Women's Leadership Forum

Meditation is all the rage in our society today, but what is meditation exactly? Biblical meditation is one of God’s greatest gifts for the Christian woman to grow unto greater Christlikeness, withstand hardship, and be strengthened in daily life. In this breakout, we will clarify what meditation is from a biblical standpoint, and discuss its riches, necessity, and practicality for the Christian life.

Sharing the hope of the gospel can seem daunting. Do I know enough? Am I bold enough? Can I lead women well in this area of ministry? As a follower of Jesus, God has given you and those you lead a ministry. 2 Corinthians 5:18 refers to this ministry as the ministry of reconciliation. Join Catherine Renfro as she discusses practical ways to leverage your life and the ministry area God has entrusted you to lead to not only make Jesus known, but to equip those you lead to do the same as they engage in the mission of God.

After struggling for decades with being addicted to the approval of others, Karen Ehman realized that the key is found in learning how to place what God says above what other people think. Join her and discover a spiritual strategy for properly pleasing God while still passionately loving people. This message will help you to: Discover how to live out your priorities despite the opinions and expectations of others Cultivate a strategy for knowing when to say yes and how to say no Implement boundaries with the pushers, pouters, guilt bombers and others who try to call the shots in your life Learn to navigate the tension between following God and loving the people around you.

Our bodies get lots of bad news, don't they? And yet, the gospel is not just good news for eternal life -- it's good news for everyday life. Join Caroline Saunders as she teaches a 7-part definition of the gospel and applies it to our bodies.

Do you feel a deep desire to write or publish a book or Bible study, but have no idea where to start? You aren't alone. Many writers want to understand the behind-the-scenes process of the publishing industry. Come and learn from Lifeway's experts in the areas of writing, editing, designing, and marketing in order to better serve your church and fulfill your dreams to publish your writing to a greater audience.

Conversations around church ministry often focus on the practical and programmatic and can tend toward an emphasis on the human minister’s responsibility (do more; do better; pray harder; etc). But is this focus the essence and purpose of Christian ministry? Join Kristen Padilla as she considers the purpose, content, and shape of ministry from the apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. She will seek to answer questions such as: How does the gospel of Jesus Christ that we proclaim change the way we minister to others? What role does the Trinity play in our lives and ministries?

Guilt and shame could have devastating effects on our lives. How do we help women who are struggling with ongoing guilt or shame? The Bible provides wisdom on this important topic. This session will look at God’s wisdom for practical knowledge and skills.

Practical Help for Understanding God’s Word Do you feel confident when you sit down to read and study the Bible? Do you feel equipped to correctly understand – or even teach – God’s Word? This workshop will give you tools to properly read, interpret, and apply Scripture to your life. We will discuss the differences in Bible translations, how to observe a Bible passage, four key factors to help you interpret a passage, and more. You leave better equipped and more confident to approach the Bible.

Idolatry isn’t confined to the Old Testament. Not only is it a struggle for us as leaders, but our teens battle it as well. In this session, we’ll discuss the idols teenagers are facing. We’ll discover how to help our teens identify their own idols and how to break free from them while living in the midst of culture.

Transformational leaders unselfishly inspire others and grow alongside those they serve. A survey of the Book of Hebrews will show how Christ modeled transformational leadership by valuing others. Learn the characteristics of transformational leaders and discover how to lead groups that exceed goals and expectations.

How often do you pause and take inventory of your ministry commitments and current life season? Are you good at knowing when to take on new responsibilities and when to step down? In this session, we will acknowledge what the Bible says about Sabbath rest and engage in conversation and personal reflection of our ministry service and seek godly wisdom to answer the question, is it time to rest up or ramp up?

Do you ever have trouble connecting the dots between God's Word and your everyday life? Learn a highly practical and easily passable tool for applying God's Word whether you are hearing, reading, studying or memorizing it. This workbook is highly interactive, so you will actually practice using it in class. This tool is a gift to your personal relationship with God and to helping others grow in theirs.

Let’s throw out our preconceived ideas of who we need to be and what we need to do to best help other women grow spiritually. Vickey brings 40+ years of discipling and mentoring experience to this session and is eager to share an exciting variety of encouragement, structured and unstructured methods, and practical resources. Let’s fish for women and equip them to do so too!

God created men and women uniquely and with complementary roles and responsibilities to work together for the Great Commission. Learning to serve alongside our brothers in Christ faithfully is essential to advancing God’s Kingdom on earth. In this breakout, we’ll identify strategies for building community among men and women at work and in the places we serve. You’ll also learn practical tips for engaging men in ways that honor God’s biblical design for our lives.

Public Bible teaching is more than public speaking. Leading others through the teaching of God’s Word requires attention to character as much as content and delivery. Whether new to public Bible teaching/speaking or a veteran to this ministry, attendees of this session will benefit from its practical insights and thoughtful discussion on the life and practice of the public Bible teacher.

Camaraderie—a term with French origins meaning “companionship, rich fellowship”—stems from the word “comrade,” or, “one who shares the same room.” Ministry teams certainly “share the same room,” and then some, as they serve together toward their respective missions. Team effectiveness and enjoyment often results from how such “sharing” takes place. This session equips attendees with a biblical and practical approach to cultivating camaraderie among teams and fostering an environment where work as well as lasting fellowship is the outcome.

There is no denying we are living in divided times. Everywhere we look in our culture, we see strife and discord being not only normalized, but rewarded. And the most heartbreaking part? This divisive culture of infighting has infiltrated the church. Maybe it has even infiltrated your church. Is there any good news for churches that are meant to be whole but find themselves torn apart? Yes, and that good news is the uniting, mending, and healing power of the Gospel—something the book of 1 Corinthians declares over the divided (and even embarrassing!) church in Corinth. One thing is for certain: if there’s gospel hope and healing available for the Corinthian church, there’s hope for the American one! Don’t just focus on becoming whole in a personal way with Jesus—important as that is. Come learn how the gospel can make your entire corporate gathering whole, no matter how broken or divided it may seem!

Have you ever flipped open your Bible and pointed to a verse, hoping God spoke to you through it? While there's never a moment spent in His Word this is not profitable, there are better ways than the flip-and-point to read the Bible. The Bible is a book, but it is also unlike any other book, piercing our hearts and illuminating our every step. Join us in this workshop as we practice reading God's Word literarily, curiously, theologically, and spiritually so that the Spirit might transform us through it and we might know and love God more deeply than before. Together, we'll learn how to read God's Word well, pray God's Word well, live God's Word well, and even teach God's Word well in this workshop.

Did you come to Forum by yourself, or are you here with a group but asking the Lord to show you why He brought you here specifically? Three years ago, Ashley walked into Forum alone asking the Lord for clear direction, and it made all the difference! Start the next two days with a deep breath, a slow exhale, and make a new friend as we start our time together and wait expectantly to hear from our Father!

Women have over functioned since the dawn of time--over functioning for generations to keep the house running smoothly and the family a tight unit. In scripture, the story of Mary and Martha is an excellent example. Truthfully, too many times, the church cheers us on when we take on more and more responsibility. After all, aren't ministry wives their husband's helpmeets? How do we navigate life in ministry without being drawn into this pitfall? Come sit with Diane and discuss (perhaps confess) our over functioning and what our God would have us do about it.

We live in a world of chaos, and it affects everyone. Come discover a 5-part framework on how to deal with the day-to-day "in this world you will have trouble" chaos John talks about. Discover a powerful process to assess your own "peace" and how to engage others who are walking in chaos. This interactive session will increase your emotional intelligence and help you lead yourself and others out of chaos.

You are in a place of leadership because you rose to the occasion, or someone deemed you worthy of leading. You often wonder how you might lead effectively and learn to gain the trust of those you lead. Come discover your God-given design of leadership and how to communicate and interact with others who have differing leadership styles. Grow in your emotional intelligence as you discover tendencies that help you lead well and those that are potential roadblocks to effective leading.

When it comes to connecting the gospel to our current culture of kids and families, we may be reading from an old script. Research verifies that in each generation, fewer and fewer people are identifying as Christians or attending church. Kids and students are faced with cultural dynamics that challenge a biblical worldview. How do we as the Church respond? This breakout will dive into new strategies and solutions that challenge us to flip the script on old ministry models for the sake of the next generation.

In this session, Ben and Lynley will discuss the wrestling match all leaders face when balancing time. Should we live in the moment and let life happen or should we make the most of every minute? You may be surprised on where they land.

How do you feel about how you feel? This is a question that comes from the book, Untangling Emotions. It's also a question we will tackle in this breakout. Sometimes, we're told that it is wrong (even sinful) to be emotional, but is it? In this session, we'll consider how our emotions have been given to us as good gifts to love God and to image our Creator God, resulting in love of neighbor.

God‘s Word is clear; our heavenly Father has called us to love one another. In this interactive session based on Jesus‘s final prayer for unity, we will explore Scripture and provide a safe place for honest biblical conversations about issues on racial unity. Come discover how we can truly become unified as one as sisters in Christ.

Have you ever thought about whether you have a creative side? In this interactive session, we'll delve into how you can tap into your God-given creativity to enrich your personal worship and strengthen your relationship with God in new and meaningful ways. We'll also explore how you can channel your creativity into your current ministry to better serve those around you.

Have you wondered what the debate between complementarians and egalitarians is all about? In this session, we will not only look at those two perspectives, but also delve into what that means and what that looks like as we think about ministry to women. The focus will be on developing a biblical perspective of women by discussing key biblical passages and examining the lives of the women in the Bible.

Being hurt within the walls of the church is complicated. With grace, tenderness and wisdom we will better define church hurt and how we can find healing for our souls.

It is said that by the time your body indicates thirst, it is already dehydrated. The same can be said for the soul. Together, we will clearly define the soul and explore how we can best care for this unseen part of us.