FAQ

If you’re part of an existing GEMS Club, you’ll now find most club-related updates, resources, and FAQs in the GEMS Club Portal — your space for leader support and connection.

If you are curious as to the annual cost of a GEMS Club, you are welcome to view our Start Up Info Page! If you have any questions, please feel free to email hello@gemsgc.org.

First, thank you! Your prayers for the ministry matter! To join the team and receive monthly prayer letters, please complete the form here.

GEMS Clubs come in many sizes! You may start with as few as two to three girls or you may have a couple hundred! You’ll want to have one small group leader for every 6-8 girls.

Most clubs meet in the sponsoring church or Christian organization and utilize classroom space as well as larger meeting spaces. Some clubs also use community centers and shared spaces through home school associations.

Clubs must have a sponsoring church or Christian organization. The meeting location may be worked out with your church or organization. Most clubs meet in the church or organization’s meeting areas.

Your church or Christian organization is responsible for providing insurance protection for your club as well as providing proper background checks for your leaders. You may order our booklet Protecting the Children…Protecting our Volunteers for safety guidelines and instruction.

GEMS Clubs are developed for girls in first through eighth grades. A leadership-training curriculum for high school-aged girls is also available. While materials are produced for each of these levels, you are free to determine the specific age-range your club will offer.

Most clubs meet for two hours every week or every other week from August/September through April or May.

Please view this message, Four Essential Pieces To Structuring Your Club Meeting. Available on our GEMS ReFresh website.

Club Coordinators are responsible for organizing the club. Leaders (historically called Counselors) lead small groups of girls and may help with other areas of the club including crafts, devotionals, or worship. GEMS leaders are women of faith who desire to live radically faithful lives for Christ—acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with Him. They are women who understand the call outlined in Titus 2 and desire to build relationships with girls in order to mentor them and show them what it means to live God-honoring lives.

• Each program level (Grades 1-3, Grades 4-6, and for Grades 7-8) has age-appropriate curriculum choices. Once you determine the age-range your specific club will offer, you can investigate the options that would work best for you.
• If you’re NEW to GEMS, use the LOVED. curriculum before any other! And if your club hasn’t utilized the LOVED. study yet, do so next. In this study, girls discover God’s unfailing love and their Truth-filled identity in Christ. The curriculum includes 16 Bible teachings, seven monthly Fun Nights, and eight LOVED. Challenges. The materials are age-appropriate for Grades 1-3, 4-6, and 7-8.

Parents love GEMS! They appreciate that their daughters have a safe, nurturing environment in which to learn, grow, and discuss the tough issues they face every day. They see the benefits of the relationships their daughters form with their Savior and with the women and girls at club. Parents also love the big group and family events offered through GEMS and the opportunities they provide to have important faith-related conversations with their kids.

• Uphold and seek to accomplish the mission of this ministry—to help bring girls into a living, dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Embrace and hold as truth our Statement of Faith.
• Provide for regular and consistent Bible study in club by utilizing the materials produced by GEMS Girls’ Clubs.
• Provide Christ-inspired and Christ-directed leadership to the girls in club through the prayerful selection, supervision, and support of mentors (counselors).
• Ensure that the club meets regularly throughout a designated season.
• Support the GEMS ministry through regular and consistent prayer.
• Support GEMS financially by ensuring annual club dues ($4.00 per girl) are sent to the GEMS Global Office.
• Support the ministry of GEMS financially by collecting and forwarding to the GEMS Global Office one annual offering.

• Provide Christ-inspired and Christ-directed leadership to the overall ministry.
• Develop effective, inspiring program materials for girls and their mentors (counselors) that are biblically-based and culturally-relevant.
• Organize, plan, and provide multiple training opportunities for mentors (counselors) each year so they can be prepared and fully equipped to lead.
• Regularly pray for the girls and counselors in GEMS Clubs everywhere.

All materials that are back ordered will ship as soon as they are in stock, but please note that special order shirts are subject to availability and may take 4 to 6 weeks before shipping.

Contact the Global Office with any questions. Call 616.616.4367 or email hello@gemsgc.org

As a non-profit ministry, we are unable to offer free pickups. All of your purchases are with a purpose and help girls everywhere know of God’s love.

Pickup cost is 2% of the merchandise subtotal with a minimum charge of $3.50. Please allow 24 hours for us to prepare your order.

Pickup for US Clubs at our Grand Rapids Service Center. Hours Monday to Friday 8 – 4:30 pm.

Pick up for Canadian Clubs at our Canadian Supply Center. Hours Monday to Friday 8 – 5 pm. Please contact gems@dejong.com or call 519.424.9007 to arrange to pick up.

As a non-profit ministry, we are unable to offer free shipping. All of your purchases are with a purpose and help girls everywhere know of God’s love.

The shipping cost is 10% of the merchandise subtotal with a minimum charge of $5 USD and $5.50 CAD.

For rush shipments, please email hello@gemsgc.org after you place your order and include your order number when requesting a rush shipment. To help us ensure the order is delivered on time, please include the date you need your order by. There will be an additional $25 to $30 Premium Rush Fee added to the shipping cost of your order. This allows your order to be placed at Premium Priority above others, and for our shipping department to select an option of shipping that will most likely get your order to you within 2 business days.

A merchandise credit will be issued for goods returned in saleable condition within 45 days of the shipping date. For special order items returned, a $5.00 US, $8.00 CAD re-stocking fee will be charged.

Curriculum items are not returnable.