The young woman came to the conference, a heavy decision weighing on her – she had an appointment for an abortion later that day. She slipped out of the women’s gathering a few hours later, and when she returned, she told the leaders for the gathering that she had gone to the abortion clinic.
However, the words she had heard earlier at to the women’s conference resonated, and instead of going through with the abortion, she returned to the event.
That’s just one story of how Overflow impacts single women in need of love, compassion, encouragement and hope.
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Overflow, an outreach ministry of Bayou City Fellowship in Houston, Texas, is entering its seventh season. In past years, attendees of this women’s conference have met in person; this year, due to COVID, the event will be online, said outreach coordinator Melissa Jungeblut.
“The first year we had 25 to 50 women, mostly from our church,” she said. “We had speakers and shared a meal. The event has continued to grow. Last year, we had about 200 women and 200 kids – it was wild.
“We’re expanding,” she continued. “We’ve reached out to homeless shelters and pregnancy centers in the Houston area.”
Melissa Jungeblut
This year, because the event is online, any woman from anywhere can join in.
“We’ve already had someone from London sign up,” Jungeblut said. “Another great thing is we have women continue coming back; some of the women have been with us the entire seven years.”
Overflow will be held Saturday, October 17, starting at 8:30 a.m. Central Time. Keynote speaker is Natalie Mott, who joined the outreach several years ago.
Mott is post-abortive, suffered abuse, and experienced homelessness. She shares her story to emphasize the experience of redemption and new life in Christ. Her topic for this year’s session will be “Light Up the Darkness,” taken from John 8:12, Jungeblut said.
“Natalie was part of the very first Overflow. Watching her grow over these seven years has been amazing!” she said.
The focus of Overflow comes from Romans 15:13 – “ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
“We want to fill women up so they can overflow to their children,” said Jungeblut.
In years past, the conference provided childcare.
“The kids come and are loved on, and both moms and their kids are hearing the Word of God,” she said.
This year, since the event is virtual, activity packets are being mailed to the first 250 children who register.
Overflow women's conference
“The ministry is more than just the moms, it’s also the kids,” Jungeblut said.
Additionally, a six-to-eight-week Bible study based on Overflow will be offered to the women who participate in the online conference.
“That will be our follow-up,” Jungeblut said.
Planning for Overflow usually begins in January, she said. This year, the committee began to map out the event as usual. However, by late winter and early spring, the organizers make a course correction: not plan for a live event, but instead, for a virtual conference. They didn’t want to cancel.
“We need to do this for the women – they deserve it,” said Jungeblut. “This is a ministry of our church, and the women of our church are dreamers. God makes it all happen.”
Registration is now open.
Throughout the day on October 17, participants will hear from a variety of speakers on an array of topics, including finances, homeschooling, relationships, including relationships with children, technology, and stress, anger and hope. The goal is to fill women with hope, especially single mothers, who are often neglected by the church.
“We want women to know they can come as they are and that they are loved,” said Jungeblut, who began working with Overflow five years ago. “We want the women to have hope. I see these women who work so hard, especially for their kids. It’s beautiful, but it’s really hard. It’s a joy for me to have opportunity to work with this event.”
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Jungeblut hopes pregnancy centers will encourage their clients to participate in this free, online event.
To register, visit http://www.overflowbcf.com/.
Women can also follow the group on social media: on Instagram at @overflow_bcf and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OverflowBCF.
