Melissa Wilson is an event coordinator with Lifeway Women and organizer of the .Mom (pronounced “Dot Mom”) event recently held in Birmingham, Ala. Wilson took time to answer some questions about how the event turned out.
Q. You had about 1,500 women at the event, many of them moms in their 20s and 30s. Did you design this conference specifically for them?
A. We wanted to have a conference for moms of all ages with children of all ages. It was incredible to see three generations from a family – all moms attending together. We offered speakers and conferences from young moms in their 20s all the way to some great grandmothers! Moms of all ages were represented.
Q. Why did you choose Angela Thomas, Angie Smith, Vicki Courtney and Priscilla Shirer for your platform speakers?
A. All of them have written Bible studies for Lifeway Women, so their names and work were familiar to the women who attended. All of the platform speakers are incredible Bible teachers, plus all of them are moms too.
Q. You had dozens of breakout conferences the women could choose to attend. Why so many?
A. We wanted to cover as many mom-related topics as possible. Our prayer had been for moms to walk away encouraged, energized and excited about being the mom God has called them to be.
Q. You surprised the conference attendees when you brought the Dugger family from Arkansas out on stage. Why did you bring them in?
A. They were in Birmingham working with Impact Alabama, helping to rebuild homes destroyed by the recent tornadoes. They happened to be staying at our hotel, and since Lifeway already has a relationship with them (program personalities at the Lifeway Kids conference), we asked them to stop by. We were thrilled when all of the family was able to show up and sing for us. Only Michelle, the mom, and the youngest baby were unable to be there since they were both sick.
Q. What will the next .Mom conference look like?
A. .Mom will be back in Birmingham at the Sheraton Sept. 21-22, 2012. We will have a different line up of main session speakers, but again we will have a wide assortment of breakout sessions for the moms to choose from.
by Polly House, Communications Department
