The Lord says that when two or three are gathered in His name, He will be present. But what about when more than 50 excited women come together for a day of inspirational speaking and praise and worship?
The women who did just that Feb. 3 in Montgomery not only felt the Lord’s presence but heard a word from Him through the program personalities.
The women participated in the Alabama Baptist State Evangelism Conference, held this year at Heritage Baptist Church, Montgomery.
Motivational speaker Mamie McCollough of Dallas, Texas, used humor in messages punctuated by bursts of laughter to convince her audience of women how valuable they are and inspire them to affirm the worth of others.
“I’m artificial from top to bottom,” quipped McCollough as she reminded her listeners that God looks on the inside. She pointed to her red hair. “My hair is chemically dependent.”
McCollough traced her journey from a shy, thin child who grew up in poverty in Dixie, Ga., to educator, writer and motivational speaker. “I’m not embarrassed that I was raised on welfare,” McCollough bantered, “because I have paid the government back everything it has invested in me.”
McCollough related how she went off to college with $25, two dresses and a sack of chicken. There she met with the president of Howard Payne University. Although she described herself as scrawny, poorly dressed and practically penniless, he encouraged her. “We need to encourage people when they cannot believe in themselves. It is our greatest witness.”
Crumbling up a $100 bill, she challenged women to remember that mistakes and failure never diminish their value either.
“The unforgivable sin as I understand it is denial of God. There are times in life when you have to get up and brush yourselves off,” McCollough said.
She encouraged women to understand that “we decide what kind of day we’re gonna have” and reminded them it pays to keep smiling. “I keep a smile because I heard that if you don’t give it away, it will enlarge and settle on your hips.”
She suggested that when they get depressed women should do something for others and, as her mama told her, to “be kind to everybody because everybody’s having a tough time in some area.”
Linda Preskitt, who heads FAITH for Vaughn Forest Baptist Church in Montgomery, explained that “I love sharing Jesus now,” but initially witnessing “terrified” her.
She persevered, however, to be obedient. Plus, she realized that sharing one’s faith influences others. Because someone witnessed to her brother and his eight kids, they were converted and remain dedicated … Mormons, Preskitt told those attending the women’s track of the evangelism conference.
Preskitt has now led numerous people to the Lord. She witnessed to an 83-year-old woman client, whose 109-year-old mother lived long enough to see her daughter finally accept Christ.
Seventeen people made professions of faith in a Wal-Mart parking lot through Preskitt’s FAITH team. On a day she and her son determined to share Christ with everyone they saw, 20 accepted Christ.
She credits evangelism with allowing her children to witness God’s miracles firsthand. “You’re not taking anything away from your family,” she said. “You’re building them. You’re building them strong.”
Jane Derrick, Bible teacher and workshop leader at The Cove, Billy Graham Training Center in Asheville, N.C., wove her personal experience dealing with the death of her husband, Duane, from AIDS with teachings about Jesus’ death on the cross. Speaking to those gathered in Montgomery, she challenged women to trust God when the path is hard.
“The hard things of life are not meant to defeat or destroy us,” Derrick said. Just like the road He set Jesus on, God will use hard paths in His sovereign plans. “I came to know God better and trust Him more along a hard path.”
When her late husband was diagnosed 14 years ago, Derrick had been a believer for 12 years. “I was a Christian, but one who didn’t trust God for more than her salvation. The truth was I was living by my own wits, and my husband was lost. God loved me so much, He wanted more for my life.” In the aftermath of the diagnosis, Duane received Christ, and Jane developed a closer relationship with Him.
In his last days, Duane realized he was living his best days. “He said, ‘Jane, you know, I was born to live like this, dependent on God for everything.’” While his body died, “his spirit, his soul got strong, bathed in the love of Christ,” she said.
What their hard path did for them, God intends to do for others, according to Derrick. “Your hard path is meant to hem you in to God’s love.”
Derrick encouraged women whose faith falters to confess their fears and repent of any unbelief and then “wait for His grace to fall.” She reminded them that “God’s love has authority over whatever you face.
“Trust in God is believing that life passes through God’s heart before it ever reaches me.”
Brenda See, wife of Supreme Court Justice Harold See, told women that even though both her parents had died before she reached age 19, her aunt’s death still took her by surprise.
See realized then she had been “lulled into a false sense of reality” but acknowledges now that “redemption is truly reality.”
With that understanding, See has led others to Christ, including a child she mentored and a man in a church parking lot.
See said she was 50 before she experienced abundant life. “God’s truths once washed right over me,” See said. “I wasn’t looking for the pearl of great price.”
When someone suggested she needed to “hang out with God,” she reached a turning point. “The first essential of evangelism is to know Jesus. If no one’s told you how to do that, sit and listen and He will come to you.”
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