I absolutely love going to conferences, if I could… I would go to them all. So, if you know of anyone hiring a Christian Conference Reviewer please give them my name. There is something special about conferences, different than church … different than my own personal study time… different than discussing theology over coffee with a group of friends.
This past weekend, I was with 7,200 other women who clearly feel the same way I do. Many traveled far to be here, most were repeat attenders who might have brought along a friend or family member for their first time. I didn’t meet a single person who wasn’t planning to come to the next one.
Worshiping in a room with that many people is unlike anything I have ever experienced. Listening to anointed teachers, scrawling notes, tears streaming, hands clapping, audible gasps when a point hits home…. THANK YOU, JESUS!
What makes conferences so special to me? In part, it’s the opportunity to get away from the comfort and familiarity of my home town. I’ve never feared traveling alone, and I love the opportunity to see new places and meet new people. Flying absolutely astounds me and I could look out the window the entire flight… to think that I am suspended in the air, a God’s eye view to His creation. The colors, patterns, lights… it’s really breathtaking.
As a person who has put on mini-conferences and women’s retreats in the past, I can also appreciate the amount of work that goes into an event of this magnitude. Knowing that every detail was meticulously planned, each speaker vetted and prepared, content that can speak as clearly to 7,200 women as it does to just 1. Conferences give me an opportunity to learn about ministries that I can share with our local women. And, hey… when the International Mission Board wants to give a girl coffee… we’re best friends. (The coffee was amazing. by the way).
As a reader, the fact that most conferences have a book store…. it’s a beautiful thing. Add in that there is usually special conference prices on the books; this means I can grab books that I have been wanting but also take risk on some new titles. So many of the women who have shared their book haul from this conference share about the gifts they purchased for friends who couldn’t come. Women’s Ministry Leaders and Pastor’s Wives are bringing home books to plan out their Small Groups for the year.
There is even something to be said for those moments when I saw a woman thumbing through the pages of a book, contemplating the purchase… and I could say:
“That is one of my favorites.” or “You won’t regret buying that one.”
Yes, all of these things are parts of what make going to conferences special. There is something to be said about spending several days, unplugged from your every day life, worshiping with other women, seeing new sites, and meeting new faces.
However the thing that makes them so special to me and draws me in, every time, is the access to amazing people who have been walking this road ahead of me. Men and women who are not only anointed with wisdom but called to share that wisdom with others. Men and women who are apart of those called to not only be in the fray of this fallen world, but invest in raising up other leaders and equipping them for the battle we fight every day.
So that, when the day is done, my hands are tender from writing pages of notes and my brain is swollen from all of the Good Word that was injected into it. Interpretation I had not considered, application that I did not see, and from that the burn to share that with others. Immersed in the Word, surrounded by my sisters & brothers… all there for one reason, the same reason.
This is incredibly special, a wonderful opportunity to glean form the sages of different walks, ages, and stages.
While this is what makes conferences special to me, it is the blessing that comes from the conferences that always puts me on my knees in gratitude. If you follow me on social media, you will know that I got a bit whiny due to flight delays and complications.
A friend responded: “There must be a huge blessing for you in Indianapolis!“
And boy was she right. In fact, every year when I have gone to this conference I have entered the conference with something weighing on my heart. Every year, when I leave… there has been an answer, affirmation, or direction given. Every single year. If I gained nothing from the conferences other than this, I would still call it my favorite and I would still call it blessed.
The Lord blesses us when we surrender our time and ourselves to His Word and His teachers. He blesses us when we humbly put our issues at the foot of the cross, and lean into His guidance. God blesses us with the people whom He puts in our pathways to say “just the right thing” even when they have no idea what you are struggling with. The Lord blesses us in a place like this, when we are all together for one purpose in one accord… and the Holy Spirit moves throughout the space. Touching hearts, healing wounds, directing steps, giving wisdom, developing gifts, sharing tissues… THANK YOU, JESUS.
It comes in the plenary sessions, seated among 7,200 others. It comes in the workshops for a few hundred to just 15 women sitting in a circle, who say: “You too?”
We find so much in this COMMUNITY….
And of course, it is nice to come home and find out you were missed..
Watch & listen for yourself, by clicking the banner below.
Pre-Conference Sessions on Prayer
All Conference Main Plenary Sessions
And a thorough selection from the many workshops offered.
Gena McCown 