September 24, 2024
CLAYTON, Ga. — Georgia Baptist Women hosted their Fall retreat at Pinnacle Retreat Center in Clayton on Sept. 13-14. Nearly 250 women gathered for the weekend, whose theme was Unleashed: Women on Mission.
Keynote speaker Lori McDaniel, who served as a missionary in Africa and as a manager of marketing and mobilization with the International Mission Board, encouraged and equipped listeners to unleash the gospel in our communities, families, and workplaces. Women learned about living on mission for the sake of Jesus' name and were challenged to rearrange our thinking of what matters most in our lives. "You can't mess it up,” McDaniel said, “but you can miss out on it!"
Dolores Evans, who attended the conference, said that’s a message “we all need to hear as Christians.” Another attendee, Shari Stone, said the retreat “was very encouraging and motivating to move forward with what God has for me to do!”
Ladies participated in worship led by Clay Young, minister of music at First Baptist Church of Toccoa.
Participants also heard messages from Lauren Sullens, president of Georgia Baptist Woman’s Missionary Union, and Lorna Bius, Mission Georgia mobilizer with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.
Sullens’ message focused on discipleship, what it looks like to disciple others and how to make disciples. Bius spoke on evangelism, and using the ACE method to make the most of the opportunities God gives to share His love and truth with others.
“The retreat each year is great time to be sharpened and refreshed,” Bius said. “This year it was exciting to bring ACE Evangelism to the group. ACE is a simple way to help believers look at their day and see the opportunities to prayerfully intersect with people, sharing hope and help in Christ. It’s such an easy method, you only have to hear it once to then be able to share ACE with others.”
In addition to the teaching, women enjoyed great times of fellowship, from communal prayer and worship to enjoying s’mores and camp songs.
Roni Ragan called the conference “inspirational,” and said, “I came as an individual and was pleasantly surprised at how inclusive the conference felt.”
For attendee Shirley Cowart, the number of younger women at the event was exciting. “It truly encouraged me to see them enjoying themselves along with, possibly, their mentors and older women in their groups,” she said.
Sullens was encouraged by the turnout. “It blesses my heart that for the second year in a row, we maxed out our attendance for the Women on Mission Retreat!” she said. “Every lady left equipped with a fresh idea for how to share the gospel and ready to make disciples through real relationships on and off their church campuses.”
