Network for Women in Ministry Conference
I've mentioned my trip to Phoenix, but I'd like to write about some of the seminars that most influenced me while I was there. I'm never able to write this all out when I first come back; I need time to process out what most influenced me and why. I even need time to realize the applications for my own life that I find in someone else's story.
The conference was called "Conversations '08" --a title that helped to facilitate the objective of the conference: to network with other people who share your goals for ministry, perhaps your specifc type of ministry, or even your "style" of ministry. Women network best by talking, and the conference allowed for a lot of interaction. We had a couple of interactive sessions each day, in which a speaker would present their experience in ministry focusing on one topic (conflict, disappointment, mistakes, etc) and then we would discuss that topic and our own experiences at our tables. It made for a lot of personal communication, and we were able to connect with one another on deep levels.
The first session was the testimony of a pastor's wife who left a cushy mega-church for a rat-infested inner-city church of Miami. She hated it, and her teenage sons were revolting against their father's decision to uproot them from yuppie Washington state to poverty-stricken, drug-infested Miami. One day she saw an ad in the newspaper that mentioned a deadline for grant applications; federal funding was available for programs that would aid those in "need." Almost on a whim, she applied for money to start a summer day-camp program for the kids in their neighborhood. She won $175,000 from that first grant proposal to start the camp, and hundreds of kids attended that summer! Ten years later, their organization Peacemakers has over a thousand kids in after-school programs that are totally federally funded, and their church is able to evangelize through all of it.
She spoke on the subject of fear. She challenged us to be ready to take the plunge into a greater ministry, rather than being sidelined by either fear of failure or fear of other people's opinions. Using Deut. 27:2-5 as her text, she reminded us that only in stepping into the Jordan did the Israelites put "feet to their faith" that God was leading them to the Promised Land. She reminded us that God is not moved by NEED, but by FAITH.
Her question to all of us that day was poignant: What keeps you from doing what God has for you?