I stopped to talk to many of them and two of them are featured in my story in today’s Oklahoman. Sisters Joy Wilks of Oklahoma City and Andrea Mitchell of Idabel let me walk along with them and ask them questions about their experiences at WOF.

Then I ran into a trio of women who traveled from Arkansas to attend the Oklahoma City conference. They caught my attention because they were wearing matching T-shirts and actually, a lot of women wear matching T-shirts to the conference, either promoting their church or a church conference. Some wear WOF shirts they purchased before the event.

The Van Buren women, Darlene Craft, 54; Selma Mattox, 55; and Debra Franklin, 52, said they were attending the conference for the first time.

“We came for the annointing of the Lord and to meet other women,”  Franklin told me.

“We want to take it all back to our church,” Mattox said.

Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman photographer, who took photos at Friday evening’s opening session, said she estimated that about 8,000 women were in attendance. I tried to take a guess but I wasn’t sure. I’m hoping to get an estimate from a WOF spokeswoman sometime Saturday because she said they would have that information then.  Needless to say, there were thousands of women participating in worship and listening intently as speaker Ken Davis shared his testimony.

More to come today.  

(Cutline: Selma Mattox, ,Darlene Craft and Debra Franklin, members of  Heritage United Methodist Church in Van Buren, Ark., pose for a picture outside the Chesapeake Energy Arena on Friday in Oklahoma City.)  

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

In fact, the Christian women’s conference begins at 7 tonight at the Chesapeake Energy Arena and will continue from 9  a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

I’ve been told that this year’s conference includes several new elements.

I’ll get to see them up close and personal because I’m about to head that way.

The conference is a popular attraction in Oklahoma. Thousands of women attend the conference each year and some even come from other states, although the conference tour visits many cities.

The picture featured here with this posting was taken at the Oklahoma City WOF conference in 2009. I typically write advance stories about the conference each year but I don’t always get a chance to attend because of my schedule.

I will be attending the conference tonight so I’m looking forward to experiencing the new aspects of the conference first hand. 

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor  

Here’s a listing of a few of them:

Aug. 10-11 — Women of Faith: “Celebrate What Matters,” Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W Reno. The event will begin at 7 p.m. Aug. 10 and 9 a.m. Aug. 11. For more information, go to www.WomenofFaith.com.  

Aug. 10-11 — Oklahoma Youth Evangelism Conference featuring Christian recording artists Kutless, Tenth Avenue North and other artist, Mabee Center, Oral Roberts University campus, 7777 S Lewis. Admission is $17 before July 30 and $20 after July 30. For more information, call 942-3000, Ext.  or go to www.mabeecenter.com.

5:30 p.m. Aug. 25 — “Secret Keeper Girl Live!,” Mabee Center, Tulsa. For more information, go to www.mabeecenter.com.

7 p.m. Sept. 13 — “Living a Legacy” with Dave Ramsey (pictured) and Wall Street Journal best-selling author Jon Acuff, Crossings Community Church, 14600 N Portland. For more information, go to www.crossingsokc.org.

5 p.m. Sept. 15 — “VeggieTales Live: Sing Yourself Silly,” Mabee Center, ORU, 7777 S Lewis. For more information, go to www.mabeecenter.com.

8 p.m. Sept. 21 — The Afters (pictured) and Fireflight, Chesapeake Energy Stage, State Fair of Oklahoma. Free admission with admission to the fair. For more information, go to www.okstatefair.com.

Sept. 22 — Hillsong Live “Cornerstone Tour,” BOK Center, Tulsa. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, July 20. Cost is $26, $32 and $38. Ticket prices increase $3 on the day of the show. For more information, go to www.PremierProductions.com. 

7:30 p.m. Sept. 28 — “A Night of Hope with Joel and Victoria Osteen,” Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W Reno. Tickets are $15.  For more information, go to www.ticketmaster.com or www.chesapeakearena.com.

Oct. 6 — Mark Schultz and  Anita Renfroe, Mabee Center, Tulsa. For more information, go to www.mabeecenter.com.

Dec. 20 – “12 Gifts of Christmas” tour with Steven Curtis Chapman, Laura Story, Patsy Clairmont, Marilyn Meberg, Luci Swindoll, Lisa Welchel and others, Mabee Center, Tulsa. For more information, go to www.mabeecenter.com

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

I really enjoyed talking with Women of Fatih conference speakers Karen James and Michelle Aguilar. They both had compelling stories to tell and I could have shared much more than we had room for.

Some readers may already know, but for those of you who missed it, The Oklahoman, in partnership with the Women of Faith  conference ministry, has four free registrations to the conference to give away. We are giving them away in pairs so we have two pairs for some duo out there — maybe a mother and daughter, best friends or  two sisters, perhaps.    

The conference is set for Aug. 27-28 at the BOK Center in Tulsa. This year’s theme is “Imagine.”

If you are interested in participating, send your name, address and phone number to Carla Hinton, P.O. Box 25125, Oklahoma City, OK 73125 or send an email to chinton@opubco.com.

Deadline for entry is 5 p.m. Aug. 16. The winners will be notified by Aug. 17 — so they can begin making their plans …

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor