Guiding girls in God's truth

As a dedicated Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) leader for years, Patti Garibay recognized that lurking within the
organization was a partiality for leftist ideologies – including pro-abortion teaching and pro-trans policies. To counter that culture, Patti Garibay founded American Heritage Girls (AHG) in 1995 as an alternative to GSUSA.

AHG emphasizes foundational American values, patriotism, service, family, and Christian faith, and accepts only biological girls, ages 5-18, as members. AHG’s founding mission adheres to a Christian statement of faith while “building women of integrity through service to God, family, community, and country.” AHG troops, made up of five different age levels, meet in classroom settings or engage in outside activities as a group. AHG emphasizes family involvement as it seeks to walk alongside parents in instilling godly values in their daughters.

Building on a strong foundation

In 2025, AHG celebrated its 30th anniversary. What began with a few local families meeting around a kitchen table in Cincinnati, Ohio, now consists of 70,000 members in 1,300 troops across all 50 states, as well as overseas programs for missionary kids and military families.

After three decades as the leader of this faith-based scouting organization, Garibay retired and handed over the reins as executive director to Rachael Culpepper, her daughter. Culpepper has been involved with AHG since its founding and is the mother of a current troop member.

“The Lord has been faithful to our AHG mission and provided the right candidate for the job, someone who witnessed the birth of this organization and has remained dedicated to that vision since the start — my own daughter, Rachael!” Garibay said in a 2025 press release. “To think that out of the 400 highly qualified people that applied for this position, Rachael was chosen by both the search firm as well as the board of directors, confirming God’s hand in this process.”

Culpepper not only has a close mentor in her mother as she takes over the position of leading AHG, but she also has a wealth of experiences that she feels God used to prepare her for this role.

“I have been invested in AHG since its inception so many years ago and have fulfilled a number of roles, from data entry all the way to chief strategy officer,” Culpepper said in the same press release. “I’ve seen a lot of different corners of AHG, but what I’m most proud of is my time in my local troop with my daughter. It’s so wonderful to see the ministry firsthand and the experience that these girls are having. I am so very honored to serve as the [new] executive director, and I look forward to seeing what the Lord is going to do in this next season.”

Engaging girls today

Culpepper recognizes that while AHG has grown over the years and cultivated countless young women in Christian character and leadership, the surrounding culture has changed. The need for AHG is even greater now than it was 30 years ago.

“Over the years, we’ve seen the ministry grow, but we’ve also seen a huge shift in culture,” Culpepper explained to The Stand. “The things that girls are facing now are vastly different than what they were facing 30 years ago. We’re watching culture try to redefine things like what it means to be a girl and what it means to have faith. And we still believe that Christ is the answer to all those things, but the way that we’re having to come alongside families and resource them in today’s culture is quite different than it was before.”

Equipping parents

One way AHG equips parents is by providing them with biblically aligned and Christ-centered opportunities that reinforce the worldview they are trying to teach to their children.

“There are a lot of hard things that are facing our girls, and our parents as well,” Culpepper said, “so we really need to increase the fun, and our girls certainly need more good – moral good.

“For me,” she continued, “whether I’m looking to stream entertainment or shopping for clothes for my daughter, it seems that as a parent, I’m having to say ‘no’ a lot more than I get to say ‘yes.’ We want to give parents more things they can say ‘yes’ to.”

Another way that AHG supports families is through its parenting resource division called Raising Godly Girls, which has several elements: a one-minute radio spot, a three-times-a-week podcast, a blog, and a series of e-books.

This division teaches parents “how to have open conversations with their kids and present the biblical worldview on cultural topics,” Culpepper explained. “We have seen a huge increase in this particular corner of our ministry because parents are just desperate for resources to help navigate the confusing culture that kids are dealing with.”

Connecting with the past

AHG seeks to respond to current cultural needs by tapping into the wisdom and character of older generations when it comes to guiding and mentoring troop members. Older generations of women are often treated by culture as if they are out of touch or have nothing of value to contribute to the modern world. However, AHG realizes that the opposite is true, and tapping into the wisdom and character of older generations is both lifesaving and life-changing for today’s girls.

“We know that biblically, in the Titus 2 example, we need to gain wisdom from women who have walked this journey ahead of us, who have stories of God’s faithfulness to share with the next generation,” Culpepper said. “And this generation of girls has access to more information than any generation before them, but probably less wisdom than any generation before them. So, we are trying to pair up wise women out there in the community – and in churches – with their local AHG troops and connect those girls with those women to really build up godly character.”

In addition, a number of former AHG girls are now adults who have gained leadership skills and Christian values from their time spent in AHG. As troop leaders for their daughters, they are living examples of AHG women.

“We are seeing the faith component really being lived out in these adult women,” Culpepper said. “And we’re seeing them pass on those same values to their daughters and the next generation. It’s exciting to see this start to become a generational ministry and something that becomes a tradition and part of the tapestry of a family.”