The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

UNDER THE theme "The Strength To Stand Again," members of the Faith Way Christian Ministries will host its 2018 Women's Gathering next Friday, October 26.

The event will take place at the Malcom Building, East Bay Street and Victoria Avenue, starting at 7.30pm and will feature the church's Pastors Keith and Eljamona Kemp, and guest speaker Yolanda Rolle.

"There are many young women within our communities who are in desperate need of mentorship and spiritual guidance. Many of our young females have lost hope and trust in the Christian church because of past experiences of judgment and the witnessing of much hypocrisy within the church. We as kingdom citizens must provide a genuine experience filled with the love of Christ and true compassion to win the hearts of our sisters to Christ," said Pastor Eljamona.

She said the purpose of this event is to reach women who are struggling in their everyday lives. This could be young single mothers who are trying to maintain a family on a low income, wives who are trapped in abusive relationships and can't see any way of escape and even women who are walking around in the country with low self-esteem because of incidents from their past like rape and childhood molestation.

Pastor Eljamona believes there are many women whose faith has become weak because of the many trials they are facing and because of their trials many don't see the need to live to see another day. They work hard but are not appreciated, they make great sacrifices but get very little thanks and often their commitment and dedication goes unrecognised.

Through this event, Pastor Eljamona feels the need to provide a safe, loving, friendly and transparent environment for women to share and be ministered to without fear of shame and discrimination. She feels it time for women of faith to pull back the masks and start to share their life experiences with women in a real and genuine way.

Her husband, Pastor Keith also shared his inspiration for the event, saying as he was raised by a single parent mother, he watched his mother struggle to keep him safe and provide for him the best way she could. It is through watching his mother and other powerful women in his life stand through great trials that give him the passion to see women build and equip, not just for themselves but their children.

It is both their goal to motivate women to never lose focus in their faith in God, and to understand that their lives should not be limited to their present circumstances.

"We want to provoke women to close their eyes and see themselves through the eyes of their creator. We encourage women from all walks of life to attend this life changing event. This environment is not about tearing down or judging women, but we truly seek to build all their faith in God and themselves.

"We plan to cry, scream if necessary, but at the end of this event we are seeking personal transformation and change for every individual attending this event. We want all to have a renewed strength to live and be better through God's power and strength. This event is bigger than us as leaders," said Pastor Eljamona.

Moving forward, she said the plan for the church is to host more events like this, with a launch of seminars to come for women, in particular young single parent mothers and women who have been raped and molested.

Faith Way Christian Ministries continues to be a growing church that seeks to equip God's people through the knowledge of His word. It is the church's mandate to teach all believers how to apply the teachings and principals of Gods Word in their everyday lives.