Save the date:
Saturday 3rd May 2025
New Hope Baptist Church
Streaming online
When: 4th May 2024, 8.30am to 3pm
Where: New Hope Baptist Church, Blackburn North
or streaming from the comfort of your own home
You can still buy streaming tickets. However, online sales of in person tickets have closed. You can still purchase tickets on the day at the venue.
In a world where good leaders are rare, our anxiety has us crying out for justice. For relief. For comfort. For certainty. In the midst of chaos, where and how does God lead his people?
At Entrust this year, we embark on a new series through the book of Judges and Ruth. Side by side in the Bible, these two books confront our chaos with God’s kindness.
Our speakers Britt Cicognani and Heather Reid will be looking at judges Ehud and Deborah. Join us on the 4th of May as we learn together how God shows extraordinary generosity towards a people who will not listen – bringing hope in the midst of chaos.
Choose your seminar from the list below then book your ticket.
Speakers
Britt Cicognani is a Discipleship Minister at City on a Hill: Melbourne. She grew up in Sydney and worked across various hospitals as an Occupational Therapist before moving to Melbourne five years ago to work at City on a Hill. Britt is passionate about Christmas, breakfast buffets and sunny weather. However, she is most passionate about Jesus and delights in seeing women come to know and love him more.
Heather Reid is a mum of 2, and grandmother of 7. She lives with her husband, Andrew, near Moonee Valley Creek where every morning she rejoices in the beauty of God’s creation as they walk their two kelpies, Ishah and Riggs.
Heather’s long-term passion in her varied career as Physio, Mum, Healthcare Educator, AFES Staffworker, and Theological College Lecturer, has been helping women grow in Christ throughout Australia and in Singapore.
She has recently begun serving as a women’s minister at The Gospel Community Church, in Hawthorn.
Seminars
You'll need to select one of the following 6 options
Sarah Allen
Anxiety as an Opportunity for Growth
Arguably the most unpleasant emotion is fear. It effects body, mind and soul.
Avoidance and distraction become our main refuge. Yet for the Christian, anxiety is far more than simply a symptom to relieve. For us in Christ, it is an opportunity to examine ourselves in the presence of God through the light of scripture for our sanctification. Thoughtful and biblically fuelled engagement with anxiety not only provides substantial relief but can bring spiritual refinement, fuel compassionate and effective evangelism and build brotherly love. In this seminar we will understand more about the nature of anxiety - both the everyday variety and the more pathological form and explore an approach that turns it from a threat to an opportunity for Christian maturity.
Sarah grew up with the bible read and discussed at every meal. She is passionate about the authority of scripture and teaching God's wisdom for everyday moments. Together with her husband, Josh, and her three kids, she serves at Laneway Church in Footscray which they planted 8 years ago. Sarah has been a GP for 13 years but would prefer to be a professional flower-picker and photographer.
Sharon Cooper
Defending the Gospel without being Defensive
Apologetics. Evangelism. We may not feel particularly drawn to these areas of ministry because it feels like our efforts are better spent elsewhere. When it comes to sharing our faith and introducing people to Jesus, we can often see it as something good and even necessary, but a great challenge to do naturally. In this seminar, we explore how to defend the Gospel faithfully and consistently in our busy lives.
Sharon Cooper serves as a full time staff worker at City Bible Forum and is currently based in Melbourne. She enjoys creating spaces where community is built through exploring the big questions of life and discovering Jesus in the Bible. Sharon owes her deep appreciation of coffee to the years she spent working in finance. This appreciation only grew upon completing her studies in theology. Writing, art and photography are her favourite ways to tell a story.
Kathryn Gatt
Loving God's Word in Every Season
The Psalmist describes God's Word as "more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold" (Psalm 119:72). Is this how you feel about the Bible? Is this how you act? Do you know the delight of God's Word, but find it hard to prioritise in the midst of busy lives, work and family obligations? Or have you not yet discovered how wonderful the Bible is? In this seminar, we'll reflect on ways that we can delight and feast on God's Word through every season of life, so that we can declare with the Psalmist that the Bible is "sweeter than honey to my mouth" (Psalm 119:103).
Kathryn is an avid reader and first heard about the Lord through books such as Heidi and What Katy Did. Since coming to faith in her university years, she has fallen in love with the best book ever written, and has relished the opportunity to read and explore the Bible with other women of all ages and stages over the last 20 years. Kathryn has been a Medical Receptionist, Primary School Teacher, Stay at Home Mum, Ministry Trainee, and now has the immense privilege of working as the Women's Ministries Facilitator for the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, where she works to establish and encourage Word-based women's ministries. Kathryn attends Bundoora Presbyterian with her husband Chris and two kids.
Amy Just
Reckoning with violence in the Bible
We have been getting better at standing against and calling out violence in our society, and in our churches. It is encouraging and right, and honours Jesus, our Prince of Peace. But what do we do with the violence on the pages of the Bible? We have likely all come across those OT passages that, when we stop and think about the reality, we can't quite fathom how or why it is there. How can it possibly be a part of God's story? In this seminar we are going to look at some of those instances in the OT and seek to understand why God has chosen to include it in His book. Got questions? Come and join me.
Originally from Adelaide, Amy moved to Melbourne to study at Ridley College under Peter Adam, having completed a ministry apprenticeship at her church. Whilst studying, a passionate evangelist for both Jesus and AFES student work (Heather Reid) got in her ear and persuaded her to give student ministry a go. Fifteen years later Amy is very thankful for that tap on the shoulder and enjoys ministering to and with the CU students and AFES staff at Monash Uni as well as serving in a regional capacity for AFES across Victoria. An amateur on the subject, Amy is keen to share what she has learnt from those who are experts, with those of you who would appreciate a guided exploration of this tricky topic, with honest discussion.
Sandra Lee
I am a child of God: The label God gives us.
The question of 'Who am I?' can be one of the hardest questions for us to answer. As women, we go through life wearing many different hats and the labels we give ourselves often change over time across different seasons of life. Often the labels the world gives us may differ to the ones we give ourselves. Finding belonging in a sea of different influences and ideas can be confusing. In this seminar my hope is that you have comfort, joy, and confidence in knowing God and being known by Him. We will explore what God has to say about us in the Bible when we belong to Him as his child. This is a great seminar for someone who is a new Christian or investigating Christianity.
Sandra has been a Christian for twenty years and enjoys spending time engaging, sharing stories and connecting with others over lots of food and movies. She finds herself multitasking, often rushing from place to place, holding four jobs, serving at church and volunteering at art festivals. Though life can appear to be hectic, she finds great peace, rest and security in knowing she is saved not by anything she has done but solely but the work of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Bianca Nicholls
Friendship: The Good, the Bad and the Godly :: TEEN SEMINAR
Being a teenage girl is undeniably hard, and the people around you can be the difference between travelling through choppy waters with a fleet of ships, or being tossed around in a little sailboat. How do you know who to trust? How do you be a good friend? Who do you let into your life? How do you love hard people? And what do you do when your friends let you down? Because they will.
It’s easy to wish that God would just tell us who is good and who is bad for us. But humans are just so much more complicated than that. In this seminar for teens and young adults, we are going to look together at what God does tell us - how to be wise in our friendships.
Bianca is the Mercy Coordinator at City on a Hill: Geelong and the Operations Manager at the Youth Ministry Futures Project. Bianca has been a youth leader for 7 years and is passionate about seeing youth and young women come to know Christ in a deep and meaningful way.
What they're saying:
It is so important for Jesus’ church that women are challenged in their obedience to Christ, mobilized in their gifts, and have an ever deepening vision of the beauty & power of a life lived for him. Women teaching women is such a powerful way that Jesus brings this into being. I am thankful for the contribution of Entrust in this unique and vital work.
Stephanie Judd
City on a Hill, Executive Director - Leadership Academy
It has been a great joy to see the timely emergence of the Entrust Women conference in Melbourne: young and able evangelical women committed to ministry among women based on the exploration and exposition of God’s word and mutual encouragement for ministry. I warmly commend this new venture and am glad to be associated with it. My hope and prayer is that through it Christian women across Victoria will be taught, rebuked, corrected, and trained in righteousness so that they might be capable and equipped for every good work that God has prepared for them in their families, among God’s people, and in the workplace.
Andrew Reid
Pastor of Discipleship & Training, Cross & Crown: Melbourne
I've enjoyed previous Entrust conferences for the stimulating Bible talks and seminars, on both practical and theological issues; the opportunities to see friends and acquaintances, and to meet other women who are striving to live for Jesus; and for the encouragement and joy of gathering with like-minded women - young and old, city and rural, mothers, students, workers, of different ethnicities and backgrounds, working in ministry or simply living for Jesus in everyday life.
Fiona McLean
Women's Minister, Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Doncaster
A conference for women, led by women, who desire to see women across Victoria established in their faith, equipped in their ministries, and encouraged in their cross-bearing, Christ-centred life, how can it not be wholeheartedly commended. I am grateful for the evangelical women who lead this conference with a commitment to faithful expository preaching. It has been a delight to see the fruits of this conference and how it has shaped the lives and ministry of the women in our church, as they seek to live their lives as daughters of the King. My prayer is that this will be seen amongst more women and more churches for the glory of God.
John Huynh
Minister, Surrey Hills Presbyterian Church
FAQ
Helpful Information
What are the goals of Entrust Women?
We have two goals, represented by the two Ts in enTrusT:
• to provide clear, faithful Bible teaching from women and to women in Melbourne
• to provide training to women from Melbourne and wider Victoria as they learn to teach and train other women.
We took the name Entrust Women from 2 Timothy 2:2 – “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will be qualified to teach others.” That’s what we want to do: pass on the gospel by giving women an opportunity to teach one another, and to learn how to teach one another, from God’s word.
Why do we need another conference?
What’s different about Entrust Women? There are lots of great conferences with speakers from various places. Our conference is unusual because most of our speakers are women who live in Melbourne or wider Victoria. That’s because one of our goals is to give local women opportunities, models and training as they teach the Bible to other women.
Who runs the conference?
We’re run by a small group of women from different churches in Melbourne, who share the same convictions about the centrality of the cross and the Bible, and the same dream: to encourage ministry by women and to women. Our committee includes Louisa Pfitzner (St Alfred's, Blackburn North), Jean Burley (Surrey Hills Presbyterian), Sharon Cooper (City on a Hill), Melissa Dixon (Brimbank Presbyterian), Belinda Grant (Grace Christian Community), Helen King (Mentone Baptist), Laura Paul (St Michael's & St Luke's Church Dandenong North) and Kellie Vanderkruk (Mentone Baptist).
What happens on the day?
God-willing our conference will still run on Saturday 4th May 2024. You can either attend the conference in person at New Hope Baptist, Blackburn North, or stream the conference from home. Either way, we'll have two great talks, a seminar, music, an interview, book reviews and other activities to make the day memorable and encouraging.
Why has the ticket price increased?
The Entrust Conference is a not for profit event. The ticket price covers the many costs of hosting the conference which have all increased markedly in the last couple of years. We had kept the ticket prices artificially low since COVID but we can no longer continue to do so.
We try to keep costs down by providing the option of BYO catering. But please get in contact (entrustwomen@outlook.com) if the cost is prohibitive and we will see how we can help you.
Parking/ transport
NewHope Baptist Church is located at 3 Springfield Rd, Blackburn North VIC 3130. There are limited car spaces available on site and we recommend allowing an extra 10 to 15 minutes to find a car park within the neighbourhood. Car Park entry is via Springfield Rd only.
If you're coming by:
CAR. Come East along the M3 take Middleborough Road exit, follow to Springfield Road, we are on the corner.
TRAIN/WALK.Take the Lilydale or Belgrave line towards Laburnum Station, walk up to Middleborough Road/ Springfield Rd, we are on the corner (Approximately 15 minutes walk).
BUS. From Box Hill Station. Take Bus number 279 towards Doncaster alight at the stop on Middleborough Road/Springfield Road, just opposite New Hope.
What COVIDsafe practices will be in place?
We will be practicing whatever COVIDsafe practices are required at the time.
However, please stay home if you are unwell. You'll still have access to the livestream so that you can participate from home.
What about our regional delegates?
You are of course welcome to attend at New Hope Baptist Church.
However, you could consider organising a watch party with other women from your church in your city. Each of you can buy your own streaming ticket but you could watch together at church or in someone's home.
Will the conference be suitable for teens and young adults?
Yes, our aim is to have teaching that will be accessible to all. We will also be having a teen seminar again this year.
So if you’re a pastor or Christian worker, encourage the young women in your youth group, young adults’ group, or university group to attend. *Please note that delegates under 18 years of age must be supervised by their parent/guardian at all times throughout the conference, apart from the teen seminar.
I’d like to encourage women from my church to come along, but don’t know how.
Please feel free to use the promotional material on our resources page. You could also encourage your women to follow us on Facebook or Instagram for the latest news.
Can I Bring My Baby?
Unfortunately, we cannot accomodate children. However, nursing mothers are welcome to bring their baby.
