Glory Conference

At the beginning of this month, I had the privilege of going to Lifeway’s Glory Conference hosted by Jackie Hill Perry. I first heard about Jackie at the Lifeway Women’s Live Conference in 2019 and I instantly was drawn by how she spoke and preached. Since then I’ve followed her on Instagram, I’ve read both of her books, and she’s a poet just like me, so I definitely identified with her in that aspect.

When I saw that she had her own conference I was interested and searched to see if the conference would be hosted near where I live. There was one in Jacksonville, Florida but I thought to myself, “I don’t know anyone there and I’ve never been.” However, I saw that Glory was going to be hosted in my hometown, Grand Rapids, Michigan – so I set the plan to attend.

The conference was on Friday night and Saturday morning. I arrived in Grand Rapids on Thursday afternoon and I got to spend time with my best friend. And on Friday morning, I got ready, wrote two articles, and spent more time with my best friend. We went to the outlet mall, I got a new purse, we ate good Mexican food (if you’re ever in Grand Rapids, you need to eat Mexican food), and we got pedicures!

Friday Night

Then it was time to go to the conference. Before arriving I realized that I was going to this conference alone for the first day, my friend from Florida was arriving the following day, but it was a big deal for me because I struggle with doing activities alone.

Friday night was great, the conference started with worship being led by Jordan Welch. And we heard a virtual message from Yana (I don’t think I wrote the name down correctly), and she told us how Jesus loves women and He cares for women. She asked, how can he not when he was born of a woman? She also said, “P.S. the future is not female. It’s male and female walking side by side working together for the glory of God.” I liked that message because as always with any movement there are extremists and we need both males and females to move things forward.

The overall theme of the conference was Jesus and Women and Jackie preached from Genesis 16 – the story of Hagar. The overall message was that Sarai got herself into a mess because she was impatient, took matters into her own hands, and didn’t wait for God. Jackie said that misplaced hope gets you into messes. Don’t get yourself into a mess, wait for the Lord.

Saturday Morning

Saturday there was worship again to start and then Q&A with Jackie and Dr. Sarita T. Lyons. Jackie asked Dr. Lyons questions about her ministry, and her background, and one of the things that stood out to me from one of her answers was, she said, “You cannot depend on people valuing you when your value comes from the Lord.”

How many times do we wait for people to see our worth and wait for people’s recognition when we should only be caring about the value that God places on us? Too many times. They also opened up the floor for the audience to ask questions and the majority of them were about parenting. The biggest takeaway was that we cannot parent out of fear!

After this, we heard another virtual message from Sarah (again, didn’t write down the last name) and her message was three distinctions for women.

The creation of women.

We were created to bring strength.

The biological make-up of women.

We can bring life into this world. Although, not every woman is called to motherhood.

Her position in society.

As a woman, we need to study Jesus. Women were created to sit at the feet of Jesus.
Sarah told us to use everything that makes you a woman for your ministry.

Jackie’s Message at Glory

On Saturday Jackie preached from John 4 – when Jesus talks to the Samaritan Woman at the well. She gave us six observations of Jesus at the well to use in our ministries.

Lead with your humanity.

Jesus said He was thirsty, that showed his humanity. Jackie told us that in our ministries we need to understand we are not God. We have limits and needs. And our insecurities remind us that we are human. Do not act like your life is perfect, Jesus helps you overcome.

Be curious about cultural context.

The Samaritan women’s culture shaped how she saw Jesus.
Jackie reminded us to always ask questions.

Address their spiritual condition.

Everyone has a theological context.
Sin produces ignorance and idolatry.
Romans 1
People are thirsty for identity and authority but help people see that the thirst they have is for the water that Jesus provides.

Use what’s revealed to reveal God.

Jesus told the woman to go call her husband and the woman responded that she had no husband, Jesus said, you are right, you’ve had five. He was revealing who He was.
Most of your work in ministry will revolve around details of sin and exposure. However, show how God helped you overcome.

Practice true worship.

God is seeking worshipers.
If your practice if Jesus isn’t Lord, it isn’t true worship.
Worship is daily.
Believe in Jesus!

Keep it simple.

Use the simple things that glorify God.
Pray!
You don’t need a huge platform or following because you need to be okay giving God glory when you are invisible.
Point every woman to Jesus!

A conference about God, not you!

Wrapping Up

At the end of this conference, I felt so refreshed and ready to seek God deeper. I want to know God more and I didn’t even think this was possible. However, I’ve come to the realization that learning about God, seeking God, and knowing Him deeper is a lifelong journey.

Prayer: Lord, I pray for everyone reading this recap of the conference that they will seek You God and they will get to know You. Our ministry isn’t about us, it’s about You, it’s about bringing you glory. It’s about Jesus! Thank you, God, for your ultimate sacrifice, for your Son, for your love, and for your mercy. I live for you and only you, to glorify your name always. Thank you for everything! And in your name, I pray always, Amen!

With Love, Heidy

Romans 3:23 NIV – for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

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This past weekend I attended the Lifeway Women Live conference for the third time. You can read about my first time attending in 2019 here. Last year, the conference was virtual, and our church hosted it, but we met on Zoom. This year our church hosted again but physically at the church, and I loved it. I loved being with other Women of God pursuing Christ together, worshiping together, and praying over each other!

The Speakers

This year’s speakers were Kristi McLelland, Ruth Chou Simons, Kelly Minter, Lisa Harper, Nancy Guthrie, and one of my favorite speakers since the first time I saw her in 2019, Jackie Hill Perry.

Angie Smith was the host this year, and I believe she did the first session, but since Lifeway was having some technical difficulties at the beginning of the conference, we weren’t able to hear her speak. I was looking forward to hearing Jamie Ivey’s message, but she and her family have been dealing with COVID, so prayers for them.

The Music

The worship band was Austin Stone Worship. And musical guest was Point of Grace, I had never heard of them before this conference, but apparently, they were popular in the 90s. Let me know if you listen to their songs or have heard of them. 🙂

The Messages

The first message that stood out to me was Kristi McLelland. She asked, “What is your relationship with silence?” She wanted us to think if we try to avoid silence if we try to fill it, do we reach for our phones, and what gets stirred up inside us when there is silence? I found this question profound, and it got me thinking of doing a blog post about it. She tied the message by saying that what gets stirred up inside of us when there is silence is what we need to work on. Jesus can help us, but it’s up to us to want to get well.

The second message that stood out to me was Lisa Harper’s. Her message stemmed from Luke 11: 5-13, and this passage talks about seeking and you shall find and how the Lord will provide more. She mentioned that God always provides more than we could ever imagine and to always Aim towards Jesus. At one point during her message, she wanted us to lay hands on each other and pray. At this time, two ladies came up to me, we laid hands on each other, and prayed. That prayer was so powerful, and I felt the presence of God so profoundly that I felt like I wasn’t in the conference anymore. Also, I took over the prayer at one point, and I didn’t even have to think about what to say next; the words were flowing out of me!

The last message that stood out to me was Jackie Hill Perry’s. She had three points:

The tongue is accountable
The tongue is powerful
The tongue is inconsistent

Now, when it comes to Jackie, I didn’t take many notes because the way she speaks has me captivated the whole time that I forget to write. I did write one thing she said, “words can hurt, but words can heal.” This reminded me of a blog post about word selection I wrote back in 2019 because words do hold much weight, and words are very powerful. Whether used for good or evil, words have power. I always try to say positive and encouraging things to others and myself because I’m not too fond of negative energy. I find it very draining.

In Conclusion

Overall, the conference was refreshing and empowering. Since the first one I’ve attended, I love conferences and have attended writing and speaking conferences too. Jackie Hill Perry has a conference coming up later on this year, and one of the cities she will be at is Atlanta, which I would love to attend.

Have you attended a Lifeway Women conference before? If so, what was your experience? Maybe you have attended another conference, let me know about that one; I’d love to hear all about your experience.

With Love,

Heidy

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