To propel is to drive or push something or someone in a certain direction.
My Propel experience started long before my first conference in October of 2016. In July of 2014, I took my youth kids to a night of worship with Kari Jobe and Christine Caine.
I have found four things to be true.
1. If Kari Jobe is leading worship, then you know the spirit of the Lord is going to move in that place.
2. If Christine Caine is speaking, then you better be ready to hear a life changing word from God.
3. When you get a group of women on fire for God in one place, you truly get a glimpse of heaven.
4. Anytime you can sit under the teaching of spiritually wise people, you will be challenged, and you will be forced to look at your life in a different way.
That’s exactly what occurred that night. Christine spoke about a new women’s organization they were starting called Propel Women.
I felt the Lord telling me that this was something I needed in my life, so I started reading Propel’s magazines and articles as they became available. Then the opportunity to lead a chapter in the local church presented itself. I started a chapter and began to see God move in a way I never imagined.
Something you need to know about me is I am a dreamer. I am passionate about a lot of things, and sometimes I want to do it all. That is a double-edged sword because I tend to wear myself thin.
The months leading up to the conference were some of the hardest I had ever faced. I was rejected from eight different PT schools, my three best friends moved away, I took on a new ministry, graduated in May and began graduate school with no idea what was in store for my future.
I was lost, confused, even a little mad at God, and the enemy was using all that to his advantage to attack me. That’s when my 23rd birthday came around and I bought myself event tickets in Jackson.
When the weekend for the event arrived, a friend and I got up early, grabbed breakfast, and got in line for the event.
You know how you have those moments- you feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up, you have chills, you can just feel the presence of God all around- that is what it felt like the whole time.
From the moment Kari lead us in the first song, to the messages of the speakers, to the panel, and the meet and greet with Chapter leaders the presence of God in the arena was unreal.
The heartbeat of Propel truly is for you to encounter God in a different way, and that’s what happened throughout the day. The atmosphere of this event is so unique: you feel like you are a part of something bigger- something that will change your life forever. You truly see and hear the heart of the Propel team in every aspect, and that’s what I loved the most- seeing the heart of the ladies that are behind this organization.
“Be the generation that Presses on… Jesus wants to make us DANGEROUS to the kingdom of darkness.” As Christine spoke these words at the conference, I felt the Lord telling me to stop letting my circumstances define me.
As a millennial, I think there is a lot of work to be done in this generation. I have always felt a calling to preach the gospel, to speak life into people. I think for a while I lost that focus by narrowing in on my own struggles.
That Saturday helped me refocus my life. I think Christine said it best: “To keep pressing on in a world that sucks, I must keep my eyes on Jesus.”
For me this conference was a reminder of the call I feel in my life and a breath of fresh air. It was truly an encounter with God unlike anything I had experienced before. I was completely empowered, recharged, and ready to become dangerous to the kingdom of darkness once again.
Danielle is a 23-year-old Propel Women chapter leader in Monroe, Louisiana. She also serves as the director of children’s and youth ministry. She currently attends the University of Louisiana at Monroe where she plans to graduate in December of 2017 with her Master’s degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology.
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