Speakers:
Allison Allen
Allison loves weaving Biblical teaching and narrative together in unexpected ways, and is over the moon to teach at conferences and retreats around the country. Saddleback Church, Women of Joy, Mariner’s Church, and Campus Crusade’s National Women’s Conference are just a few of the wonderful places she has been. She started speaking by believing that God is a better door opener than she ever could hope to be. As He opened doors, large or small, she responded by saying “yes”. Exploring themes of purpose, value, and identity in original and sometimes unexpected ways, Allison hopes to lead women on a rare journey toward the fullness of Christ’s redemption. Her two nationally published books, Shine and Thirsty for More (Revell), are written with a heart to lead women to the glorious freedom found in Jesus. Sheila Walsh says of her, “Allison is a gifted writer and a profound communicator or God’s truth.” Of late, she has the joy of being the 5’ 12” wing-woman to Lisa Harper for the popular new pod-cast, Lisa Harper’s Back Porch Theology.
Rebecca Carrell
I call myself a joyful Jesus-follower, wife to Mike, mom to two teenagers (gulp), lover of coffee, and friend to many. You also might say I’m a radio dinosaur, having worked on-air in the Dallas/Fort Worth area since 1998—in talk radio, country music, and Christian. 90.9 KCBI was my most recent radio home. I stepped down in October of 2021 to take a position at Dallas Theological Seminary. Now I get to pour into the next generation of leaders, and I love cheering students on. Much like yours, my story is still in process. I hope to spend the rest of my days telling people about Jesus and his saving grace. Right now, that’s through teaching, podcasting, Bible studies, the occasional blog post, conferences, and retreats.
Katie Prater
Katie met her husband, Bill, while attending Bible college. Upon graduation in May of 1981, they were married and joined the full-time ministry staff at Fellowship Baptist Church in Liberal, KS. In addition to serving in the youth ministry, and later to young married couples, Katie taught in the classroom at Fellowship Baptist Academy.
In May of 2000, she became the pastor’s wife as her husband assumed the pastorate of Fellowship Baptist Church. Katie faithfully served the ladies of FBC for 20 more years, counseling and teaching various Bible studies. God gave her a passion for God’s Word and seeing others grow in their faith. When she is not traveling with her husband or having the opportunity to speak at different ladies events, she works as an optician for her daughter and son-in-law in their optical business.
In addition to being the mother of T.J. (now deceased), Tyler, and Tiffany, Katie is “Grammy” to eight grandchildren. Boston, Malorie, Kevin, Ellie, Callie, Huck, LeRoy, and Turner.
In May of 2000, she became the pastor’s wife as her husband assumed the pastorate of Fellowship Baptist Church. Katie faithfully served the ladies of FBC for 20 more years, counseling and teaching various Bible studies. God gave her a passion for God’s Word and seeing others grow in their faith. When she is not traveling with her husband or having the opportunity to speak at different ladies events, she works as an optician for her daughter and son-in-law in their optical business.
In addition to being the mother of T.J. (now deceased), Tyler, and Tiffany, Katie is “Grammy” to eight grandchildren. Boston, Malorie, Kevin, Ellie, Callie, Huck, LeRoy, and Turner.
Worship:
Laura Cooksey
With one of those dynamic voices that immediately grabs your attention and doesn’t let go, it's no surprise that all roads led to a celebrated career in music for Laura Cooksey.
An award-winning vocal major at Baylor University before making her way to Nashville after graduation, Laura has led worship for national conferences including Women of Faith (2010-2012 and 2015-2016) and the E Women tours, released an EP that hit #11 on iTunes Christian charts, sung background vocals for Mandisa, Nicole C. Mullen, Natalie Grant, Michael W. Smith, and Amy Grant and even fulfilled a childhood dream of singing for Disney.
In fact, Laura was handpicked to lend her voice to several Disney live productions, including multiple parades, (Paint the Night, Festival of Fantasy, and Happiness is Here) Cinderella castle shows, (The Magic, The Memories, and You and Celebrate the Magic) and most recently, the concluding song, “Disneyland” at “World of Color: Celebrate” for Disneyland, California's 60th Anniversary Celebration.
As much as Laura truly loves to sing, it's her heart for worship that ultimately fuels her passion. And as she's travelled the country, leading audiences in offering worship, it's been her intent to also share the why of worship.
“On my recent travels, that's something that's been impressed on my heart to share, to encourage the continual breaking down of walls so we can get back to a biblical standpoint of why we worship and how exactly we do that,” Laura says.
“When we lead a lifestyle of worship- not just in the four walls of the church, but also outside of church, and we come face to face with who Jesus is—and what He did for us—when that's in the forefront of our minds, all we can do is worship. It's an involuntary response,” Laura says.
Laura's greatest joy other than being a follower of Jesus is to be a wife to her husband, Kyle and becoming a mom in 2014 to their THREE adopted children.
An award-winning vocal major at Baylor University before making her way to Nashville after graduation, Laura has led worship for national conferences including Women of Faith (2010-2012 and 2015-2016) and the E Women tours, released an EP that hit #11 on iTunes Christian charts, sung background vocals for Mandisa, Nicole C. Mullen, Natalie Grant, Michael W. Smith, and Amy Grant and even fulfilled a childhood dream of singing for Disney.
In fact, Laura was handpicked to lend her voice to several Disney live productions, including multiple parades, (Paint the Night, Festival of Fantasy, and Happiness is Here) Cinderella castle shows, (The Magic, The Memories, and You and Celebrate the Magic) and most recently, the concluding song, “Disneyland” at “World of Color: Celebrate” for Disneyland, California's 60th Anniversary Celebration.
As much as Laura truly loves to sing, it's her heart for worship that ultimately fuels her passion. And as she's travelled the country, leading audiences in offering worship, it's been her intent to also share the why of worship.
“On my recent travels, that's something that's been impressed on my heart to share, to encourage the continual breaking down of walls so we can get back to a biblical standpoint of why we worship and how exactly we do that,” Laura says.
“When we lead a lifestyle of worship- not just in the four walls of the church, but also outside of church, and we come face to face with who Jesus is—and what He did for us—when that's in the forefront of our minds, all we can do is worship. It's an involuntary response,” Laura says.
Laura's greatest joy other than being a follower of Jesus is to be a wife to her husband, Kyle and becoming a mom in 2014 to their THREE adopted children.