Heather Ruesch “You Matter” Tour

“You matter.”

It’s a simple, three-syllable phrase loaded with meaning.

So meaningful, in fact, that Heather Ruesch, author of Sexuality Mentality, is touring the country talking about how much you matter.

Heather advocates for human life, marriage, family, and sexuality. These topics are the core of her first-ever national speaking tour, “You Matter,” which starts the first week of October 2019 in Seward, Nebraska. She will visit 11 states (and counting!) to talk with parents, pastors, teachers, and students of all ages. Her goal is to reach 100,000 students with the “You Matter” message.

Why do I matter?

Heather’s presentation encourages students to find their strength in Christ alone.

“The biggest take away is: You matter. Your value in Christ

is the most important issue on the table,” she says.

Once students recognize this, everything they encounter is filtered through their value in Christ. Through attending church, where they receive God’s gifts of the Word, Baptism, and Communion, young adults find their true worth in Jesus.

“What Christ did on the cross makes you more valuable than anything else,” Heather says. “That’s life changing.”   

Let’s talk about sexuality

By challenging the culture of superficial beliefs regarding the value of life, sex, and marriage, Heather is slowly shifting how teens and families in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod  communicate about sexuality.

“We don’t want to talk about sexuality because it’s so political,” Heather says. “But we can’t not talk about it ... we’re doing a huge disservice when we ignore it.”

One of her talking points is that Satan often uses fear and past failures to separate us from God. Parents may struggle with past decisions or feel like they don’t have resources they need to spark a conversation with their child. Students constantly see messages that support a “casual sex mentality,” from TV commercials to music to social media and beyond.

“Kids are dealing with relationships and sexuality in their culture,” Heather says. “There’s a disconnect because you’re looking for your sexuality or desirability to make you feel valued.”

She adds that one of Satan’s biggest lies is taking what God values and diminishing it. Heather emboldens students, parents, and teachers to speak openly about God’s plan for sexuality, noting there are tools and resources available starting for fifth grade all the way through college.

“To see the shifting of the culture, we want to talk about it, give the Church places to go to be edified and edify one another,” she says.

You matter to God

Heather has received positive responses wherever she speaks, most recently at the LCMS National Youth Gathering this past July. Parents, teachers, and students themselves often share personal anecdotes and words of support.

“The thing I look forward to the most is interactions with students during and after the presentation,” she says. “When you see the light bulb go off and connect the dots for them, it’s so awesome and you know God is working to transform their lives.”

 To learn more about how you matter or to have Heather speak with your students, visit Heather's website.