Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes here at Lifeway Women? From Bible study tapings, simulcasts, traveling for live events, leadership training, podcasts, webinars, social media, and so much more, a lot happens that goes unseen.
We’re “pulling back the curtain” on all things Lifeway Women and giving you a look at what we do to make it all happen.
This month, we’re giving you a behind-the-scenes look at Lifeway Crises.
Tell us a little bit about the heart behind Lifeway Cruises. How did it get started?
In 2014, we were looking for ways to expand our event offerings and had the idea to try an Alaskan cruise. We sailed on our first multi-platform Alaskan cruise in 2015, and we were hooked. The power of the gospel with the background of God’s stunning Alaskan creation made for an epic ministry getaway. Cruises also have so much to offer our attendees all in one place. It’s like one big, long retreat with five hundred people! We received great feedback from our attendees on the Lysa TerKeurst Alaskan cruise. The attendees especially loved the fellowship with one other. When people are together for seven days straight, they can meet each other, have more fellowship, and really absorb what they are learning from God through the teaching, worship, and His creation.
What goes into selecting locations and producing cruises?
We tried a Caribbean cruise in 2017 but realized that Alaska is the better majestic backdrop for ministry on the water with its stunning crystal blue glacier water against snowcapped mountains with the occasional whale sighting. We had planned to set sail to New England in the fall of 2020, but that event was canceled. It is a beautiful route too with the fall leaves along the New England coast, so we may try to plan a trip there again. We have to line up the best dates and routes that also work well with our speaker’s availability. We enjoy working with Royal Caribbean because their ships are so fantastic and clean, and they have several options to choose from.
We plan the cruises about eighteen months out. And the last few months call for a lot of work because the event lasts an entire week, and we are also helping every person manage her cabin and want to make sure people have an undistracted and safe time on the ship. There are so many details to work on because we are part of a greater group of people on the ship. A cruise ship already has a lot going on, and we add to that! We build our ministry experience within the shows and experiences that are happening on the ship. It’s a lot of fun and a lot of work. But we love it, and the work paid off for this past cruise! We also learned a lot that we will apply to our next cruise (see below).
Tell us about one of the most memorable moments from the cruise.
It is hard to list any one thing that was my favorite thing about the cruise. There were so many amazing moments. Lysa taught some powerful messages to women about forgiveness and learning to rebuild a heart before the Lord after difficult and heartbreaking circumstances. She encouraged women to trust the Lord with their futures, whatever it holds, knowing God has them. She taught with passion, warmth, and transparency.
One of the cool things about a weeklong event is that everyone gets to hear the same teaching and have the same event experience, but each attendee can also have unique cruise adventure experiences. We got to see Orca and humpback whales, eagles, and sea lions, and Lysa even saw a bear on one of her excursions in Alaska.
One fun moment was when Lysa and the team came up out of the stage floor on the last night during worship. It was fun to add that surprise and take advantage of the ship’s creative production resources that were available to us. Lysa and Jamie Ivey got a kick out of that.
What’s something that might surprise people about cruising with Lifeway?
I think it might surprise people that you really can do both a cruise and a Bible-teaching and worship event at the same time. The two experiences enhance each other. Guests can enjoy all the excursions, fellowship, food, and fun that a cruise offers, and then the cruise is daily enhanced by profound teaching and worship music. The Alaskan scenery draws people to be in awe of God and His magnificent creation and creatures. It’s fun to be at a Christian event and then see a whale from the ship! There are also more opportunities to get to know the people at an event with you because you are together all week. But attendees can also customize their experiences by making their own schedules if they want to do their own thing with their family or friends on the trip.
What do you hope women gain by being a part of a Lifeway cruise?
It is always our hope at any Lifeway Women event that those who attend come away transformed by the love and power of Christ, and this cruise was no different. We hope our cruisers learned something new from the Lord and experienced Him in a new way. If they didn’t know Christ, we hope they found salvation in Him. We know at least one person received Christ on the Lysa TerKeurst cruise, and we hope many more did. On Sunday morning of the cruise, we had a church service in the main theatre and made it available to the entire ship. We did have some folks join us from the cruise ship that were not in our group, and we loved that. Exposing people to the gospel of Jesus and His great love for them is what it’s all about.
We loved this Alaskan cruise event so much that we are going back out again July 21–28, 2023, on an Alaska Adventure Cruise with Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman, plus some special guests. It is going to be full of great music and teaching and just plain fun! The Chapmans love an adventure, and we are going with them. We can’t wait to get back to Alaska to experience the splendor and wonders God reveals there!