On July 14-15, you may see a flux of women around the Knoxville community with Bibles in hand. Thousands of women will be pouring into the Thompson-Boling Arena for Priscilla Shirer Live, a Christian women’s conference featuring Bible teacher, Priscilla Shirer. If her name sounds familiar to you, it could be due to her numerous books or Bible studies, but you may also be one of the millions who fell in love with her as Elizabeth Jordan in the award-winning film War Room.
As the daughter of pastor Dr. Tony Evans, of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, Priscilla grew up with a love and knowledge of Scripture. However, Priscilla didn’t have her eye on full-time ministry. She attended college at the University of Houston with the intent of becoming a news-anchor, but an internship with a local Christian radio station changed everything. Priscilla began to receive requests from listeners to speak at various Bible studies and events. It became clear God had a plan to use her giftings to teach others about Him. She decided to pursue a Master’s degree at Dallas Theological Seminary in biblical studies. While in seminary, she was asked to teach a bible study at the Ziglar Training Systems, run by the legendary motivational speaker Zig Ziglar. He invited Priscilla to join their team as a speaker and became a close friend and mentor to Priscilla. She continued to speak and train but felt her passion was still to teach God’s word to women. In an effort to pursue that calling, Priscilla and her husband, Jerry, founded Going Beyond Ministries. Together they have ministered to women around the world through video-driven Bible studies, numerous books, events and even a monthly Christian webshow on YouTube called “The Chat with Priscilla.” Their ministry is committed to “teaching the uncompromised truth of God’s Word,” and they have done just that in their 17 years of marriage and ministry.
In addition to raising three boys (and, as Priscilla often jokes, trying to satisfy their growing appetites), she also teaches at many annual conferences. Going Beyond Ministries and LifeWay Christian Resources partner to bring Priscilla Shirer Live to multiple cities each year. Unlike many conferences, Priscilla Shirer Live doesn’t have annual anchor cities. Each city is prayerfully selected and a grassroots team is built to spread the word. Donna Avant, of Knoxville, has chosen to lead the efforts in her city.
"Over two years ago, I sat with a group of women discussing the state of our city. It’s the most beautiful place, yet the previous weeks had not added to the beauty of our community. A young man had been shot in gang-related violence as he threw himself in front of a young woman to save her life. This group of women prayed about who we could bring into our community to speak God's word and to also be a bridge-builder for race relations. We all knew it was Priscilla Shirer. So when the phone call came the summer of 2016 to ask if I would be willing to assist Lifeway, my heart jumped at the God-sized opportunity.”
Donna and other women from the Knoxville area have been meeting regularly to contact local churches and businesses about the event. They have also hosted multiple prayer meetings to pray for the thousands of women who will flood the doors of Thompson-Boling Arena in July.
“Priscilla will not be in Knoxville until July 2017, yet God has already used this event to bring women from all walks of life together for a common purpose. The purpose of seeing His kingdom increased and this community changed for the sake of the gospel.” Donna said.
The Priscilla Shirer Live conference will feature a day of biblical teaching, special prayer times, and worship with popular Christian artist Anthony Evans, who also so happens to be Priscilla’s brother.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting Lifeway's Priscilla Shirer Live website.
