A Reflection on the Recent Sovereign Grace Pastors & Wives Conference

An reflection from Maddison Spring, wife of Riley Spring (Lead Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church Parramatta).

Before leaving for conference, I was feeling tired and sluggish in my faith. I was excited to go to conference and catch up with old friends and to sit under the word uninterrupted by mothering and unburdened by the responsibilities of homemaking, but I didn’t anticipate just how the Lord would meet me.

The theme of the conference this year was ‘The Church of Christ and the Triumph of Truth’. With that glorious title came 5 incredible talks that re-centred my heart on the centrality of the Church built upon the sure foundation of the word of God. It was a balm to my weary soul to have scripture after scripture applied and to be reminded and taught afresh on the importance of not swerving to the right or to the left of the truth of God. As I help my husband Riley in his role as a Pastor, I was reinvigorated to give him wise counsel and care and to point him back to the word of God to evaluate our lives and ministry. The women’s breakout session also wonderfully diagnosed my weariness in being the wife of a Pastor and again enlivened my passion for running the race and serving Jesus in this hidden yet public role.

Aside from the talks and the glorious worship times, the fellowship that I experienced was tremendously refreshing. Seeing people and friends that I hadn’t seen in over five years was extremely precious. I was able to catch up with the ladies that I attended Pastor’s College with and we encouraged one another in our roles as Pastor’s wives. Our time in Louisville was also special in that regard. Being able to show the SG Parra team around our home away from home was memorable and precious as I watched their hearts being knitted to my Kentuckian friends.

All in all, this year’s Pastors Conference was a real treat. It seems ridiculous that I had to travel to the other side of the globe to find refreshment, but the Lord was gracious to answer my prayers. I know that the others who travelled with me from Australia would agree that our faith was bolstered to withstand the tides of culture. The sessions encouraged us to send our anchor down even deeper into the truth of the word of God while the fellowship reminded us that we are not alone. We are running the race with likeminded brothers and sisters cheering us on all around the world.