Engage Women’s Leadership Forum — 100+ Women’s Ministry Leaders Attended!
Events like SBCV’s Women’s Ministry Leadership Forum give women “an affordable opportunity to be poured into, encouraged, and learn from some of the best authors, speakers, and local worship leaders that our dedicated state Women’s Ministry Team brings to our area,” shared Valerie McKee, women’s ministry director at Alexander Baptist Church in Chesapeake. McKee, a longtime attender of SBCV’s women’s events, was one of over 100 women’s ministry leaders who gathered August 5-6 at Virginia Crossings Conference Center in Glen Allen for this year’s forum.
With the theme of Engage, speakers encouraged attendees to engage with God and with each other for spiritual and emotional health. The featured speakers for the two-day event were Missie Branch and Leslie Hildreth. Branch is the chairperson of Lifeway’s Board of Trustees as well as the assistant dean of students for women and the director of Graduate Life at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Hildreth is the women’s discipleship director at The Summit Church in Durham, NC.
In addition to hearing from Branch and Hildreth, attendees heard from Bonnie Hester, women’s ministry director at Kempsville Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, and Leslie Honig, women’s ministry director at Spotswood Baptist Church in Fredericksburg, who shared how the Lord ministered to them during recent traumatic and tragic events in their lives. Their powerful and moving testimonies helped women understand that because of the community of faith among SBCV churches and the prayers of fellow believers, they are not alone.
“I would strongly encourage women to consider bringing other ladies on their team with them to the forum [in the future],” McKee shared. “Not only will your time together outside the walls of the church be a blessing, but so, too, will be the networking opportunities with other leaders of like mind. As a result of attending, I came home personally encouraged and spiritually refreshed. I’m ready to apply what I learned and share with my leadership team and friends.”
As women continue to serve and lead the women in their churches, the SBCV’s Women’s Ministry Team is committed to providing affordable, relevant, and Christ-centered training events. ■
Article from Proclaimer, Winter 2022-23