| Doug Holtzmann, the conference director for
Joyce Meyer Ministries, confirms the loading of the
last truck—one of seven semis that his team is driving
to Orlando, Florida. Hauling over 100 tons of
lights, stage, sound, and video equipment, they get
ready to travel south, where they will meet with more
than sixty other members of the road crew. Together,
they will prepare to host nearly 20,000 guests over a
three-day period at the TD Waterhouse Centre. They’ve done it a hundred times before, but never quite like this. This is a new year…it’s a new opportunity… it’s Joyce Meyer’s first U.S. conference of 2005… For over twenty-five years, Dave and Joyce Meyer have traveled the United States and abroad, annually bringing a practical message of hope to thousands. From Houston to Hershey…from Oklahoma City to Omaha…from Orlando to the nation’s capital…in 2005 Joyce Meyer’s U.S. conferences spanned fourteen cities and reached over 250,000 people. For all who came, one thing was obvious: for Joyce this is more than just a job or a ministry—this is her passion…this is something she still loves to do. In each city, like so many times before, Joyce settled in to share a message that God had given her specifically for that weekend—a message that would be recorded live and eventually reach the eyes and ears of millions around the globe through her Enjoying Everyday Life broadcast. In recent years, Joyce Meyer Ministries has updated the look and presentation of its TV program, monthly magazine, website, and ministry logos. Keeping the pace, Joyce’s conferences have also displayed a fresh look of their own. New stage designs, upgraded state-of-the-art lighting and sound, pyrotechnics, and enhanced video production are outward signs of Dave and Joyce’s new enthusiasm to reach even more people in the next decade than they did in the last. The presentation may have changed, but one thing’s for sure—the anointing and power of God are still the same. From the first moment worship leader Jacque DeShetler takes the stage to lead the crowd into energetic praise, there is an expectation that God is going to do something great. And He always does. Joyce’s most anticipated conference of the year—her 23rd Annual International Women’s Convention—drew a record crowd of over 20,000 women each day to St. Louis, Missouri. And they got what they came for… |
Jennifer Ndi came all the way from London and
said the experience was definitely worth the trip.
“The anointing was great. I have been tied down in
bondages for so long, and now I’m just free. It was
awesome!” Samantha Daugherty, traveling from Kentucky with her fifteen-year-old daughter, made the trip by faith. Declared permanently disabled by the doctors, Samantha hobbled into the convention center with a cane. Healed by the power of God, she left jumping around and praising Him for her complete healing. “Thank you, Joyce, for being willing and obedient to God,” she said. “And thank you for sharing what He lays on your heart.”  Other 2005 highlights include our conferences in Oklahoma City and Indianapolis, where Joyce Meyer Ministries united with Pastor Brian Houston, Darlene Zschech and the Hillsong worship team for two very special weekends of practical teaching and powerful praise. One primary purpose for Joyce Meyer Ministries’ fresh new look is to widen the net and attract an even larger and younger audience. Well, it worked. In Sacramento, California, where we held our final conference of the year, we had one of our biggest catches ever, bringing numerous souls into the Kingdom. Teaming up for the first time with the popular Christian band, Delirious?, Joyce shared a powerful message on salvation that provoked more than 1,500 people—mostly teenagers and young adults— to flood the altar and give their lives to Christ. In all, it was our largest conference to date on the west coast. And it was the perfect way to end 2005. Which brings us back home… It’s November, and Doug Holtzmann watches the last truck return from Sacramento after a threeand- a-half day drive. It’s been another whole year… fourteen more cities, thirty thousand more miles, and a quarter of a million more people. “Every year we say the same thing,” Doug reflects. “We say, ‘That’s the best it’s ever been—it can’t get any better.’ But then it does. This was an incredible year. It was well worth everything that went into it.” |
“At the end of each conference I hope the
people are thinking, When are they coming
back? We are so blessed with wonderful men
and women of God who work with us. It is a
fantastic privilege to be a part of this organization,
to know that we play a role in every life
that is touched through this ministry. This is
not the work of one person—it
takes an army.
I do not believe Joyce Meyer Ministries would
be here if it were not for our partners.”
Doug Holtzmann, Conference Director