Monday, April 08, 2013

REPORT ON THE WOMEN’S CONFERENCE AT REDEEMER FELLOWSHIP CHURCH


REPORT ON THE WOMEN’S CONFERENCE AT REDEEMER FELLOWSHIP CHURCH
March 15-16, 2013

- Linda Piippo




“Women of Yahweh Called to Unity”

We are so grateful to have provided this conference for the women of Redeemer. 180 women came – 150 of them from Redeemer.

We began praying for this conference in August 2012. We began to see the vision God was revealing, and the importance of connecting our women under the banner of Yahweh.


Our church has been blessed with many new people and we are so thankful. We were concerned about growing without knowing one another. So we chose to do something to familiarize ourselves with one another and, therefore, strengthen our church body.



God led us to contact Norelle Lutke from Wichita, Kansas, to be our speaker. Norelle was the perfect person for this event. By nature she is so loving, approachable, and confident in her faith and God’s redemptive activity. He experience as pastor, daughter, mother, grandma, working wife, and minister to women and couples provided the needed combination for our event.

Norelle shared from her heart the identity we have as women of Yahweh, and the challenges that can impede our spiritual growth. She referred to these as “blockages,” and gave us a creative verbal and visual examples of things that stop the flow of the Spirit moving in our lives. It was evident, in the responses of the women, that God was working in their hearts.


In addition, we were blessed to hear two testimonies of two women whose lives were very different, yet who both saw and received the mercy of God in bringing them His abundant life.




Our conference also included “pampering” our women. We provided free child care for all sessions. On Saturday they were presented with a beautiful breakfast brunch. And for dinner they were escorted into our fellowship hall, which was designed to look like a beautiful restaurant. Over twenty of Redeemer’s men dressed in black and white as waiters, each one hosting a table. Our women were graciously served so they could just relax and enjoy one another’s company.




The evening ended with Norelle sharing again. We had communion together in our beautifully decorated sanctuary. Two prayer tents were designed for our weekend, where ministry for specific things took place. We ended by singing our conference theme song, “Creator God, You are Yahweh.”

We were being truly united! We received strength in many creative ways: through worship, our worship arts ministry, flags and banners, dance, special music ministry, small groups, “stones” of proclamation, sharing “hands of prayer” for one another, and declaring ourselves to be women of Yahweh.

A wonderful moment happened when we made a circle around the sanctuary and shouted aloud, “Beware of the tribe led by God singing one song – Yahweh! Yahweh!”

Thank you, God. We were, and yet are, amazed at Your provision and presence.