If you’ve been onboard The Ship lately, you’ve probably noticed there’s a buzz in the air among the ladies. The annual W.O.W. – Women of Worth – Conference is here. There is a rumor circulating that Domino’s has hired extra drivers for August 23 through 25 anticipating all home cooking will be disrupted on those days. And from what I’ve learned of the event, I believe the rumors are true. The Women’s Ministry Leaders, Sisters Karen Strong and Terese Martin, and the W.O.W. Conference Committee have planned an amazing three day conference.
The ladies will begin the conference with a “lady on fire” – spiritual fire. No, not Alicia Keys, but the anointed Rev. Dr. Carolyn Knight. At 7:00 pm, Wednesday, August 23, Knight will begin the conference with a message from God. If you have or have not heard Knight share the Word, I encourage you to YouTube her and listen to her “Preaching With Power” message – at least. You will immediately understand why I’ve labeled her a “lady on fire.” To have a fire, you have to start a fire, and Knight is coming to ignite the fire. And did I mention the planning committee has arranged for vendors to be present before and after the worship experience. So ladies come prepared to get your shopping and worship groove on.
Thursday, August 24 puts more wood on the fire with breakout sessions. After the W.O.W. Mix and Mingle, ladies ages 18-40 will come together for three bonding sessions: The List – Making God’s Priorities My Priority, The Generation Gap, and Are You Insured? a session to address the importance of life insurance. The “seasoned” ladies, ages 41 and older will come together for two sessions: The Generation Gap and There is a Season – a session to help our ladies navigate through the changing seasons of life.
Friday, August 25, is the closing day of the conference, and ladies you will be “wowed” by the All-Male Panel, hand selected by the conference committee to answer questions about men that all women want to know. In 1992, John Gray published a book titled Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. The book – just from the title – became a huge success. The focus was to improve communication between men and women and help each get what they want from the relationship. So ladies, if you didn’t read the book, or see the movie, now is your chance.
I reached out to Sister Strong while preparing to write this article and asked her to share her vision for this conference and the Women’s Ministry. I also asked her to address the challenges, if any, the ministry faces. She responded, “The goal of all of the conference events is to draw women closer to Christ. In fact, the goal of the Women’s Ministry is to draw women closer to Christ and improve relations among all women. The ministry challenge is bridging the gap between genera-tions. However, this will be addressed during the conference.” Ladies, you don’t want to miss this event!
Written by Henry Hopson Jr.