A promotional video for the upcoming annual women’s conference sponsored by the James River Church, a Pentecostal megachurch based in Springfield, Missouri, features a pink record player and the voice of the late televangelist Kathryn Kuhlman, who encourages women to give their worship to God. The video then shows scenes of joyful women dressed in stylish pink, dancing as balloons and confetti rain down on them.
By contrast, attendees at the Pentecostal mega-church’s recent Stronger Men’s conference were treated to a monster truck, a boxing match, pyrotechnics, and a standoff between a pair of celebrity pastors.
The stark contrast between the two conferences not only showcases the dynamic and lively worship style of megachurches but also underscores the unequal treatment of men and women. Men are portrayed as fierce warriors, while women are confined to the role of embodying femininity, elegantly dressed and focused on creating a happy home for their husbands.
Mike Prince, a former youth pastor of the Assemblies of God, expressed his concern about the Stronger Men’s Conference. He attended the event from 2017 to 2019, after his wife signed him up for it. She had been attending the women’s conference for several years.
Prince described the conference as a circus-like atmosphere, which was designed to keep the attendees entertained. However, he believed that the event’s message had been overshadowed by the spectacle. He emphasized that distracting from the message in this way was counterproductive and could work against the goal of reaching out to non-believers. He added that the spectacle ended up completely overshadowing the truth that they were trying to convey. Read more.