Hundreds of Alabama Baptist women joined Christian women from around the country in Birmingham Sept. 26–28 for the National Christian Women’s Convention, a ministry event coordinated by LifeWay Christian Resources.
More than 10,000 Christian women gathered at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex arena for the conference, billed as a weekend of fun, inspiration and spiritual transformation. Speakers for the event included Beth Moore, Mary Kassian, Margaret Becker, Gary Chapman and Iris Blue.
Travis Cottrell led the praise and worship music, and performances by Ballet Magnificat and Larnelle Harris rounded out the schedule of events.
Jeremiah 24:7 theme
The program for the conference centered around the theme “Seek Me, Know Me, Return to Me,” based on Jeremiah 24:7 (NIV): “I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.”
Session themes included “Peace,” “Hope,” “Freedom,” “Culture” and “Relationships.”
Moore, a favorite among conference participants, spoke on the themes of hope and freedom.
She addressed strongholds in the thought life and warned women against allowing situations to become greater than God. Moore added that women should be careful about their passions.
“If God is not our consuming passion,” she said, “we will find something else to be passionate about. He is the only safe, consuming passion we have.”
Finding peace
Speaking on the topic of peace, Kassian said that women often think God isn’t big enough, interested enough or good enough to handle their fears.
As a result, she said, people often rely on their own abilities and competencies before they ask God for help.
“God has an unfathomable store of resources for us,” Kassian said. “The only way to have peace is to surrender completely to God.”
Addressing the participants during the last conference session, Mission Service Corps volunteer Iris Blue shared her testimony and warned women against loving Jesus from a distance.
“Many of us love Jesus like a movie star,” Blue said. “We like what He’s done, we like who He is, and we know about Him, but we don’t really know Him.”
Dozens of women responded to Blue’s invitation to “get to know Him personally.”
Alabama Baptist women spoke positively about the conference topics and speakers.
“It has been a great, uplifting experience,” said Laura Harris, a member of Providence Baptist Church near Rockford. “I haven’t been disappointed.”
“I’ve been out of church a long time, but I’m back in now,” said Sandy Faulk, one of 55 women who attended the conference from Santuck Baptist Church. “I could really identify with Beth Moore when she said that everyone has self-doubts, but you get over it and get back into a close relationship with God.”
Dawn Green, also of Santuck, added that many people feel they have to clean up their lives before they come to Jesus. “From these speakers, we’ve all heard that it’s OK to come as you are,” she said.
Amelia Billingsley of Pinson, who came to the conference with her mother, Stella, shared the thoughts of many of those who attended the conference.
Billingsley said that for the last several months she has felt “down and out” and needed spiritual encouragement.
“In Colossians, Paul writes about being strengthened in faith and love,” Billingsley said. “That’s what we all took away from this conference.”
Share with others: