Students help lead first annual Pursue conference for women

The Original Rock House Ministries is hosting the first Pursue Women’s Conference today, Sept. 6, from 7-11 p.m. in the Administration Auditorium. The conference will feature female Harding students and is geared toward other college-aged women to encourage one another to pursue their relationship with God.
Harding Admissions Counselor and one of the organizers of the Pursue conference Jane Vanderburgh said that the ministry hopes that this conference will make a lasting impact for Harding students and their faith.
“It’s the first time something like this has been organized, and we have great momentum so far,” Vanderburgh said. “We’d love to see this conference become a well-known, annual event on campus.”
The idea for the Pursue conference was inspired by each of the speakers’ testimonies. Debbie Gentry, college and outreach minister of the Original Rock House and originator of the Pursue conference, said she wanted to have a place to invest in talented young women and give them the opportunity to be kingdom workers.
“These are going to be speakers that are of your generation, who are talented and have so much spiritual wisdom at such a young age,” Gentry said. “I really wanted to encourage all women that they too have a place and a purpose in the kingdom. We’ve desperately needed women to be bold presenters of the Gospel.”
Junior Julie Goddard, one of the featured speakers for the Pursue conference, said the point of the conference is for women to empower other women in the kingdom.
“God called so many women to do so many amazing things, and their names show up in the Bible in such strong ways,” Goddard said. “This weekend has the ability to be a catalyst for change in our mindset of what our roles are.”
Goddard said she hopes this conference will push women to get out of their comfort zones and to take some time to focus on Jesus without distractions.
“A lot of times we can get distracted by school and clubs and things like that,” Goddard said. “While those are all good things, let’s get together and talk about what our ultimate purpose is.”
The featured student leaders are senior Emma Grace Taylor, and juniors Morgan Proffitt, Chantel Ceaser, Amanda McDuffie, Julie Goddard and Kelsey Smith.
“It’s not about any one of these girls,” Gentry said. “It is about Jesus. And He desperately wants these women, who may struggle with self esteem issues or may not know how to pursue Him, to learn how to pursue holy living.”