Woman, thou art loosed…….into the marketplace!

By Gladys Chandia

What do a stunning beauty Queen, an Enterprise development practitioner, an investment banker, a model agent, a pastor, an economist working in the alternative energy sector, a marketing executive, a highly acclaimed medical doctor, the West African director of an architecture firm have in common? First and foremost …God! Secondly, these ladies amongst others attended the Top Women for God Business breakfast with Wanda Roberson held on 7 June 2014.   The promise was, “straight talking, no nonsense girl talk and networking with the Christ inspired She-Suite” and God remembered what the TWFG team promised in faith and delivered over and above what was expected. 

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THE EVENT

Ladies were received well in our chic and cozy breakfast venue, the staff at the Hyatt Regency in Rosebank, Johannesburg. The professional décor in our signature pink, with flower arrangements, gifts (pink scarf and freshwater pearl bracelets) were fabulous. As you can see from the pictures, this very much reflected She-Suite excellence.

Once the breakfast got underway we were treated to the sweet, soulful sounds of Miss G, a new R&B, soul artist. It is amazing how the presence of the Holy Spirit transformed simple words into worship. How divinely appropriate (if that is even an expression) it was for us to have those 15 minutes of worship to prepare us for what was to come next.

THE MESSAGE

I have never met anyone like Wanda Roberson, everyone I know that has met with her, including me, feels like there is something so familiar about her, like an old friend, or a family member that you have a really good relationship with. Her message about marketplace ministry had us all taking notes with purpose, not just for show!

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Wanda Roberson calling on all of us to take our role as workplace ministers seriously

Key take away points that resonated with me were:

  • As believers, we are all called to the ministry
  • 95% of believers work in the marketplace and only 5% working in church. Your occupation takes you into the world and that is where your ministry is.
  • The early church believers used their marketplace as a platform for advancing Gods kingdom, market place ministry is not a new concept.
  • There are 7 mountains (that influence culture) we need to reclaim as Christians: (1) the economy, (2) government, (3) family, (4) Spirituality (religion), (5)Education, (6) Media and (7) celebration.
  • Influential people lead. Who are you influencing? To minister to people in the workplace is to influence them to follow Christ.

I am sure I speak for all present, (including the service providers and hotel wait staff who were all focused on Wanda as she spoke), we were inspired and encouraged that what was said by Wanda stirred something within.

THE PANEL DISCUSSION

Our panel discussion, themed “Taking God out of the Box”, led by Abimbola Pariola (Head of West Africa Operations and Business Development Director for LYT Architecture) built upon Wanda’s message. Our She- suite panelists shared their testimonies and what “Taking God out of the Box” meant for them within the context of their own work environments.

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Our panelists in action

Here are some key pearls of wisdom from the panelists (with some paraphrasing):

  • Yvette Solomons (President and Director of the South African Dental Association)

Do not take lightly the platform that God presents.

  • Anne McWalter (CEO of the Hope Factory)

God has already equipped you for where you are

  • Rebecca Munyuki (Sales Transaction Hub Leader, South Africa at a global IT company)

Whatever your position is, we are called to help people in our companies.

THE PROPHETIC WORDS

It was humbling to witness the prophetic words spoken to my fellow members of the She- Suite. I am reminded of how as women (including myself), even within a so called intimate setting, we are so used to having our guard up. It was so refreshing to see that kind of vulnerability and openness in receiving prophetic words……. AT A BUSINESS BREAKFAST?! This was definitely Taking God out of the Box!

THE NETWORKING

After taking in the priceless pearls of wisdom given to us, wiping our tears and with full tummies from the delicious breakfast, we networked. I was pleased to witness one lady, that had an amazing prophetic word of abundance spoken over her, made some good contacts within her industry at the business breakfast.

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THE SPONSORS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS

We are grateful and humbly thank our sponsors: QEssence, Red Bubble Accountants  and Jackey Huntley for giving wholeheartedly to the event.

We would also like to thank our service providers: Jared Rushton (Video), Mpho Sebola (Sound), Miss G (Praise and worship), Unathi Mbonambi (Photography) and Gillian Suna (Makeup) for their excellent input.

THE DVD

We shall have a DVD ready in a few weeks. Trust me, the DVD shall be more intense that this article!

THE………………END? I THINK NOT….THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

I believe that Taking God out of the box is a continuous process. Within the marketplace we are trained to be risk averse, trust facts (i.e. what we read and see) as our primary point of reference. Taking God out of the box requires surrender and trusting in Him, no matter what we see or cannot see daily. This is our challenge for the market place, to have God as our primary point of reference at our place of work. Top Women for God are influential as the beloved, Christ inspired She- suite not because it is a goal that we are aspiring toward, it is already who we are. For those ladies who attended the event, you know what I mean! For those ladies who did not attend the event, I look forward to seeing you at the next one, watch this space!

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