A sold-out crowd of more than 1,200 women gathered for the Abide Women’s Conference at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Jan. 31-Feb. 1 to learn more about the importance of biblical community.
This year’s conference gathered women from more than 10 different states and more than 200 churches. The Abide conference has sold-out every year since its inception four years ago. This year’s event sold out in less than 7 weeks.
Worship at the conference was led by Crescent City Worship and Dove award-winning vocalist Meredith Andrews.
Tara Dew, wife of NOBTS President Jamie Dew, adjunct professor and director of the New Orleans Seminary’s Thrive program, began the conference’s opening plenary by examining the Gospel of Jesus Christ in connection to the conference’s theme of biblical community.
“Without the blood of Christ, you are still dead in your sins,” Dew said. “Without the atoning sacrifice that Jesus made for you ... we cannot live.
“But maybe you’re a believer here tonight. Have you forgotten the truth that Jesus died for you, or do you take it for granted? Let us never get over it.
“And if He stayed in that grave, He would not be God. If He stayed in that grave, you and I are still dead in our sins. What I love about the Gospel is that Jesus died to atone for our sins, but three days later He got up from that grave. Without the resurrection we have nothing. Because Jesus resurrected, it means we have purpose.”
The conference’s theme verse was Acts 2:42, and the plenary speakers each examined one aspect of the picture of the early Church’s community painted in the passage.
Dew began by explaining that the crux of the apostles’ teaching referenced in the verse is the Gospel.
"The Gospel is the crucible of the apostles’ teaching,” Dew said.
“Without Jesus you can’t have biblical community. If we want to be a true biblical community, may we never get over the Gospel.”
In addition to Dew, other speakers at the conference included Katie McCoy, author and strategy director for cultural engagement at the YHWY Foundation; Catherine Renfro, director of evangelism at the North American Mission Board and Emily Dean, NOBTS assistant professor of ministry to women at NOBTS.
McCoy said in the second plenary that God designed people to live in biblical community.
“You and I cannot become the strong women that God made us to be on our own,” McCoy said.
“We need each other. Our individual health depends on our collective life. We will not blossom and bloom by ourselves. When God thought you up, He designed you to realize His dream for your life in community and in fellowship with others. It’s something you were made for. You were created for connection.”
In the third session, Renfro emphasized the need to follow the disciples’ example of breaking bread together.
“The act of breaking bread is significant for all of us,” Renfro explained.
“It’s around the table that we get to know people, and we get to be known by people. Community is not found, community is built.”
Dean closed out the conference by speaking on the importance of praying in community with other believers.
“Praying in community teaches us how to pray, strengthens our faith and binds us together in community,” Dean said.
In addition to these plenary sessions, women at the conference attended more than 10 different breakout sessions.
Breakout session topics included:
Many of the breakout sessions were led by NOBTS faculty or faculty wives including Carla Ross, Stephanie Lyon, Amy Williams, Maria Wetzel, Michelle Woodward, Kristyn Carver and Heather Johnson.
Sponsors of the conference included the International Mission Board, the New Orleans Baptist Association (NOBA), GuideStone, Mississippi WMU, Alabama WMU, Lifeway, North American Mission Board (NAMB) and the Louisiana Baptist Convention.
Next year’s Abide Women’s Conference will take place Jan. 30 - Jan. 31, 2026. Keynote speakers include Dew, Kandi Gallaty (author and wife of Long Hollow Baptist Church Pastor Robby Gallaty) and Susie Hawkins (speaker and wife of GuideStone President Emeritus O.S. Hawkins).
The theme for the conference will be “Women of Worship.”
