Going Beyond Live was a dream of our event team in 2006, and we approached Jerry and Priscilla Shirer about launching an event that featured Priscilla’s incredible teaching. They quickly agreed as God had been stirring the same idea in their hearts as they were managing a growing ministry and parenting two precious young sons. Lifeway Women’s first event in partnership with Priscilla and Jerry and Going Beyond Ministries was in Woodbridge, Virginia, in June of 2007. Approximately seven hundred excited women attended.
In the second year, Priscilla’s extremely talented and anointed brother, Anthony Evans, became worship leader, and the rest is history! Below are some highlights of the past fifteen years of hosting Going Beyond Live. We are grateful for all of this and so much more that won’t fit in fifteen bullet points.
- The power of Priscilla’s teaching. Even at the very first Going Beyond Live event, Priscilla came out of the gate with three powerful messages, including what she calls the “5 Ps” that teach women how to study the Bible for themselves.
- The prayer experience. This is one of my favorite elements at the live events. Priscilla leads attendees to testify to God’s miracles in their lives and then pray for those miracles to happen in the lives of other women at the event. Priscilla covers major categories of needs such as health/healing, addiction, prodigal children, finances, marriage, and singleness. It is a powerful time where God always moves, and we get to watch the body of Christ do what it was called to do—pray for each other in the name of Jesus. Wherever two or more are gathered (or two to seven thousand are gathered!), He is there.
- The thousands of prayers that have been lifted up to God for and from attendees. During the first of two prayer times at Going Beyond Live, Priscilla asks the women to fill out prayer requests on cards we provide and bring them to the altar. This practice results in hundreds and sometimes thousands of request cards. At the end of the event, Priscilla asks them to take someone else’s card home with her to pray for seven days (and not let it get lost in the bottom of her purse!). Imagine the multitude of intercessory prayers that have been prayed over all these years. God has heard everyone!
- The incredibly powerful worship led by Anthony Evans. In our second year, Anthony came on board to lead worship for Going Beyond Live. His magnificent voice, incredible band, and creativity made for a unique and powerful experience worshiping the Lord at Going Beyond Live.
- The beauty and chemistry of Priscilla and Anthony, siblings ministering together. This was never more poignant than at the Chicago 2019 Going Beyond Live when the siblings were ministering even while dealing with their mother’s illness. They gave each other strength and ministered with power through their sorrows and concerns.
- Priscilla’s great sense of style. We always love seeing what Priscilla wears. She even has her own Poshmark page where she sells the clothes she has worn at events over the years. And can we talk about her hair? It is magnificent. Priscilla’s hair is a wonder, and it has had many stunning styles over the years.
- All the amazing women. We have gotten to meet and work with so many wonderful women along the way as we have traveled around North America from Sacramento to Toronto to Phoenix hosting Going Beyond Live events. We are thankful for how God spoke to them and transformed them at these events. We are grateful we have so many of your faces in photos from all these years. We have worshiped with you and prayed for you! There are thousands of you out there.
- That time we took Priscilla to India! Priscilla loved traveling to be a part of a women’s event at First Baptist Church Hyderabad. It was not technically a Going Beyond Live, but it is part of our long history of events with Priscilla. She loved the time with those women so much and got to fulfill a legacy her parents began so many years ago by ministering in India. She recently found a photo of her parents in traditional Indian attire. Here is a photo of Priscilla in hers. What an adventure that was, and she said she would go again in a heartbeat.
- The Simulcast! Lifeway Women has been broadcasting Going Beyond/Priscilla Shirer Live since 2010 (check). Thousands of women have joined us live from all over the world ever since, and countless lives have been changed including those affected by the ministries we have partnered with over the years. Millions of dollars have been raised through the simulcast with no money coming to Lifeway or Priscilla so it could be applied directly to the lives of the hurting and broken.
- The thousands of pounds of goods collected for local charities we have partnered with on the ground in cities across the country and Toronto to impact the lives of women wherever we visit. This has been a huge passion for Priscilla, and every diaper or hygiene item to help women in need was celebrated by Priscilla and our team.
- Katherine Wolf. In 2019 and 2021, we welcomed the amazing Katherine Wolf on the road with us to share her incredible story of hope and healing after the major stroke she had as a very young woman that almost took her life. Her love of Christ and courage profoundly affected all who heard and hear her story. Learn more at Hope Heals.
- The Food! We have shared wonderful meals along the way. It has been such a blessing to feast and tell stories of all God did at event after event. And we just love to eat! One of my personal favorites was a restaurant in Troy, Michigan, (I don’t remember the name, but it was very cool!) that served hot chocolate chip cookies and milk at the end of our meal. We had barbecue in Memphis, great southern cooking in Charlotte, a yummy, healthy meal in Sacramento, and everywhere in-between.
- The crew! We could not have done fifteen years on the road without our amazing production crew of Eugene, Chuck, Kevin, and all the guys. Our event team has worked tirelessly to make sure the event was seamless for Priscilla, Anthony, and the women we all serve. They are all road warriors with great attention to detail and a heart to serve!
- JUDE THE DUDE! I will never forget where I was when Jerry and Priscilla told me that “Surprise, a new baby is on the way.” I think they were as surprised as I was. I had just picked them up at the airport in Bentonville, Arkansas, and they told me the news that Jude was on the way. I told them I thought it would be a girl. It was very early on in Priscilla’s pregnancy, but they insisted it would be another boy. It turned out to be the darling Jude whom we took on the road with us for a couple of years—complete with his pack and play and highchair!
- The faithfulness of God all along the way. We saved the best for last on this list. God has seen us through these past fifteen years, and more importantly, He has been in our midst. He has gone out before us and hemmed us in from behind. He has saved souls and worked miracles in the lives of women that we will not hear about until we are all in heaven together. He has transformed hearts and been worshiped with fervor. He has comforted the weary, the lonely, the hopeless, and the broken as only He can. Priscilla opens every event with a declaration of His faithfulness. And He will continue to show up and be faithful to us. He will be glorified!
Paige Clayton is the Author Relations Specialist for Lifeway Women and also leads their destination events. She led the women’s events team for LIfeway for 14 years and recently shifted roles so she can spend less time traveling, and more time pursuing licensure as a professional counselor. She is currently a master’s level professional counselor at Lantern Lane Farm in Mt. Juliet, TN. In her spare time, she is a fun aunt to four young adult nieces. Paige is mom to her Instagram-posing dog Ruby and loves singing, being outdoors, and spending time with her friends and family.