I grew up in the black church, and until recently, agreed to everything that was said. More in recent years, I've been in deconstruction, and looking at the title, I had thought this would be another book that would help me, but that was not the case once I started reading. Now, surprisingly, the author did talk alot about how women are treated in the church, which really surprised me, because that's something that is rarely discussed, especially in regards to the black church. I do wish the racism black women face with church folks would have been addressed more.

This book is phenomenal! Honestly it's a book that I didn't know I needed until I dived deep into the pages and unlocked things about myself I didn't know were there. The black woman experience in any space is so nuanced and the author did her very best at expressing those nuances in the church. With her psychology background and biblical studies, Dr. Sarita cautiously navigates the black woman through the history of the black woman experience in church. With grace and truth Dr. Sarita allows the black woman to see herself in every page.

The nostalgia references to songs and time periods that are specific to the black community was a beautiful highlight of the book. From having to sit through an "uncle Luke " answering machine intro to correlating our unhealed and unforgiven stories to "Bag Lady" by Erykah Badu, I feel seen, heard, and read by the author.

It's' giving, Black girl I see you because I've been there and I'm praying for you through your healing journey.

So thankful to be able to read this work before it was published to the world. Job well done, Dr. Sarita!

Church Girl by Dr. S Lyons is a must read, for Christian woman and non Christian. It’s an amazing book. Dr. Lyons written words will open your eyes. This book will take you to the foundation. The beginning how God created woman for man and the mother of all mothers.
This book challenge and encourage black Christian woman in their walk and growth relationships with God. Dr. Lyons touches on the different aspects that black Christian women go through like church hurt, different name titles like being pushy. To read this book will educate you on how women in the past stand strong in the faith. How church girls was and should be now.
Church Girl is a must read book by all women. Dr. Lyons is an outstanding author this book will build up your faith and bring you closer to Christ. I like to thank Dr. Lyons for this book it really taught me a lot as a church girl.

This book appealed to me on many levels. I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, however the young Black girl in front of the stained glass pulled me in. I saw myself on the cover. I have followed Dr. Lyons for a few years, so I am familiar with her worldview and her story. Knowing she had a book releasing about a shared experience made it easy to pick it up and start reading.

If you’re looking for a book to challenge and convict you, this is it! Dr. Lyons has crafted a work that is relatable, without watering down the Gospel message. It causes you to reflect not only on your past choices, but what you can do moving forward to walk in God’s purpose for your life.

The information between the covers of this book is applicable to everyone, especially Black Christian women. No matter where you are in your Christian journey, the lessons in this book are invaluable. This book is best used as a resource to help you find out how you can be a help to others, inside and outside of the children of God. Every chapter touches on a different aspect of what it means to be a Church Girl. From the introduction to the epilogue, you will laugh, cry, and amen. After each chapter there are questions for further reflection and discussion, it’s not a passive read, there are actions to be made!

Dr. Sarita Lyons hits the nail on the head with this one! She is speaking the language of the Black church girls everywhere—the ones who grew up in the church, but got caught up in the world; the ones who have a prodigal daughter story; the ones who need to be encouraged; the ones who just need to know someone understands them. I only wish I’d had this book 20 years ago; it may have saved me from making some of the silly mistakes I made in my youth (and even the ones I made last month). The message is clear: God sees you, He loves you, He is for you, and baby girl, you’ve got Kingdom work to do! Dr. Sarita speaks directly to the heart of the matter, and she knocks it out of the park!

REVIEW: I totally enjoyed this book. I was actually hypnotized by the cover. So can we all PLEASE, take one minute to appreciate this beautiful cover?

Ok so, this gem helps black women to realise how the gospel of Jesus Christ applies to us black church girls. Because I've had a " not so good" experience within the church years ago, I firmly believe that a book like this is totally needed.

The stories told of the christian women in the past, gives examples to the way our spiritual walk with Christ should be. It challenged me to do a thorough self-inspection of my faith. And like it did me, it will encourage you to reach for a standard of holiness that is pleasing to our God.

Even though the book is directed to black church women, I believe the entire church can benefit from its information.
Thank you to the author, Netgalley and publisher for gifting me this eArk for a review. However, all opinions are my own.

“I write this book from a place of love, empathy, and urgency for Black women. The devil doesn’t want you to see Jesus correctly, divide the Word rightly, and embrace yourself fully as a daughter of the Most High God. There is an attack on Black women’s identity, purpose, rest, hearts, and commitment to Christ.”

This is the heart behind this beautiful book by Dr. Sarita Lyons and as a Black Church girl, I’m so grateful for her courage and wisdom to share it with us.

I heard Dr. Sarita say on the With the Perrys podcast that Church Girl was her effort to contextualize the gospel message for Black women. Our experiences within the church body are often different, so to have a ministry leader devote an entire book to helping Black women see clearly how the gospel message applies to our circumstances is sorely needed.

In seven chapters, the book addresses a gospel vision for Black women’s—

🖤 identity
🖤 purpose
🖤 healing
🖤 resting
🖤 flourishing, and
🖤 rescuing

My favorite chapter was the one of rescuing—finding the missing Black women in the Church. As someone trying to find my place in the local church after a season of disorientation and disillusionment, I agreed with so much of what she shared.

While this book is written to Black women, it’s something that the church as a whole can benefit from reading. Grateful to have read it and gleaned some wisdom from it!

Thank you to Dr. Sarita and Waterbrook for providing me an eARC through NetGalley to read and review as a member of her launch team! All opinions are my own.

My first exposure to Christian living books for women goes back to around 2012, when I began lending my time to women’s ministry alongside other young Black women who were passionate about serving Jesus and teaching biblical principles. I remember as a group we struggled mightily with finding resources to equip the young Black women who largely comprised our congregation, as the books and even videos of that time were so white-washed. As we taught from such books, we always found ourselves recasting the examples and themes to align more closely with our experiences, presenting ourselves in the pictures of biblical womanhood and transformed living these books described. It was tiring reframing every tool and resource, and frankly disheartening that we had to go to such great lengths to find any content that reflected us. This trend of Black women going overlooked in publishing has gone on for quite long,though, trust, we’ve been leading women’s ministries, faithfully attending church, teaching, evangelizing and discipling too!

Needless to say, when I learned Dr. Sarita Lyons was developing this book, I was beyond ready for its arrival. We have needed this, longed for this, and been praying for this — for our stories to be heard and for someone to examine our faith with our everyday realities in mind.

One such example in Church Girl that I have never seen addressed in such a thoughtful and careful way is Black women’s propensity to idealize and embrace the superwoman trope to our detriment— leading us into burnout. Most white women authors cannot or do not speak to this experience because they have the benefit of their privilege. This is not to condemn them, but point to how we need resources like this with the cultural framework that informs how we share our faith and how we can be sympathetic and sensitive to the needs of a specific demographic.

For those who might argue that such a message is exclusionary, I would counter that it’s an act of inclusion to invite others into the space Black women inhabit, to essentially sit-in on a conversation to listen intently, to learn how to meet needs, and how to effectively draw women closer to Jesus.

This book offered many instances of challenge and reflection. I was invited to consider women other than myself and instead find Church Girls to encourage and stand in the gap for. I felt called up to a standard of holiness and faithful living that doesn’t cut corners or shirk the level of integrity I am called to

The chapter on missing Church Girls deeply touched me. Dr. Sarita shared a story of how her heart, once hardened by the disappointment of a member leaving the church, was softened by an unexpected source, causing her to reach out to that woman. The heartfelt vulnerability she shared in this story sparked a hopefulness in me that I too could help rescue women, bringing them back into the fold and back into community when they go missing.

There are countless other examples in Church Girl where the author asks the reader to look inward, but not in a self-deterministic way. Instead we are asked to follow the Holy Spirit’s guiding in us to be faithful in our walk, as so many Black women before us did. I will save the specific examples she gives for those who will read this after me, but the breadth of study that went into identifying and calling the names of these little-known Black women of the faith was quite remarkable.

This book delivered. It’s clear Dr. Sarita “understood the assignment,” and was more than qualified for it. I recommend this work to ministry leaders, clergy, unchurched women and men, men and women in the church, and anyone seeking to identify and comprehend the various concerns Black women carry, in order to better come along side them to serve them and help bolster their faith.

I can only hope there will be more books to come that carry on this Church Girl movement to the glory of God.

Love how the author provided scriptures then going into great detail about how women are viewed in Church and in society. She encourages women that they’re more than a “help-mate” to men and that they should view themselves as leaders.

"Church Girl" by Sarita T. Lyons is a refreshing and empowering read for Black Christian women. Lyons provides a gospel-centered perspective that both encourages and challenges readers to embrace their faith fully. With personal anecdotes and biblical insights, this book offers valuable guidance for navigating the complexities of life as a Black woman in the church. A must-read for those seeking inspiration and spiritual growth.