Shannon Bream returns to Lynchburg, encourages women to be in fellowship with one another
Liberty University alumna Shannon Bream returned to Lynchburg Oct. 8 to speak to nearly 4,500 women at the Extraordinary Women Conference 2022.
The conference, themed “Pursuing an Unfailing God”, was held Oct. 7-8 at Thomas Road Baptist Church.
Bream made history in September when she became the first woman to anchor ‘FOX News Sunday’. She graduated from Liberty in 1993 and has returned to campus multiple times to speak to students at Convocation and Commencement.
Bream was named Extraordinary Woman of the Year during the conference, an award that has been given in previous years to women including Margaret Feinberg and Kayleigh McEnany.
Bream spoke about her how her news journey unfolded, from first being a student at Liberty to becoming a professional journalist and news anchor.
“This is a bit of a homecoming for me in that I went to Liberty University … When I came to Liberty, I had to figure out my faith for myself,” Bream said. “It was a great place to work out and ask those questions and have those doubts.”
Bream encouraged attendees to be persistent and passionate about their work because it pays off in the long run.
“For months, I sent out resumes, I sent out tapes, I sent out anything to anybody who would listen,” Bream said.
Bream also encouraged attendees to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
“I learned a lot of humility in that your work can’t become your identity and that we can’t find it in anything but Christ,” Bream said. “He will humble us and he will quiet us so that we have to know that’s true.”
Bream closed out her portion of the conference by reminding attendees that God is always faithful.
“He is faithful to help us. He will walk through everything with us. I’ve seen his goodness in my life,” Bream said. “Whatever you are walking through … He doesn’t promise it’s going away, but he promises his presence, and that has been enough for me.”
Other speakers for the weekend included comedian Chonda Pierce, author Margaret Feinberg, founder of the That Sounds Fun Network Annie F. Downs and author Alli Worthington.
The president of Extraordinary Women Ministries Julie Clinton also spoke at the event. Worship was led by Michael O’Brien and Phil Wickham.
“To be unfailing means to be constant, to be everlasting, to be reliable,” Clinton said.
The Extraordinary Women Conference will continue throughout the year, with upcoming conferences in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Charlotte, North Carolina.
The conference will return to Lynchburg in October 2023 with the theme “Abide in Me.”
Speakers so far for 2023 include NFL star Tim Tebow, gospel artist Mandisa and author Katherine Wolf.
Kristina Smith is the News Editor at the Liberty Champion. Follow her on Twitter @_kristinasmith1