Set Apart Girl guides young women

Leslie Ludy says she grew up in “a wonderful Christian home,” but faced temptation from the world as she grew older, resulting in a “mediocre Christianity that led to heartache, disillusionment, and misery.”

It wasn’t until she completely surrendered her life to Jesus Christ “and learned to build my life around Him that my life had true meaning, purpose, and joy.”

She has taken those lessons learned and created Set Apart Girl, a ministry that guides young women in a better direction than the world’s and lets them know they are not alone in trying to live for Christ.

“My desire in starting the ministry of Set Apart Girl was to encourage today’s young women to pursue Jesus Christ and His purpose for their lives instead of chasing after the polluted pattern of the world,” Leslie says. “It’s been amazing to see the response. I’ve found that many young women who desire to be set apart for Christ feel extremely alone in walking that path. Set Apart Girl provides resources and encouragement to young women as they learn to build their lives around God’s pattern, and reminds them that they are not alone in this journey.”

Leslie started Set Apart Girl conferences in 2005 and the online magazine in 2008. The bimonthly magazine, which features articles by Leslie and others and is read by about 100,000 women each issue, seeks to “encourage, exhort, and edify young women as they seek to make Jesus Christ their highest priority.”

Most of the material offered in the magazine is geared toward women ages 16 to 25, but more articles are being offered for women of all ages and seasons of life, she says, especially young moms with small children. Parents can also use the articles and books available through setapartgirl.com to spark spiritual discussion between parents and daughters.

“Our desire is to create tools that will help parents inspire their daughters to wholeheartedly pursue Jesus Christ,” Leslie says.

The setapartgirl.com magazine deals with practical issues faced by women on a daily basis, “such as relating to the opposite sex, purity, modesty, family relationships, decision-making, and building intimacy with Christ,” Leslie says. “We also have an annual Set Apart Girl conference each year that can be hosted anywhere in the world via live simulcast, and has proven to be life-changing for thousands of women all around the world.”

Also available are several books on relationships written by Leslie and her husband, Eric, who oversees the Ellerslie Leadership Training programs. She suggests Set Apart Femininity to start with, which gives young women foundational principles for set-apart living and teaches them how to build their daily lives around their relationship with Christ.

“The true and lasting radiance of set-apart femininity is found through absolute abandonment to the Author of all true beauty,” Leslie says. “It’s found by exchanging a life consumed with self for a life consumed with Jesus Christ; by trading the desire to be attractive to this world for the longing to be attractive to Him alone. Find a woman who cares about nothing but loving, serving, honoring, and glorifying Jesus Christ, and you will see who truly is ‘the fairest of them all.’”