"Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene." John 19:25

It has been said that when the women get together…..LOOK OUT, because something incredible is bound to take place. That is just what God had in store for all His daughters on April 18th, 2009. The Greater Atlanta Church of Christ hosted its annual Women’s Day and it was nothing short of amazing.  Women of all ages, backgrounds and ethnicities traveled from all over the country including Florida, New York, New Jersey, Tennessee, California and even Canada to take part in this spiritually uplifting event. The evening began with attendees being warmly greeted at the door with encouraging trinkets such as candies with scriptures attached and official Women’s Day bookmarks. The church was beautifully decorated, but nowhere near as beautiful as the women of God that filled its seats. Rochelle Hall welcomed us with her usual southern hospitality and the excited crowd soon simmered down as our sisters Elisa De La Cruz and Brunia Chisolm led the women in a word of prayer in three different languages (French, Spanish and English!).

Next, we were truly in for a surprise as the crowd realized we were now part of a live studio audience taping of “The View: Spiritual Makeover Edition.” Sanney Jones, Jennifer Landress, Johniece Ray and Griselda Marmolejos were our hosts and they  inspired, encouraged and challenged us as they opened up their hearts by sharing their lives and personal conversion stories. Each sister brought a different flavor. Sannye shared her heart about staying close to God as a single woman and finding fulfillment in Him. Jennifer shed some light on being a single mom and taking a stand to live for God while raising her children for God.  Johniece, a college student, touched on issues that every young woman can relate to as they strive to be different than the world we live in. Griselda shared her heart about the joys and the fears we face as we raise our children in today’s economic climate.

The special guests were Betty Landergott, one of our mature sisters, and Ruthe Terfie, a newly baptized teenager. These two ladies had so much conviction and passion for God that they took the excuse of age away from us all. They showed us that you are never too old and never too young to follow Jesus! This segment of the evening was great because each woman in the crowd could relate with the experiences of at least one of the sisters on stage.

Soon after, we got to the main course of what God was serving that evening and it was a message from the keynote speaker, our very own Women's Ministry Leader, Shawn Patterson! Shawn was full of energy as she got in front of the room and poured her heart out to us. The title of her lesson was “Jesus is Our Heart’s Desire." Using the example of Mary Magdalene, Shawn painted the picture of what true love is through a relationship with Jesus. The points were, Jesus is the lover of your soul and Jesus can make you whole. The prayer is, like Mary Magdalene,  we as women will take God’s love for us personally and decide, out of gratitude, to spend the rest of our lives following Christ and devoting all of our love and energy to Him. God truly used Shawn as a tool to touch each woman there and make Mary Magdalene alive and relatable to us today.

Disciples and guests alike agreed that this was an amazing event. One week later on April 27, after being inspired by the Women's Day and even bringing her own guests, Shannon Simpson, a single woman, got baptized into Christ. As she shared in front of the church at our Midweek Service, Shannon mentioned the incredible impact the event had on her life and the lives of the guests she brought with her.  Many other guests took some time to listen to their hearts and to God’s word and make some decisions to seek Him. Kayla Willis, did not let the fact that she is only 15 years old stop her from soaking up the word of God that evening. She shared with her physical sister Robin Hardin, who invited her out, that she was ready to study the Bible and start making changes in her life as soon as she gets back to Chattanooga, TN!

In conclusion, we thank all the brothers and sisters of the GACC for giving of yourselves through all the prayers and hard work. We believe God was pleased as friendships were built, love was shared, hearts were touched, His Word was preached and most importantly, God was glorified!