Women of Faith conference starts at T&M

Thursday, Feb. 17, 2005 | 8:45 a.m.

More than 10,000 Christian women are expected at the three-day conference elebrating their faith, which starts tonight.

The national Women of Faith conference at the Thomas & Mack Center is billed as a "weekend with the girls" and is attracting women from Southern Nevada , Southern California, Arizona and Utah, spokewoman Nichole Masker said. About 10,500 people are already registered for the event, and walk-up tickets are available through the final day.

Most of the attendees will be from Clark County, Masker said.

"There's a great Christian community in Las Vegas, and just because there is a reputation for one thing doesn't mean there isn't a lot of other diverse groups," Masker said.

The conference earned a proclamation from Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, who named Thursday Women of Faith day.

Women of Faith, an interdenominational, for profit-company owned by Christian publishing house Thomas Nelson Inc., has hosted more than 200 conferences for more than 2.3 million people in its 10-year history.

The organization is often called the female version of Promise Keepers, but instead of calling women to adhere to specific guidelines for life, Women of Faith just tries to encourage women to lead "hope-filled" lives, speaker Luci Swindoll said.

"We talk about how God meets you at any juncture in your life, loves you, enables you, and helps you to be able to straighten out things in life," said Swindoll, 72, a former executive with Mobil Corp.

Attendees will hear musical performances by major Christian artists such as Amy Grant, Stephen Curtis Chapman and CeCe Winans, view dramatist Nicole Johnson's one-woman show and hear lessons from authors such as Swindoll and former 700 Club co-host Sheila Walsh.

Many of the speakers talk candidly about their own struggles in life, Swindoll said. Walsh, for instance, battles clinical depression, Marilyn Meberg is a crisis counselor who recently lost her husband and author Thelma Wells has struggled against racial discrimination.

Two local non-denominational churches, International Church of Las Vegas and Central Christian Church in Henderson, will be performing back-up for some of the musical artists during a performance on Saturday.

Central choir member Christina Powell, 27, said just practicing for the concert had her "pumped."

"These songs are powerful and they are fun and they are full of life and they are full of God," said Powell, a branch manager for a professional audiovisual store and a mother of two.

"To sing for God in front of all these people is such an honor and a privilege."

Tickets are $149 for the three-day event, which starts tonight at 7 and runs through Saturday. Tickets are available by calling (888) 49-FAITH, online at womenoffaith.com or at the Thomas & Mack box office.