TGCW Changed My View of God’s Word

When I set off for The Gospel Coalition Women’s Conference in 2018, I expected to hear good teaching and enjoy the weekend with friends. I had no idea God was about to fundamentally change the way I viewed his Word.

The conferences I’d attended as a teen and college student were usually mountaintop experiences—a spiritual high, followed by a letdown upon returning home. TGCW was different. As we studied the book of Deuteronomy, God planted seeds of his Word deep in my heart. Some would sprout and show growth quickly, while others would take root quietly over the next few years.

God’s Word Is Riveting

In my Bible, Deuteronomy had been what I once heard a pastor call “the clean pages.” They were pristine because I had never read them. I didn’t really know what the book was about. But at the conference, Deuteronomy exploded right off those crisp pages.

It started with a gripping spoken word performance that explained the Israelites’ journey leading up to Deuteronomy. This art form put a totally new spin on the Bible for me, and the historical context was immensely helpful.

The conferences I’d attended as a teen and college student were a spiritual high, followed by a letdown—TGCW was different.

Over the next couple of days, teachers gave a joyful exposition of the book, revealing how God reached right down and took hold of this people who were stubborn and disobedient. I was struck by Deuteronomy 30:6, “the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” God would enable his people to love him in spite of themselves. And he was going to save and preserve them.

This story was riveting. The message was exciting. It touched me deeply, not only for my own stubborn heart, but for the small hearts I had left back at home—and the one growing in my womb at that very moment. As a parent, I was gripped by the truth that God, not I, would be the creator of love in my children.

God’s Word Is Accessible

At the time, chasing two toddlers and expecting my third child, it would be an understatement to say I wasn’t doing a lot of reading. In my conference notes, I wrote, “Change time use—nighttime reading instead of social media. Use some nap times.” I was convicted that I needed to repurpose some of my time.

After hearing Jen Wilkin speak at the conference, I went home and managed to read her book Women of the Word. It opened up a whole new realm for me. I really related to her summary of the cultural Christian pressures and guilt around “quiet time”—or more accurately, the lack thereof. I saw myself in her description of opening the Bible randomly and looking for a lightning bolt from God.

The notion of truly studying the Bible—an entire book at a time—gave me hope that I could learn, and it set me free from the pursuit of some mysterious spiritual experience. Just start reading. I could do that.

God’s Word Is Enough

The church I attended in 2018 didn’t have a women’s ministry, so I went to a TGCW panel called “Shaping Women’s Ministry in the Local Church: A Practical Discussion.” Practical sounded good. I was thinking about starting something to help the women of my church get to know each other, but I wasn’t sure how to do it.

After the panel, I still had questions, so I sought out panelist Colleen McFadden. God used that conversation to turn my idea of women’s ministry on its head. Colleen didn’t tell me how to structure a ministry, choose a theme, boost attendance, or schedule fellowship events. She told me to find one woman who wanted to read the Bible. Connect with other women, yes, but center that connection on the Word.

Colleen didn’t tell me how to structure a ministry, choose a theme, boost attendance, or schedule events. She told me to find one woman who wanted to read the Bible.

And so we did. I found two other women who wanted to make a go of it, and we found a day and time to meet. In early 2019, our Bible study was born. We read. We consulted study aids and study Bibles. We called on our pastor to answer questions. We learned the historical context of the books we read and how they fit into the whole of Scripture.

Looking back, I now see God was using that time to show me his Word is enough. Relationships come and go. A Bible study’s members can change from one semester to another. As we all learned from COVID, in-person fellowship can be undone by circumstances. I ended up moving to a new town in 2020 and starting over in a new church. Fellowship may be inconsistent, but making the Word our primary focus will never disappoint.

Planting Ground

TGCW has echoed through the years like no other conference I’ve ever attended. It was a beautiful blend of women from all races and age groups—from young students to grandmothers. Lifting our voices together in worship, asking questions, and encouraging one another felt like a little taste of heaven.

But the Lord was not only at work during those few short days. Learning more of the Word and, consequently, of God’s character has anchored my soul through the storms of the past few years. World events combined with personal trials took me from being curious about God’s Word to clinging to it. Not only is the Bible riveting, accessible, and enough—it is life. The seeds of the Word planted at TGCW have already borne fruit in my life and will continue to grow for years to come.