HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. – The annual Lifeway Women’s Leadership Forum provides a space for women to be trained for leadership, as women are equipped to live out their faith in their leadership in ministry, the workplace and their homes.
“Women’s Leadership Forum provides the ultimate leadership experience,” said Andrea Lennon, director of Lifeway Women. “This event offers a strategic gathering for leaders to gain skills and strategies so they can walk in truth and confidence.”
On Nov. 7-8, more than 800 women from 35 states and two countries gathered for Lifeway Women’s Leadership Forum at Long Hollow Church in Hendersonville, Tenn. The aim was to renew women’s minds and soften their hearts to God as they learned from general session speakers and seasoned leaders in breakout sessions on general ministry, personal equipping, biblical literacy and next-gen ministry.
This year’s Women’s Leadership Forum theme was “Whole,” based on Mark 12:30: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”
“I resonated with the theme ‘Whole’ and the need to truly understand how to love God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength,” said Alicia Wong, women’s ministry specialist at Lifeway. “As women leaders, we spend so much time caring for the needs of those in our ministry, our family and our community that we sometimes may neglect our relationship with God. Our prayer is women will love God more because of their time at the forum.”
Loving God with heart and soul
Julie Woodruff, adult minister at Long Hollow Church, opened the event teaching on the first words of Mark 12:30: “Love the Lord your God.” Pointing to the church in Ephesus, Woodruff reminded leaders of God’s message for them in Revelation: “You have abandoned the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:4).
For women in leadership, Woodruff warned against busying themselves with the tasks of ministry but losing sight of the love they had at first. She pointed to six things that cause believers to lose their first love: unconfessed or unrepentant sin, pride, busyness, bitterness, unforgiveness and pursuing good instead of the best. But Woodruff invited women who may have lost their first love to return to the Father.
“God doesn’t leave us in a place of spiritual coldness,” Woodruff said.
Author and speaker, Kelly Minter, taught from the book of Esther, calling women to love God with all their hearts by stewarding their roles well while trusting God’s sovereignty in their circumstances. Though Mordecai and Esther did what they were able to, God did His best work when they weren’t on the scene.
“We have to do what God asks us to do, but in the end, we know it will only be God,” Minter said.
Minter challenged women to trust God’s sovereignty as they lead. “When you go through a trial, the sovereignty of God is the pillow you can lay your head on,” she said.
Minter called women to trust God will do His best work when they’re not on the stage. “He wants us to unmistakably understand He has done it,” Minter said.
Elizabeth Woodson, Bible teacher and author, focused on how women can love God with their souls. Woodson said loving God with your whole soul means devoting your whole self to Him. Considering the highlights of Joshua’s life, Woodson taught three habits of a devoted leader, saying devotion requires remembrance, discernment and self-examination.
Although leadership provides opportunities for discontentment, distraction and damaged witness because of sin, Woodson called women to follow Joshua’s example of remembering God’s goodness in the past, discerning God’s voice and acting in obedience and honestly evaluating your life to align it with God.
“Commit yourself to being one who is devoted in such a way that you embody Joshua’s words – as for me and my ministry, we will serve the Lord,” Woodson said.
Mind and strength
On Friday morning, author and pastor, Steve Cuss, taught women on loving God with their minds, calling them to notice and tame chronic anxiety in their lives and leadership. Cuss explained chronic anxiety is based on false beliefs, so it’s in competition with the true message of the Gospel of Jesus.
“Every belief is some form of Gospel,” Cuss said, adding that every Gospel puts you on a path with a promise and a payment. So, he challenged women to begin paying attention to what path they are on and, even more importantly, who’s paying. “Only in the Gospel of Jesus does the God pay and the human get the benefit.”
“Your inner critic is selling you a Gospel,” Cuss said. “But you can be human-size and relax into the grace of God.”
Cuss called leaders to wrangle their inner critic with the Gospel. To do this, Cuss said women must be able to discern the voice of their inner critic from the voice of the Holy Spirit. Cuss said the Holy Spirit convicts, whereas the inner critic condemns and that the Holy Spirit tackles your behavior, while the inner critic tackles your identity.
Author and Bible teacher, Jen Wilkin, closed the forum teaching on loving the Lord “with all your strength.” Wilkin approached the topic by asking: “What is a body for?” Drawing from Romans 12:1, Wilkin taught that the believer’s response to the sacrificed body of Jesus is to present their own bodies as a living sacrifice.
“We have messaged to women and girls that the primary purpose of your body is to be decorative,” Wilkin said. “By contrast, the Scriptures tell us your body is primarily useful.”
Emphasizing that your body is not your own, Wilkin reminded them believers are Christ’s body on earth and having a body comes with responsibility both in one’s work and rest.
“You only have one body. It’s not yours,” Wilkin said. “You’re supposed to steward it, not act like you own it. Christ has no body on earth except yours.”
Wilkin called women to use their bodies to be about the business of the kingdom – to do good as a witness to the world. Pointing to Matthew 5, Wilkin told women loving God with your strength is about doing good so others will see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Equipped and encouraged for leadership
In addition to listening to general session speakers, women worshiped, heard from Lifeway authors, attended Q&A and interview sessions and received resources to equip them to grow in their faith and leadership.
Attendees received a copy of Lifeway Research’s latest Insights Report – State of Ministry to Women. This report provides practical tips for reaching women and uncovering challenges and opportunities among women’s ministry leaders. Anyone interested can download a free digital version at LifewayResearch.com/MinistrytoWomen.
The next Lifeway Women’s Leadership Forum will be held in Nashville, Tenn., Nov. 6-7, 2025. To register or get updates on speakers, breakout sessions and more, visit Lifeway.com/womensforum.
