By Kelly Williams, National 2nd VP • WMA
The National Women’s Missionary Auxiliary (WMA) will meet on Wednesday, April 17, at the Chateau on the Lake in Branson, Mo. The 2023-2024 National Theme is “More Like Jesus, Less Like Me” from John 3:30: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” We are working to plan an amazing day for the ladies of the BMA.
Judy Wallace will be the keynote speaker during the morning session — “Looking Unto Jesus.” How do we reach the goal of living a life that exudes more of Jesus and less of me? It is by learning more about Him. Using Heb. 12:1-2 as our text and the book of Hebrews as our context, Judy will lead us on a study of our Lord Jesus Christ — who He is, why He is “better than” and what that means for our lives today.
After lunch, we will have several breakout sessions available, and you will be able to choose two to attend:
• More Like Jesus in Ministry — Yalanda Merrell is the director of Audience Engagement and blog writer at Lifeword Ministries, a media organization of the BMA. She and her husband, Shaun, live in Cherokee Village, where they work alongside their son, Hunter, to raise and train Labrador and Golden Retrievers. Join us in this unique ladies’ breakout session as we unwrap the beautiful mission of Christ and discover how we can serve more like Jesus in our ministries – One King, One Mission, One You.
• Pastors’ and Missionaries’ Wives Only — A panel of pastors’ wives will lead this discussion about the joys and challenges that face pastors’ and missionaries’ wives. We ask that only those who serve or have served in this capacity attend this breakout session. It will be led by Charlotte (Charles) Johnson, Kelly (Ken) Williams and Haley (Jacob) Norman. These ladies have many years of experience in this place of service.
• More like Jesus in Relationships — Sharon Carter is from McNeil, and owns her own business as a consultant and lecturer for Optometry. For 26 years, she has traveled all over the U.S. and Canada with her company, Eye Care Optometric Consulting, educating and motivating doctors and their staffs. One of the key tools in her success with her teams is the ability to find the right personality for the right position. That is even more important in ministry as it can mean the difference in someone choosing to be in the kingdom of God or not. This class explains the strengths and weaknesses of each personality and how God can best use those personalities to further His work.
• More like Jesus through Suffering — Judy Biggers lives in Springfield, and has been married to her high school sweetheart, Gus for 43 years. She says, “We have three beautiful daughters, two we hold here on earth, and one God holds in Heaven.” The Son of God is called “A Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). Even in grief, we do not lose hope in God! This hope in God’s redemption and ultimate victory allows us to grieve well. This good grief is the action of faith on our road home.
• Hispanic Ladies Breakout Sessions — The first session will be “Relaciones personales con otros” and the second session will be “El discipulado” led by Wendy Fontina de García.
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., and the program begins at 9 a.m. We will end the day by 2:45 p.m. so the ladies can attend the BMA meeting that starts at 3 p.m.
Lunch at the Chateau during the meeting will be served at noon. The cost for lunch is $25. If you plan to stay for lunch, please send $25 to Janet Widger, P.O. Box 23, Salem, Mo. 65560. Make your checks payable to National WMA.
We look forward to seeing you all there!
