At the Women ACT conference in Tiffin, OH
At Lindsey Trinity UMC
I had such a great and busy weekend this past weekend, and it was so fun to see all the ways God was working, both at the events and in my own heart and expectations.
Friday, I drove up with my mom to Tiffin, OH which is about 2 hours north for me. We checked into the hotel and realized that it was literally steps next door to the conference center where I was going to be speaking and doing the worship for Women ACT, a women’s conference that has been happening in Tiffin for the past 23 years. This is a large conference, but this year the numbers were down, and they were seriously considering how much longer they would continue with the event. For this reason, there was some tension going in, and I could feel it. These women love their event and have worked so hard with such hearts for sharing the Gospel – they really wanted it to succeed.
Friday night we had a dinner together with the entire planning team. I was impressed with the care and time these women have put in. They have met for a year planning this, and their hearts were very much for the women coming. I also got to meet Lisa Sheets Meiners who was speaking, and that was fun – we have friends in common, but I’ve never met her, and it was great to work with her. At the end of the night, the team spent a lot of time together in prayer for the event the next day and had communion together.
The event the next day exceeded expectations! Even though their numbers were down from previous years, they had many women sign up even in the last week, and the room was packed. I was leading worship and also gave my testimony and shared some of my music. Lisa did a great job teaching, and the team had taken so much care in prepping. It was so clear God was there, and in the end, we had so many people tell us it the best one they’d ever done. When we were packing up to leave, the committee came and told us that the feedback was so great, they knew their event would continue, and that year had breathed new life into their conference!
Mom and I drove up to Lindsey, then, a tiny town in northern Ohio. I had done a women’s conference up in this area couple of years ago, and the music director of Lindsey Trinity UMC was there and asked me to coordinate a day with her when I was next in her area. They do a special day each year when they invite someone, and had given me most of the service the next morning.
This was a beautiful old church with amazing stained glass windows and woodwork. It was a very traditional service – one of the things I really appreciate about my ministry is the diversity I get to see in the church. I love having the opportunity to experience so many different styles within the body of Christ! I spoke and did some music, and afterward we had a luncheon for the whole church. It was a great day for mom and me, and I had some wonderful conversations with people about their own journeys with the Lord. He reminded me again that while we all come from different places and backgrounds and hurts and giftings, He is the same God, and His love is for everyone! What a great reminder that I pray I can keep in front of me always.