Women of Faith - The Real Thing

Have you ever seen 18,000 women singing “We Are Family”? The image may sound scary (especially if you’re a man) but it was a sight to behold. Uplifted were the spirits and clapping hands of all who attended the recent Women of Faith conference in Washington, D.C. That was just one of the songs that stirred the all-female audience. Most of the musical agenda was filled with songs of praise that lifted up the name of Jesus and prepared those in attendance for the main events: the messages of 6 very impressive women of faith.

Founded in 1996 by Stephen Arterburn, chairman of New Life Clinics, the Women of Faith conference started in churches and has increased tenfold to become America’s largest women’s conference. Arterburn’s dream was “to fill arenas with thousands of women and ignite a spark of spiritual renewal in our land.” By all measurements, that goal has been achieved. The Washington DC conference served a sold-out crowd of 18,549 women and laid the stage for 1400 decisions for Christ on Saturday.

Each portion of the all-day session started with praise music led by four talented singers. More than a few attendees were moved to tears when favorite songs were given a voice through this massive, feminine, arena-sized choir. Other performances included Babbie Mason, whose “Standing in the Gap” caused one of the praise team singer to cry as she listened from her seat in the audience. In Kathy Troccoli’s walk down musical memory lane (with a few editions of lyrics to frame them as love songs for Jesus), she included new renditions of “Eight Days a Week,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” (or “Saved, Healed, Delivered”) and “We are Family.” 18,000 women started clapping at the same time and the few who weren’t clapping with the crowd appeared to be rhythmically-challenged instead of abstaining from the fun.

Addressing the topic of “Boundless Love,” each speaker wooed the audience with hard-hitting biblical truths and personal stories that riveted many attendees into either uncontrollable laughter or reflective tears. The five main speakers were Sheila Walsh, Patsy Clairmont, Thelma Wells, Marilyn Meburg, Luci Swindoll, and a video message from Barbara Johnson who is currently being treated for brain cancer. The group watched each other’s messages from a sunken extension of the stage called the porch. They have affectionately named themselves “the porch pals.”

The forty-minute messages broke new records in audience attention spans as each woman’s presentation seemed to fly by. They spoke of past hurts, past fears, current struggles and their learnings regarding how much God loves each one of us. At the end of every speech the general consensus was, “Nope, now I think that one is my favorite.” Each woman had distinct, endearing qualities about her making it impossible to pick a favorite. One may have a message that applies to your life more than the others, but by the end of the conference, you feel like they’re all your friends.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about the Women of Faith speakers is that they are the same on stage and off. After the conference, there was a surprise birthday party for Christian singer/songwriter Kathy Troccoli. All of the speakers were there for the happy occasion, their makeup off and their hair let down (figuratively). It was like an extension of the conference in terms of the riotous laughter, except this time they had the freedom to interact with each other which made the friendships between porch pals seem even more authentic.

But on top of the laughter, the group’s integrity became apparent during an impromptu offering of “blessings” for the birthday girl. Troccoli’s genuine character and ministry to women were among the compliments given, but each woman’s spiritual wisdom was also on display. It was obvious that God has chosen each of them to deliver His words to the masses because, not only are they compelling, each one has spent considerable effort becoming more like Him.

It is refreshing to listen to women who can laugh at themselves and offer thousands of women the chance to join in. As an example of the real life tales that elicited many giggles, try to picture Luci Swindoll’s slow motion portrayal of surviving a Paris escalator ride while lying on it – upside down. Or imagine the inflection and craning head of Thelma Wells as she explained, “You can mess with my money. Some days, you can even mess with my honey. But don’t you EVER mess with my child.” With the frequency of feminine hysterics, the videos of the conference ought to be marketed as better family fun than most G-rated movies. According to one attendee, “There were a couple of points when I was laughing so hard that I had to make the difficult choice between running to the bathroom to avoid a bladder burst and staying in my seat to continue listening to these hysterical stories. I stayed and decided it was worth the risk.”