.  They weren’t even sure if she was a believer when they chose her as a student leader.  Haley began meeting with Christy semi-regularly. During these appointments she discovered Christy did consider herself a Christian and attributed her salvation to her time with the Christian Fellowship Club.

Throughout the rest of the school year Christy not only led the club meetings but rushed out of volleyball practices to drive 30 minutes to a small group Bible study hosted by Campus Life at another independent school.  Despite her busy schedule, she never missed a small group.  She even sought out church services online, signed up for the next summer’s seaside retreat, and decided to attend a Christian University in the fall.  Who could have guessed chocolate chip cookies would pave the way to Christ.

 

Chocolate cookies photo created by Racool_studio – www.freepik.com