If you felt the earth shake last weekend, it could have been the rumblings coming from Women Evolve at The Potter’s House in Denver. Women have taken to their social media accounts to share the profound way this conference blessed and changed them. Here Lady Wendy Renee Nelson of Destiny Christian Church shares her experience at Women Evolve.
I’ve been to many women’s conferences in the course of my life, however this one had the biggest impact on me. I went without knowing what to expect, I wanted to support the conference. I did not know that God had a set up waiting for me.
Women Evolve was nontraditional and unconferencey, I know that’s not a word. Both days, before the Word, we played volleyball with huge balls to Beyoncé! We worshipped in our pajamas, laughed, cried, and lay at the altar united in prayer with women we didn’t know. It broke every tradition in me and I was totally unbothered. First Lady Serita Jakes was there and she honored and imparted into her daughter, Sarah Jakes Roberts, the conference host. Serita Jakes was transparent and relatable to the women. Her testimony touched every woman because everyone could relate to being the carrier of ‘stinkin’ things that were either not our fault or just being the carrier of others waste. But, she said, “When God gets a hold of ’stinkin’ things it becomes a sweet aroma to Him!” When she spoke to her daughter, as a mother I could relate to what she was feeling. First Lady Serita Jakes said that she was proud to see her daughter successfully soar into the purpose of God against the odds. There wasn’t a dry eye. This conference was really more than I ever expected.
The two-day conference started each day with a morning session that had a funny warm up and a message from Sarah Jakes Roberts. This was followed by praise and worship and the morning speaker. After the morning speaker we had lunch from 12:00-2:15 there were picnic tables and food trucks in case you wanted to stay on the premises. The afternoon consisted of breakout sessions from 2:30-3:30. The breakout sessions were really great too. After a dinner break we gathered again for the evening session. Friday night was the Pajama Panel with Sarah Jakes Roberts, Cora Jakes Coleman, Angela Rye and Caitlin Crosby Benward. The conference adjourned on Saturday night after Sarah Jakes Roberts gave the Word.
Two things that I loved about Women Evolve were the Word and the interactive conversations. I’ve heard many great Word messages but there’s a difference between hearing a great Word and experiencing the Word. For me, when Touré Roberts and Sarah Jakes Roberts spoke, they tapped into the heartbeat of God and not only ministered the Word but helped us to see where deficiency was within our lives. Then they taught, not about how to change, rather they taught us to evolve into the women we are destined to be. Literally, after every service I felt stronger, refreshed, revived and ready to birth things that I’d forgotten about or put aside. I also loved the question and answer time between the speakers and the women. There was space given after each session so women could be personally heard and ministered to. Women came unashamed, some broken, some strong, the transparency was beautiful and it united everyone in the room. Everyone was ministered to and comforted, because, every woman can relate to feeling some kind of rejection, fear of acceptance, setback or drawback in ministry, .
Initially, I thought since Sarah Jakes Roberts is a millennial, the conference would be geared for that age bracket. The truth is, this conference was for EVERY woman. There was something for every woman, at any age, to feel connected. I marveled with other first ladies at the conference about how much the experience was affecting us. We were awed by our experience and proud of Sarah Jakes Roberts for obeying the vision God gave to her.
I didn’t realize that I needed this conference until I experienced the CHANGE. It really was the same great feeling I feel at my home church but differently packaged. Ultimately this allowed space for God to change my perspective and EVOLVE me in areas where I needed it. Another thing about this conference was I didn’t feel overchurched! There was balance. I think the women appreciated the balance, the transparency of the topics and interaction with the speakers. Everyone was relatable, touchable and we felt connected.
There were many special touches, like the acrylic VIP badges. I’ve never seen cute clear acrylic conference badges and the conference bags were our gift. They were cute but not overdone. They can be used as a nice carryon bag.
I’m still basking in the euphoria of what I felt, witnessed and experienced. I felt another dimension of God which awakened a side in me I didn’t realize was asleep. The conference theme, Woman Evolve, became a command and demand for every woman who attended. I’m already registered for Women Evolve 2019!