Girls' Brigade Projects:
ICONZ4girls

Some say that necessity is the mother of invention, and in 2007 the Boys’ Brigade (BB) in New Zealand sensed the need to develop a new approach for church to take in connecting with boys in their communities.

Against a backdrop of falling church attendance amongst boys, and a lessening involvement with BB, ICONZ was born

As the initiative developed the call for a girls provision emerged and BB invited GB New Zealand to develop ICONZ4girls (IFG)

Putting their combined ideas and the new ICONZ resources into this development resulted, within 2 years, in the GBNZ team launching the first IFG Unit (iconz4girlz).

IFG is based on GB’s world-wide Aims, Principles, and Vision and is ‘A life development programme’ for girls.

Each unit is developed by the local church team, as a fun way to reach out to girls in the community, providing an engaging mix of holistic activities and adventure

IFG launched at Northpoint Baptist Church, Taranaki, and Joana Elliot who leads the group there says this:

“I had the privilege of being involved in starting up the first IFG group in the world. WOW what an adventure we have had, it is a privilege to mentor and share with these girls”

Glenda, another IFG leader notes :

“The name has created real interest from adults as well as girls. The logo is bright and fun and the fast moving and flexible program really engages the girls. The way ICONZ4girls operates means that church really are involved with us in this initiative and we have great support from them, both financially and spiritually.”

IFG works in age groups – Explore 5-7 years, Adventure 8-10 years, Challenge 11-13 years and Ultimate 14 years and over.  It marries in to other schemes like Duke of Edinburgh Award, Hillary’s Award, and young women can combine Ultimate with Leadership training too.

For more news and stories from IFG check out the website www.iconz4girlz.org.nz