The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

Angel Livas, founder of the Woman Behind the Business Retreat, always ensured she had a spiritual undertone to her events, but struggled to weave God into her programmes in a meaningful way.

But after a “come to Jesus encounter” all that changed and the result is the upcoming 2020 Retreat which boasts a new vision.

“If I truly believed that God is at the helm of any successful career or business...why would I leave that key ingredient out of the recipe needed to establish or scale your business,” she asked herself. “Then, while reading the Bible one afternoon, I noticed that God provides us a blueprint such as ‘write the vision, make it plain’ taken from Habakkuk 2:2. Yet many of us fail to reflect on the number one selling book in the world for guidance,” she told Tribune Religion.

Her upcoming three-day conference, Vision 20/20: Using Scriptures to Propel You To New Dimensions, seeks to show Christians how to use the word of God to their advantage and set themselves on the right path for their businesses. The event will be held at Baha Mar February 20 - 22.

Patricia Minnis, wife of the Prime Minister, will be a special guest for the third consecutive year. Pastor Mario Moxey from the Bahamas Harvest Church will be joining the first all-male panel which will discuss dating and being married to prominent, powerful and prosperous women.

Other speakers featured throughout the three-day event include author and former McDonald’s corporation executive Meredith Moore Crosby; the first African-American female president of the Washington, DC Rotary Club Lisa McCurdy, and a host of other prominent men and women.

“The Bible has many interpretations of its word, but one thing’s for sure, it’s the most read book in the world. Yet many of us do not implement the directives provided to help guide us down the path of fulfilling our purpose,” said Ms Livas.

At the conference, she said, attendees will experience rich networking, hands-on training, and small group that will marry scriptures to real life solutions.

“No, we’re not going to have Bible study over passages, but we do want attendees to apply scriptures like ‘Write the vision, Make it plain’, Habakkuk 2:2, to actual activities where they will focus on the directive, while providing actionable tasks that they can implement in their business and life, immediately,” she said.

The goal of the conference, Ms Livas, said is to enrich people’s lives by way of first looking to the Bible, then to subject matter experts to effectively teach individuals how to implement key teachings provided in the Bible to ultimately achieve success.

“For instance, the Bible says ‘Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land from Ecclesiastes 11:1. Scriptures are the gateway to prayer and prayers are our direct profession of our heart’s innermost desires. In Roman 30:10 the word says: ‘For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.’ I am a firm believer that if we rely on scriptures to aid us throughout our journey we will be shielded and guided towards our goals (rather quickly). And if we heed God’s word from the book of Psalm then we know to ‘take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart’, Psalm 37:4,” she said.

Teaching women how to use wisdom in the word and apply it to their professional lives is just one aspect of the event. Ms Livas said she wants women to not only flourish in their businesses but to also blossom in their personal lives.

“After hosting dozens of events over the years, I noticed that many of the successful businesswomen were either dealing with being single or married to spouses who were intricately involved in their businesses. Then I went through a divorce of my own – furthering my desire to understand the disconnect that often happens between women who are accustomed to creating sustainable businesses yet fail to maintain relevant intimate relationships. So this year, opposed to it being a water cooler conversation, we are bringing it to the stage and asking a panel of men ‘Who’s the boss?’ A male perspective on why pretty, prominent and prosperous women often have hardships when finding relationship compatibility,” she said.

“It’s my prayer to have every attendee leave Vision 20/20 feeling refreshed and refuelled and equipped with the necessary roadmap to manifest their dreams.”