The inaugural Women’s Ministries Virtual World Conference took place October 29-30, 2021, with participation from Women’s Ministries teams in every region of the Adventist World Church.

Featuring sermons and seminars from speakers such as Dr. Ella Simmons, general vice-president for the General Conference; Erica Jones, Women’s Ministries assistant director for the North American Division; Dr. Katia Reinert, associate director of Health Ministries for the General Conference; Carolyn Sutton, author and editor of the Women’s Ministries devotional book series; Dr. Linda Koh, Children’s Ministries director for the World Church; and Dr. Janice Browne, associate pastor and founder of Joyfully Living Ministries, this power-packed weekend focused on personal nurturing, empowerment for service, outreach to others, and prayer.

The event drew over 12,300 YouTube viewers the first day. The second day, nearly 8,800 watched on YouTube, with an additional 7,400 joining via Facebook live. These numbers reflect not only individual views, but also groups who watched the programming together. 

I Will Go Reach My World

The World Conference theme reflected the Seventh-day Adventist Church's 2020-2025 strategic plan, I Will Go, but added three words, “Reach My World” – I Will Go Reach My World. Before we can “reach the world,” however, preparation must take place. We must have a deep personal connection with Christ. 

Heather-Dawn Small, director of Women’s Ministries for the General Conference, said, “We are each called first to accept the gift of salvation that God so freely has offered us, then to live each day allowing the love of Christ to flow through us, and finally to reach out and touch and make a difference in our world with that love. If we unite in purpose and reach our individual worlds, we will together reach the whole world.”

During the opening moments of the meeting on October 29, Small and Raquel Arrais, Women’s Ministries associate director, revealed that this was part of their vision for the virtual Conference.

Arrais hoped each participant would receive a spiritual blessing that would draw them closer to God, encourage them to pray more, and spend more time in the Word. Small prayed that God would also bring emotional healing as part of the weekend. “COVID has and still is leaving it’s scars. It’s causing fear and loneliness, uncertainty for the future, family concerns, grief and loss. We want God to bless us all with spiritual blessings and emotional healing during these two days,” she said. Judging by participants' responses, God answered their prayers.

Rita Umunyana, a viewer from the East-Central Africa Division, said, “It was spiritually uplifting and humbling to see what other ladies in the world are going through. Also to see the evangelism efforts that touched many people during the COVID-10 lockdowns. The seminars and presentations were very captivating and enriching. I especially enjoyed the seminar on mental health, and its impact on women especially during COVID-19.”

Liliana Radu, Women’s Ministries director for the Romanian Union, shared Umunyana’s sentiment. “During these two days I felt the influence of the Holy Spirit in every minute of prayer, in every moment of sharing testimonies (which were my favorite), in every presentation and in every invitation to consecrate the life to Jesus. I am very happy that I could participate in such an important event and I enjoyed every minute being part of the marvelous Adventist world family,” she said. 

“The first Women’s Ministries Virtual World Conference was like traveling around the world in just eight hours,” said Dany Canedo, Women’s Ministries director for Germany. “I was really excited about the video contributions from the various divisions. They prove the diversity that makes my church so special and, above all, valuable in my eyes. My own inner focus was realigned a bit. This program was an inspiration to organize a similar event in our own division soon.”

Small says the Women’s Ministries department plans to organize a conference of this magnitude every five years. 

To watch archived presentations or for more information, please visit women.adventist.org.