2014 National Women’s Conference -The Gospel Coalition – JUNE 27-29

A Conference for Women, all about the Word! Plenary speakers will unfold the book of Nehemiah—the story of God’s people returned to a broken-down city and called to trust God’s Word at a point of great need. It’s about God redeeming a people for himself through his Son. This is our story. We’ll focus on listening to this Word…living in light of it…helping others hear it…worshiping according to it…waiting on the Spirit who inspired it…exalting Jesus at the center of it.

The Pre-Conference focuses on God’s good purposes in his creation of human beings as male and female. We’ll highlight Scripture’s teachings concerning men and women in the church and in marriage, and we’ll talk about these teachings both theologically and personally.

Workshops on Saturday afternoon are offered in themed tracks, with topics from theology to sexuality…from evangelism to writing…from the persecuted church to the ministry of hospitality.

Check out the range of speakers God has allowed us to bring together for this event.

Optional “focus gatherings” with many of the speakers will consist of size-limited discussion groups selected at registration.

Katherine Alsdorf
Having founded Center for Faith and Work in 2002, Katherine Leary Alsdorf served as its executive director until December 2012. In this role, she set the vision and strategy of the center’s core programs, developed lay and staff leadership, and guided strategic partnerships. Prior to this ministry role, Katherine spent 20 years in the high tech industry in California and New York. She was CEO of Pensare, an online management education company; CEO of One Touch Systems, a hardware/software products company; and president of Private Satellite Network, a satellite services company. Katherine assisted Tim Keller in the writing of Every Good Endeavor, has been published in Comment magazine, and speaks frequently at conferences. She lives with her husband, John, in Washington Heights.

Kristie Anyabwile
Kristie is a North Carolina native and graduate of NC State University with a degree in history. She is a wife, mother, and homemaker who loves cooking, hospitality, reading, and long walks with her hubby. Kristie is passionate about mentoring young women and watching them grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. She and her husband, Thabiti, live in the Cayman Islands where Thabiti serves as senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman. They have been married 20 years and have three children by birth, and several adult “adopted” children who have become a part of their family.

Mindy Belz
Mindy Belz has written for WORLD Magazine since 1986, becoming the magazine’s international editor in 1994 and its editor in 2004. She has covered war in Africa, the Balkans, and the Middle East, including Afghanistan and Iraq. Her reporting has been published overseas and in other U.S. publications. She has appeared on Fox News and ABC News. She is a former Capitol Hill staffer; attended George Washington University; is married to graphic designer, editor, and writer Nat Belz; has four children; and makes home in Asheville, North Carolina.

Megan Best
Megan Best is a medical doctor and a bioethicist. She teaches medical ethics at university and seminary and is passionate about the value of human life. She is the author of Fearfully and Wonderfully Made (Matthias Media 2012), which is a study of the ethics at the beginning of human life from an evangelical perspective. Megan is married to John, and they have two wonderful daughters.

Paige Brown
A native of Cleveland, Mississippi, Paige Brown completed a masters degree at Covenant Theological Seminary after graduating from the University of Mississippi. She served on staff with Reformed University Fellowship at Vanderbilt University for many years, and again at the University of Virginia. In between campuses, she was a teacher on staff at Park Cities Presbyterian Church. After several years in New York City and Washington, D.C., Paige and her husband, Reagan, now live in Nashville with their three young children.

Lydia Brownback
Lydia Brownback is the author of several books and a speaker at women’s conferences internationally. When time allows, Lydia blogs at lydiabrownback.com. She has served as director of editorial for Crossway’s book division; writer-in-residence for the Reverend Alistair Begg; and broadcast media manager for Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, where she produced The Bible Study Hour radio program with James Montgomery Boice. Lydia holds degrees from Syracuse University and Westminster Theological Seminary.

Rosaria Butterfield
Rosaria Champagne Butterfield earned her PhD from The Ohio State University in English literature in 1992 and served in the English department and women’s studies program at Syracuse University from 1992 to 2002, publishing a book and scholarly articles in feminist theory, Queer theory, and 19th-century British literature. She received tenure in 1999, providentially the same year that Christ claimed her for his own. Author of The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor’s Journey into Christian Faith (2012, Crown and Covenant Publications), Rosaria lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her husband, Kent (pastor of the First Reformed Presbyterian Church of Durham). Together, they homeschool in the classical Christian tradition the two youngest of their four children. Rosaria seeks to honor God in providing inspirational, encouraging, and hope-inspiring speaking, writing, and teaching.

Don Carson
Don Carson (PhD, University of Cambridge) is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He has been at Trinity since 1978. Carson came to Trinity from the faculty of Northwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he also served for two years as academic dean. He has served as assistant pastor and pastor and has done itinerant ministry in Canada and the United Kingdom. Carson is co-founder (with Tim Keller) and president of The Gospel Coalition. Carson and his wife, Joy, reside in Libertyville, Illinois. They have two children. In his spare time, Carson enjoys reading, hiking, and woodworking.

Ellen Dykas
Ellen Dykas serves as the women’s ministry coordinator for Harvest USA, a national ministry focused on proclaiming the gospel of grace to a sexually broken world and equipping the body of Christ to ministry to sexually broken people. She grew up in St. Louis, and after serving overseas in Romania, received her MA in biblical studies from Covenant Theological Seminary and a graduate certificate in biblical counseling. Ellen is passionate about mentoring women through God’s Word and spurring them on to follow Jesus.

Elyse Fitzpatrick
Elyse and her husband, Phil, have been married for nearly four decades and have three children and six grandchildren. She and Phil attend Valley Center Community Church in Valley City, California, where Phil is an elder. Elyse holds a master’s degree in biblical counseling. She has written 18 books and frequently speaks at conferences.

Gloria Furman
Gloria Furman lives in Dubai with her husband, Dave, a pastor at Redeemer Church of Dubai. They have four young kids. She is the author of Glimpses of Grace and the forthcoming book, Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full (Crossway, 2014).

Keith and Kristyn Getty
Keith and Kristyn Getty have been at the forefront of the modern hymn movement over the past decade, bridging the gap between the traditional and the contemporary. They currently live in the United States where they have finished their third album together, Hymns for the Christian Life. This follows their first collection of hymns, the 2006 release In Christ Alone.

Nancy Guthrie
Nancy Guthrie speaks at conferences around the country and internationally, and is pursuing graduate studies at Covenant Theological Seminary through their distance education program. She and her husband, David, live in Nashville. They are the co-hosts of the GriefShare video series used in more than 8,500 churches around the country and host Respite Retreats for couples who have experienced the death of a child. Nancy is the author of numerous books, including the recently completed five-book Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament Bible study series.

Bethany Jenkins
Bethany is the founder of The Park Forum, a nonprofit that seeks to plant urban Christians in the Bible daily, and the director of the faith and work initiative at The Gospel Coalition. She is writing her first book, Having All That Matters, which is a faith-based contribution to the Lean In discussion. Previously, Bethany worked at the New York Stock Exchange, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Congress. She graduated from Columbia Law School. Bethany lives in Manhattan and attends Redeemer Presbyterian Church, where she was a Gotham Fellow through the Center for Faith & Work.

Tim Keller
Timothy Keller serves as senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. He was born and raised in Pennsylvania and educated at Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Westminster Theological Seminary. In 1989, Keller started Redeemer Presbyterian Church with his wife, Kathy, and their three sons. Redeemer started a church-planting center in 2001, which has helped start more than 200 churches around the world. Keller is co-founder and vice president of The Gospel Coalition. He is the author of many books, including The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, The Prodigal God, and Generous Justice.

Kathy Keller
Kathy Keller holds an MA in theological studies (summa cum laude) from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, has worked as an editor for Great Commission Publications, and presently serves on the staff of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, where her husband, Tim, is senior pastor. In Redeemer’s early years, Tim preached and Kathy was the entire staff; now she serves as assistant director of communications. Kathy and Tim have three grown sons.

Blair Linne
Blair Linne is a wife, mother, actress, and Christian spoken word artist. As an actress, Blair has appeared on numerous television shows, including Alias, Days of our Lives, Malcolm in the Middle, and The Parkers. As much as Blair enjoys acting, her true passion is proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ through spoken word. Her poetry has been featured on ABC’s Nightline and in the Los Angeles Times. She has appeared on a number of Christian hip-hop albums. She has also taught workshops for women at churches and conferences across the United States. Originally from Los Angeles, Blair lives with her husband, Shai Linne, and their son, Sage, in the Washington, D.C., area, where they are members of Capitol Hill Baptist Church.

Jennifer A. Marshall
Jennifer A. Marshall is the author of Now and Not Yet: Making Sense of Single Life in the 21st Century, pursuing a Masters of Arts in Religion at Reformed Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., and director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at the Heritage Foundation. You can follow her on Twitter @MarshallJenA.)

Carolyn McCulley
Carolyn McCulley is a filmmaker, conference speaker, and author of three books and numerous articles. Her latest book, The Measure of Success (due out in January), explores love, labor, and productivity for women. She also wrote Radical Womanhood and Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? and is a contributor to the forthcoming ESV Women’s Devotional Bible. In 2009, Carolyn started Citygate Films to produce feature documentaries and short films for ministry and commercial clients. She is the proud aunt of six nieces and nephews and is a founding member of Redeemer Church of Arlington, VA.

Mary Mohler
Mary Mohler serves in ministry as the president’s wife at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and as the founder and director of Seminary Wives Institute, an academic program for student wives at Southern Seminary and Boyce College. Mohler received her B.S. in biology from Samford University, and has contributed to several devotional books, including The Christian Homemaker’s Handbook (Crossway, 2013). She and her husband, R. Albert Mohler Jr., have two grown children, Katie and Christopher.

Trillia Newbell
Trillia is a wife, mom, and writer who loves Jesus. You can read her regular writings on faith and family in the Knoxville paper, the Knoxville News-Sentinel, as well as on Desiring God and The Gospel Coalition. In November 2011, she launched a Christian women’s blog-style e-zine, Women of God Magazine, where she is the managing editor. Currently she is the lead editor for Karis, the women’s channel for the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. She is the author of United: Captured by God’s Vision for Diversity (Moody, 2014). Her greatest love besides God is her family. She is happily married to her best friend and love, Thern, and has two children.

Kathleen Nielson
Kathleen B. Nielson (PhD, Vanderbilt University) is director of women’s initiatives for The Gospel Coalition. She has taught in the English departments at Vanderbilt, Bethel College (MN), and Wheaton College. She authors the Living Word Bible studies (P&R), as well as various articles, poems, and a book—Bible Study: Following the Ways of the Word. Kathleen speaks extensively at women’s conferences, and has directed and taught women’s Bible studies at several churches. Kathleen and her husband, Niel, live in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, and have three grown sons, two daughters-in-law, and two granddaughters.

Jani Ortlund
Jani Ortlund is executive vice president of Renewal Ministries and loves spending her energies connecting women with the Word of God. Serving Jesus Christ through writing, speaking, and discipling are her chief passions in life. Jani and Ray—pastor of Immanuel Church—have four married children and ten grandchildren, and minister in Nashville.

John Piper
John Piper is founder and teacher of DesiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. He is a founding Council member of The Gospel Coalition. For 33 years, he served as senior pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary (BD), and the University of Munich (D.theol.). For six years, he taught biblical studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem. John is the author of more than 50 books and more than 30 years of his preaching and teaching is available free at desiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noel, have four sons, one daughter, and twelve grandchildren.

Noël and Talitha Piper
Noël Piper is the author of Faithful Women and their Extraordinary God as well as several other books. She is drawn to ministry and issues related to disability and to orphan care, frequent topics at her blogs, NoelPiper.com and TellMeWhenToPack.com. But her main calling is to her family. She and her husband, John, served at Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis for 33 years until 2012 when they began their transition into a new chapter of life and ministry.

Talitha, who finishes high school in May, 2014, is the youngest of their five children. She is a budding photographer, prolific baker, closet musician, and a favorite of her nieces, nephews, and many other little ones. Her thoughtful Mother’s Day Letter to her birth mother touched many people.

Danielle Sallade
Raised in a home with mixed religious traditions (Judaism and Christianity), Danielle committed her life to Christ as a young teenager. She has been working with students since graduating from Princeton in 1994. She, and her husband, Chris, attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity school together and graduated in 2002 (MDiv). They are partnered in ministry on the staff of the PEF (Princeton Evangelical Fellowship). Danielle is the mother of three school-age children who love opportunities to spend time with the “big kids” on campus too.

Jenny Salt
Jenny Salt (MDiv, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) hails from Sydney, Australia. She also has a soft spot for Chicago after living there on and off for a few years between 2003 and 2009, while studying at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Since 1997 Jenny has served at Sydney Missionary and Bible College, for most of that time as dean of women but most recently as dean of students. Jenny’s ministry extends to women’s conferences throughout Australia as well as in South Africa and New Zealand. Her passion is expository Bible teaching as well as equipping other women to do the same. Jenny has contributed to a number of books, including How to Write a Bible Talk and What Women Really Need. She loves spending time with her family (including six nieces and nephews) and making the most of the numerous walkways around Sydney Harbour.

Carrie Sandom
Carrie Sandom has been involved in women’s ministry for more than 20 years, working with students in Cambridge and young professionals in London before moving to St John’s, Tunbridge Wells, where she is currently working with women of all ages and stages of life. An experienced conference speaker, she also trains women for Bible teaching ministry at the Cornhill Training Course in London and co-hosts the annual Proclamation Trust women in ministry conference.

Beth Urton
Beth (MDiv Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) and her husband have served with ReachGlobal, the Evangelical Free Church of America’s International Mission, since 2007. They work among immigrants and refugees from the 10-40 window in the Chicagoland area. A key aspect of their ministry of evangelism and discipleship is hospitality. Beth grew up as a missionary kid in Singapore and returned to the States to complete a politics degree at Princeton University. She worked on staff with the Princeton Evangelical Fellowship discipling college women and then attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Before the arrival of their three precious children, Beth taught ESL to recent adult refugees with World Relief Chicago.

Jen Wilkin
Jen Wilkin is a wife, mom to four great kids, and an advocate for women to love God with their minds through the faithful study of his Word. She writes, speaks, and teaches women the Bible. She has a background in women’s ministry and currently serves as the managing editor of the Village Church blog. Her forthcoming book, “Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with both Our Hearts and Our Minds” will release in summer of 2014. You can find her at jenwilkin.blogspot.com.

Mary Willson
Mary Willson (MDiv and ThM, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) has served in in several local churches where she has focused on biblical exposition and discipleship of women. Mary is currently earning her PhD at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.