Nashville, TN -- (ReleaseWire) -- 11/19/2010 -- In less than five years, a women’s event in Canada has quietly become one of the most successful Christian tours in the country. With over 170 dates and tens of thousands of attendees under their belt, “Girls Night Out” (GNO) believes they can make an even bigger impact in the United States as cash-strapped churches look for new ways to continue outreach efforts in their communities. Part of their appeal is that “Girls Night Out” events do not charge host churches any fees or promotional expenses, making it completely free to any church willing to open its doors. And at only a $5.00 per ticket, it is also extremely affordable to budget-minded consumers.

“‘Girls Night Out’ events offer something that will help local churches reach out to their communities,” says Anne Bruce, Strategic Relationship Partner with FaithLife Financial and co-sponsor of the GNO events. “These events can fill a void for congregations while engaging women with humor and inspiring them with hope. We have found that nearly 60% of our attendees come from churches or denominations other than the host church and that nearly 10% of women who attend are un-churched. These evenings are all about faith, fun and fellowship and we have seen enormous outreach opportunities emerge.”

The “Girls Night Out” events will begin their U.S. tour in early October on the west coast and are now booking dates in the southeast region for November. According to Mary Messina, Program Manager of GNO, their goal is to do over 200 events in U.S. markets in the coming year. Speakers for the events are not household names, says Messina, but they are “successful authors and entertaining ladies who offer their personal stories with humor and joy.” Connie Cavanaugh, author of the book From Faking It to Finding Grace, will headline the U.S. events.

“Girls Night Out” is a partnership between FaithLife Financial and World Vision. FaithLife Financial is a not-for-profit, member-owned Christian financial organization. World Vision builds international Christian partnerships that seek to overcome poverty and injustice for children and families across the globe. Messina says the partnership is invaluable as both companies are dedicated to Christian causes.

Recent research from the Barna Group confirmed that U.S. churches of all denominations have been negatively impacted by the down economy. At least 21% of churches have cut their spending, including eliminating staff and cutting their missions budgets, and over 57% of pastors say their churches have been hurt by the economic downturn.

“Both FaithLife and World Vision are incredibly generous with their resources towards the GNO events and are able to offer the program to churches free of charge,” says Messina. “This means large or small, rich or poor, all churches have the opportunity to use this event as an outreach to their own communities.

“Our events are not bible studies or weekend retreats,” says Messina. “We are not trying to compete with big conventions. We have made these events scalable for local churches to get involved, making them intimate and accessible for women of all ages. These are evenings that engage women with humor and inspire them with hope, with some chocolate mixed in for good measure.”

For more information, visit: http://www.gnolive.com.

FaithLife Financial is a not-for-profit Christian financial services organization that currently provides insurance and investment solutions to more than 31,000 members in Canada. The organization reinvests a portion of its earnings in programs that support members, their congregations and communities, as well as people in need worldwide. Its mission is to help Canadian Christians protect their financial future, live their Christian values and build a better world. They are expanding services to the U.S. to spread their mission of helping Christians live generously, provide financial security for their families, and give joyfully. Visit http://www.faithlifefinancial.ca.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves close to 100 million people in nearly 100 countries around the world. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. Visit http://www.worldvision.org.