As we’re moving forward, we need to be watching, waiting and ready to reply to whatever God would have us do, anticipating what God’s moving among our hearts might be.”
This was the encouragement Laurelle Stoudenmire, the newly elected president of Alabama Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU), gave the approximately 350 church and associational women’s leaders present at Alabama WMU’s annual leadership conference.
Stoudenmire is WMU director for Clarke Baptist Association and past WMU director for Thomasville Baptist Church and a former International Mission Board missionary.
The conference, held July 19–20 at Shocco Springs Baptist Conference Center in Talladega, was based on the theme “iLIVE,” drawn from Acts 17:28a, “For in Him we live and move and have our being.”
Lucretia Mobbs, a former Alabama WMU Missions & Ministry consultant who led the general-session Bible study, encouraged participants to “slow down your frantic activity and claim the joy of the Lord in every present moment.”
Mobbs is the volunteer and church partnership coordinator for The Next Door, a Nashville-based ministry for women leaving incarceration.
Women should be ready and available for opportunities, she said. “Pour out your life for God and your neighbor, then trust the Lord for outcomes.”
The conference included specialized instructional workshops for missions leaders as well as general interest sessions on topics such as connecting students to missions, planning a children’s event, influencing the next generation of international leaders and ways to be involved in Project HELP: Human Exploitation.
A special track for the weekend was the Emerging Leaders Forum, made up of 20 teenage girls in grades 9–12 who were invited to attend because they have demonstrated exceptional leadership ability in their home churches and associations. During the biennial meeting, four young women gave testimonies about how the ministries of Alabama WMU had impacted their faith development.
They are part of WMU’s vision for the future, said outgoing president Becky Luther. “As I look out here today, I know that we have a bright future because I see all the young ladies out there who are now becoming leaders, who are stepping forward, so that’s the future, the young people stepping forward to keep missions alive with Alabama WMU,” she said.
Executive director Candace McIntosh mentioned the foundation Alabama is building on — the organization will celebrate its 125th anniversary next year.
“For 125 years, we have united for the cause of Christ to carry out the Great Commission,” McIntosh said. “God is at work here in Alabama. He delights in using His servants to minister to those who find themselves in need.”
Other officers elected were Michelle Wise, of Spring Hill Baptist Church, Mobile, as vice president; and Sonja Adams, of Heflin Baptist Church, as recording secretary.
Share with others: