Our third Fresh Grounded Faith spring conference just wrapped up and what an amazing conference it was! My cup runneth over.
Everything about Elkhart was amazing, and some of it was a little crazy! A sold-out conference of sold-out women for the Lord!
We’re so grateful to First Baptist Church Elkhart and our nine co-host churches for hosting us. Senior Pastor Phil and Robin Byars of FBC Elkhart were so kind and hospitable. He opened the conference with a warm welcome, encouraging all of the women, and applauding the beautiful unity in the body of Christ.
It was no small task trying to fit all those women in, but our greeter team was spot on. They worked diligently helping women smush in so everyone had a seat.
We just can’t thank Local Conference Coordinator Laura Johnson and Women’s Ministry Director Susan Wertman enough for organizing this event so beautifully! And, one of our former local conference coordinators, Becky Pontius (FGF South Bend, IN 2013), even served on our volunteer entrance team. I love it when the body of Christ supports each other. Don’t you just love that?
Now, what was not so amazing was the travel! It was crazy!
Karen Abercrombie was stranded in Minneapolis due to the bad weather in New York. By the time her plane was supposed to land, she would have already missed most of the evening.
Fortunately, one of our security team members was a state trooper. So, Karen’s plane landed to a state trooper escort—lights and sirens and all! He got her to Elkhart just in time to end the evening with the Miss Clara War Room prayer! What a ride! She loved it—and so did we!
Then Saturday, Lisa Whelchel didn’t even make it to the hotel due to her crazy red-eye travel from Phoenix. She got no sleep except on planes and in the car as they sped to make it in time for her to share at 11:00 a.m. She walked in just in time, caffeine keeping her eyes wide open!
Both women, with all the travel issues, knocked it out of the park, as did Shaun Groves who led worship! Just another reminder that our good Lord has it all under control and will sustain us with just the right amount of energy we need! Even when our lives are crazy, He is amazing!
Lastly, this was my first FGF after my hero dad’s passing, and deep down, I was a little nervous. I just wasn’t sure if I could do it, how I would do it, and if grief would show up when I least expected it right there on stage.
Well, He is always more powerful than our pain and His grace is sufficient when we don’t feel like we’ve got enough to make it. I taught from Psalm 23 and the Lord used the message to minister to the women, and He used it to minister to me. I carried my dad’s preaching Bible on stage with me every time I taught. It was a way to honor him and it comforted me.
Oh, sister, there were so many stories. I wish I could share them all with you. But what I can share is that we are celebrating and praising God for the 6 new sisters in Christ, the 47 women who renewed their walk with Christ, and for the 109 children saved from poverty through Compassion International. God is good!
If you were with us last weekend, please comment below. We’d love to know what the Lord taught you!
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