I recently had the pleasure of fellowshipping and sharing with the wonderful women of Cullman, Alabama, and the surrounding area at Salem Baptist Church’s women’s conference, put on by the awesome men of SBC. “The women of this church are the serving-est women I know,” Pastor Cory told me, “and we want to serve them for a change!”. What a great way to “outdo one another in showing honor”! (Romans 12:10)
My husband has taken to driving me to conferences that are nearby (and occasionally, those that aren’t!), so, since Cullman is a scant 6 1/2 hours from Baton Rouge, he accompanied me on this whirlwind trip. We had a great time together, chatting and listening to podcasts, and he really enjoyed hanging out with Pastor Cory and the rest of the brothers at Salem.
After a quick “stop and shop” (and lunch!) at Buc-ee’s in Leeds, AL…
…we arrived in Cullman Friday afternoon and got settled into our motel. Pastor Cory and his delightful wife, Amber, immediately whisked us away for some fabulous Mexican ice cream. Mine was chocolate-brownie-Oreo. I could definitely go for some more of that!
Friday night, it was conference time!
On arriving, we could see that Salem Baptist is a charming little church tucked into a beautiful, pastoral nook of northern Alabama.
I spy, with my little eye, TWO crosses. :0) 
I miss “Baptist scoreboards”. Nice to see you, old friends! 
SBC has lovely stained glass windows. 
This serene horse pasture sits across the street from SBC. 
She ain’t what she used to be, many long years ago. :0) 
“Lady, are you ever going to stop taking pictures of us?”
A delicious pulled pork dinner from what must be the best barbecue restaurant for miles around was a fantastic way to get the festivities kicked off.
Pastor Cory welcomes the ladies. 
Lovely centerpieces! 
Once everyone was well fed and ready to focus, we headed into our first teaching session, God’s Design for Biblical Womanhood. Womanhood is special and unique. Womanhood – not a cheap knockoff of manhood – is something God values and wants women to display in the world, the church, and the family.
Friday night worship, teaching, and fellowship:
A hearty breakfast awaited us as we arrived at SBC Saturday morning.
Thank you so much to these gracious gents who worked so hard in the kitchen and in other capacities before and during the conference!
Saturday’s teaching started with our second session on biblical womanhood: Walking in Biblical Womanhood. Everybody wants to change the world, but nobody wants to change the diapers. God’s plan for most of us is to change the diapers, get the groceries, make the meals. We fight back against feminism by standing – right where God has placed us – and living each day faithfully.
We wrapped things up for the weekend with a fun Q&A session. These ladies asked some smart questions!
Saturday teaching and fellowship:
I don’t mind telling you this might be my favorite picture of the whole conference. It is never too early to start teaching your girls about biblical womanhood. Whenever you can, include them in multi-generational events like this one where they’ll be around godly older women they can begin developing Titus 2 relationships with.
All too soon, it was time to say goodbye. My deepest thanks to Cory and Amber, and all the men and women of Salem Baptist Church who worked so hard to host a fantastic conference, took care of all my needs, and made me feel so welcome. If you’re ever in the area and need a good church to visit, make plans to spend the Lord’s Day with these wonderful brothers and sisters.
If your church or organization is ever in need of a speaker for a women’s event, I’d love to come share with your ladies as well. Click here for more information, or to find an upcoming event near you!
Photo Credits
Many thanks to Amber and other conference attendees who took most of the photos above. You may assume that if I’m in the picture or if it’s a good quality photo that I didn’t take it. The remaining photos were shot by me.
Michelle Lesley 