84,000 Join Jakes in Georgia

Wildly successful pastor and author T. D. Jakes has added another credential to his resume: record-breaking conference organizer.

Jakes, 42, founder of the 21,000-member Potter’s House Church in Dallas, spent the last weekend of July in Atlanta, presiding over his fourth—and biggest—Woman Thou Art Loosed conference.

The conference was born in West Virginia, where Jakes taught a 40-member Sunday-school class about how women could be healed from childhood pain, reclaim their innocence, and be the strong women God wants them to be. Out of the class came Jakes’s book Woman Thou Art Loosed! (Honor Books, 1996), which has sold 1.25 million copies.

The conference has mushroomed since Jakes moved his headquarters to Dallas (CT, Jan. 12, 1998, p. 56). In Tampa, Florida, two years ago 22,000 women attended. Last year in Atlanta, 53,000 participated. The three-day extravaganza held in the Georgia Dome set an attendance record for the arena of 84,459, toppling the old mark set by a Billy Graham crusade (CT, Dec. 12, 1994, p. 63). More than 3,000 people spilled over into an adjacent conference center, making the July 30 meeting one of the largest gatherings ever of Christian women.

The theme of this year’s conference was Wailing Women Win. “Practically, you may start out wailing but you are going to end up winning—if you persevere you will survive,” Jakes said. “When women pray, things change.”

In conjunction with the conference, a Woman Thou Art Loosed play opened in Chicago on July 20. It is now touring the country. In addition, Woman Thou Art Loosed! has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, and German.

Copyright © 1999 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Also in this issue

Is the Religious Right Finished? Some prominent conservative leaders have been deeply disappointed by the results of political activism. Are they right to sound the retreat? An insiders' conversation.

Cover Story

What's Right About the Religious Right, by Charles Colson

Cover Story

The New Cost of Discipleship

Cover Story

Fighting the Wrong Battle

Cover Story

I'd Do It All Again

Cover Story

Have We Settled for Caesar?, by Cal Thomas

Cover Story

We Can't Stop Now, by Ralph Reed

Cover Story

The Moral Minority

Cover Story

Is the Religious Right Finished?

TV Stations Turn Down Exodus Ads

Chicago Hope

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Arminian

If Grace Is Irresistible, Why Evangelize?

The Thrill of Naughtiness

Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen talks about reclaiming feminism

Classic & Contemporary Excerpts from September 06, 1999

Taking Back Mars Hill—with Grace

New & Noteworthy: Christianity and Culture

Beyond Rigid Righteousness

The Encyclopedia of Theological Ignorance

Trapped in the Cult of the Next Thing

NAE Mulls Move to Azusa

Church Rejects 'Worship Tax'

In Brief: September 06, 1999

Hindu Radical Fingered in Killing

Christian Groups Labeled 'Cultic'

Starvation Puts 150,000 at Risk

Broadcaster Alleges Discrimination

School Decision Irks Muslims

Editorial

Go Directly to Jail

Mennonite Groups Agree on Merger and New Division

Teen Shines Brightly on Campus

Fixing Johnny

Letters

Jerusalem: Reconciliation Walk Reaches Pinnacle

Money: Religious Mutual Funds Flourish

Africa: Traditionalists in Conflict with Evangelicals

New Latino Congregations Spring Up

Editorial

Stay in School

Wire Story

Evangelicals Embrace Vegetarian Diet

An On-Again, Off-Again Love Affair, a book review by Bruce L. Shelley

View issue

Our Latest

Inside the Ministry

The Next Generation Is Ready. Are We?

See how CT is investing in the next generation of the Church—and how you can, too.

The CDC Listened to Vaccine-Hesitant Moms in My Living Room

I was surprised to find myself hosting an off-the-record chat with people worlds apart on public health. But I hope that night was a seed of something new.

The Russell Moore Show

Listener question: Why Aren’t Christians Engaging in Humanitarian Aid?

Russell takes a listener’s question about the crisis of humanitarian aid and why Christians are not stepping in to help.

New Archbishop of Canterbury Steps into Anglican Divides

Conservatives call on Sarah Mullally, the first woman at the spiritual helm of the Church of England, to uphold biblical faith amid same-sex blessings debate.

News

FDA Approves Generic Abortion Pill

Students for Life leader calls the move “a stain on the Trump presidency.”

You Haven’t Heard Worship Music like This

John Van Deusen’s praise is hard-won and occasionally wordless.

The Russell Moore Show

BONUS: Lecrae on Reconstruction after Disillusionment

 Lecrae joins Russell Moore to take questions from Christianity Today subscribers

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube