Georgia Christian Queens Lead First Project at Jesse's House
Winners of the 2005 Georgia Christian Pageant will host a ministry fair in which the queens will share the story of Queen Esther from the Bible while hosting refreshments, fun and games and provide needed items to at-risk girls, ages 7-17.
Winners of the 2005 Miss Georgia Christian Pageant will be leading their first service project as queens at an emergency children's shelter in Cumming, Ga.
On Oct. 9, Georgia Christian Pageant queens will join alongside Miss Atlanta Christian Pageant queens to conduct "The Hadassah Project," a ministry fair in which the queens will share the story of Queen Esther from the Bible while hosting refreshments, fun and games and provide needed items to at-risk girls, ages 7-17, in Jesse's House.
Lacey Jenkins, the reigning 2005 Miss Georgia Christian, who is leading the project, said, "The queens have decided together to do this type of ministry because we want to show other girls that you don't have to win a pageant to be beautiful or become a queen. We are all queens in the eyes of God and we all have the heart to share this with other girls."
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Most of the girls at Jesse’s House come from the Department of Family and Children Services or the Department of Juvenile Justice, according to Keyana Brown, volunteer and activities coordinator at Jesse’s House.
The queens want to give them hope and encouragement through the story of Hadassah, an orphan living in her uncle’s house, who later becomes Queen Esther.
Jenkins added, "Society tells us that you find beauty and acceptance everywhere else ... magazines, TV, beauty pageants, and other places. But it is really found in the Lord."
Miss Gwinnett Christian queens, another sister Christian pageant in Georgia, will be leading a project called "His Little Princesses," in which they will visit terminally ill children and crown them with tiaras to share a similar message.
"We want to show other girls that we are just the same as them with the same insecurities, too," Jenkins said. "But with Christ, we are all Queens."
Georgia Christian Pageants (GCP) is the state’s only Christian pageant system and was only formed earlier this year. Jackie Watson of Loganville, Ga., created the state’s only Christian pageant in 2003 under the name Miss Atlanta Christian Pageant. In January 2005, Watson expanded the pageant system to include Georgia Christian Pageants.
According to the GCP's main website, the pageant is a ministry tool for girls to use their crown to bring glory to God rather than themselves.
"The purpose of these pageants is to allow girls an opportunity to share their faith publicly, build confidence, promote spiritual beauty, meet new friends who share their faith and have fun in a safe, Christ-like environment," reads the GCP's mission statement.
And the queens from Atlanta, Gwinnett, and North Georgia have been doing just that. In addition to spearheading community service projects, the queens raised more than $6,000 toward local charities last year. The queens will continue impacting their communities this year by focusing on ministering to young girls through various charities and ministries.
Next month, the organization will hold the 2005 Miss North Georgia Christian Pageant, a preliminary leading up to the 2006 Miss Georgia Christian state pageant. On Sept. 24, girls ages 5-24 from around the state will be competing for the title at Covenant Christian Academy in Loganville, Ga. The pageant is sponsored by GCP and Covenant Christian Academy.
"Georgia Christian Pageants has several pageants each year. Each queen group is tasked with using their crowns and titles to benefit others - rather than bring glory to themselves - while making a difference in the community," said Jackie Watson, GCP founder and president.
