Partnering Together
April 29, 2025

As women in ministry, many of us have experienced a sense of disconnection. It may look like loneliness, opposition, burnout, disconnection, or simply feeling sidelined. Some of us may be flourishing in our ministry role, yet still experience some cultural pushback from people not understanding the call God has given to women.

For this reason, we desire to create a space where we can mimic the early church and empower each other as we co-labor with Christ to fulfill the mission he has given us. This is why we have created this event, a place where we can gather and support each other in ministry, similar to the early church.

You and your team are invited to join the GLR family for a special event in Grand Rapids called Partnering Together brought to you by Ladies Leadership Drive on Tuesday April 29th from 11am-2pm. This event is for Men and Women to discover how we are "better together" as we get the opportunity to learn from Dr. Jo Anne Lyon & David Drury who will share many of their learnings of partnering together in ministry. We'll have discussions and connection opportunities as we work together to empower both men and women to be more effective in our mission. Invite any men and women in ministry in your influence to join us for this special, one-time event. Lunch is included for everyone attending with a $10 suggested donation per person.

EVENT DETAILS

April 29, 2025 from 11AM - 2PM EST.

Frontline Community Church

4411 Plainfield Ave NE,

Grand Rapids, MI 49525

REGISTRATION

Registration is open until April 17th, 2025!

Please feel free to invite any other advocates in ministry in your sphere of influence.

Whether they are GLR-ordained, licensed, ministerial students, or any other paid church staff, we'd love for them to join!

SPEAKERS

Dr. Jo Anne Lyon served as the General Superintendent of The Wesleyan Church from 2008-2016. Having previously founded World Hope International, a relief and development agency which continues to work in 20 countries. Prior to this she had 30 years of ministry in the local church as well as adjunct professor in Church and Society at Asbury Theological Seminary and Indiana Wesleyan University.

Over her entire lifetime, she has developed a unique and significant set of connections to many national and international religious, and humanitarian agencies and leaders. The Wesleyan Church is pleased that she will continue to be available at selected multi-faith venues, international gatherings, and other events to which she may be invited or commissioned.

As an ordained minister she serves on the board of directors of many organizations, including vice-chair of the board of the National Association of Evangelicals.

She has written many articles, chapters in books and authored the book “The Ultimate Blessing”, more recently a chapter in the book “The State of the Evangelical Mind” of which she wrote the chapter on “The State of the Evangelical Church” IVP, as well as a chapter in “When the Universe Cracks “ and she wrote the chapter “A Spirituality of Crisis Response “Nav Press.

Dr. Lyon holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology with continued Graduate Studies in Historical Theology and has been granted five honorary doctorates. She is the recipient of various awards among of which are 2016 World Methodist Peace Award and National Immigration Forum 2017 Keeper of the American Dream Award. She has participated in various multi-faith dialogues over the past years including the Abrahamic Dialogue with Religious Leaders of Iran and most recently the first Multi-Faith Conference in Saudi Arabia.

Dr. Lyon and her husband, Rev. Wayne Lyon, live in the Indianapolis area. They have four children and 10 grandchildren.

David Drury Starting as a night janitor for a church at the age of 19, David Drury says he’s had similar jobs ever since as a church planter, org founder, executive pastor, and chief of staff of the international headquarters of The Wesleyan Church.

As a speaker and writer David seeks to connect with each generation while being faithful to the core Christian beliefs by communicating with heart and humor. He is the author or co-author of a dozen published books, including Marketplace Multipliers, Transforming Presence, Being Dad, SoulHacks, SoulShift, and Duckville.

You can find him at DavidDrury.com and subscribe to access his work at DavidDrury.Substack.com. He has served for more than fifteen years as Max Lucado’s personal researcher, wrote a book with Todd Burpo called God is for Real, while also providing research, collaboration, and coaching for other authors. David and his wife, Kathy, were married in 1996. They have three children: Maxim (2000), Karina (2003) and Lauren (2005).