A whole day about the ONE who loves us

Aspire is Elim’s women’s ministry and this year they launched ONE – a new regional conference in Newport, Wales. Aspire leader Leanne Mallett and Aspire team member Kate Wright explain…

Leanne: Tell us more about the Aspire ONE conference and why the name?

Previously, we held regional conferences in Cardiff and Plymouth. The Wales, West and Southern region is a large area to cover but we came up with the idea of holding one large conference for the women in the whole of that area.

We called it ONE because we wanted the whole day to be about Jesus – the ONE who loves us, cares for us and is so faithful. It will be a day focused on the ONE but also for the ‘one’… the ‘one’ matters to Jesus, and every woman matters to him. So yes, we wanted the day to be all about Jesus… but also wanted every lady left feeling they matter and are loved!

Kate: You and Leanne organised this new regional conference together. What were you most looking forward to?

We were really looking forward to gathering ladies from across the region for a time of worshipping God together and seeing God move amongst us.

Launching something new, bringing a large region together and in a brand new venue felt like a bit of a risk at times, but we felt that we had heard from God and trusted that he was with us. Seeing it all come together was so amazing. God went before us and it was so evident.

It was amazing! It was so well received, and the speakers and worship team were wonderful. Our guest speakers were Christy Wimber, Gillian Burchell and Jem Chesman. They brought encouraging words to us and it was amazing that nearly 500 women attended on the day. We also had a panel of women that had come through breast cancer who talked about their stories of hope and how Jesus was with them through that time.

Some women had been brought by a friend – they weren’t sure why they were even there but at the end they were raising their hands in worship and calling for the conference to be repeated next year. It was truly amazing to see not only the delegates enjoying the day but also the staff at the International Convention Centre too.

Leanne: How many regional events does Aspire hold around the UK each year?

Aspire now holds five regional conferences across the UK. Members of the Aspire team organise them throughout the year and they are held at City Gates Church in Ilford, Coventry Elim Church, Lighthouse Church in Manchester, one in Scotland and then our new one in Wales. One of our visions as a ministry is that there is an Elim Aspire conference easily accessible for women locally across the UK. We even have some ladies that travel and come to several of our conferences, and we love that! It’s a great way of meeting other women and building friendships too.

We advertise these conferences on Elim’s main website and across our social media pages.

Kate: So you’ve already started advertising for next year?

Yes, we are holding the ONE conference again next year on 15 June at the ICC and tickets are on sale now. Many ladies at this year’s conference said they were coming back with friends next year, which is so exciting.

We are really looking forward to what God is going to do amongst us again next year. It’s an amazing opportunity to bring women together for a day to encourage and empower them in the things of God.

Access your tickets through www.aspirewomen.org/one2024

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

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