Who Is Speaking Into Your Life? A Look Back at the 2026 Shine! Conference
By Kristi Johnson, WNAC Director
Decorations were placed. Gift bags were filled. Registrations were complete. Crafts were ready. Games were planned. Speakers were prepared. Then, teen girls from across the nation walked through the doors of their churches to find the place they belong.
The 2026 Shine! Simulcast stretched from coast to coast. Girls joined from as far east as North Carolina and as far west as California when The Donelson Fellowship in Nashville, Tennessee, hosted an in-person conference. What did they all experience?
Worship
As the all-girl worship team led singing, the Spirit also was leading. Each instrument was tuned for worship, and each song was carefully chosen to represent the freedom found in Christ. Each pause was orchestrated for reflective worship. Girls from Tennessee sang out, joined by girls in Illinois, Alabama, and many other states across the nation. The name of the Lord was lifted, and hearts were led to the cross.
Intergenerational Mentors
Throughout the Shine! Simulcast, various generations were represented. The message focused on girls ages 12-18, but women of all ages shared, volunteered, taught lessons, sang, and made an impact.
Big sisters. Three Welch students started the day off with an engaging panel discussion. Their testimonies and raw stories shed light into what so many young people face today. Lindsey Padden, social media coordinator, led the discussion. She reflected, “Being able to sit with young women who have such powerful stories of walking in His freedom is so encouraging. I’m glad to be a small part of what God is doing through this ministry.” These college students taught the listening girls how to let God lead them bravely through temptation, apathy, and difficulty.
Cool aunt. Olivia Ryan, a middle school science teacher and high school coach, challenged girls to share the light of Jesus with those around them. Olivia is a perfect example of someone who provides wise counsel to teens, from her own not-so-long-ago experiences. She’s “cool” enough to speak their lingo and know the latest trends but has also lived life long enough to help teens who need advice along the way. God used her teaching to encourage girls to remember, “You will never show others living in the light is better if you look exactly like they do in the dark.”
Wise mom. When Jessica Swindol, a pastor’s wife and mom of two daughters, took the stage, two ladders were placed beside her. They illustrated the “social ladders” girls often climb in their lives — ladders filled with complications, lack of confidence, and sometime mean girls. She taught biblical truth as she urged girls to be free from comparison, jealousy, and tearing other people down. Jessica reminded listeners Jesus is not asking, “Do you believe in Me?” Instead, He is asking, “Are you letting Me define you?” Her insight as a mom spoke to the girls at the Shine! Simulcast, representing mothers across the country who love their teens and want them to seek Christ with all their hearts and let Him shine through their lives.
Final Challenge
Stacie Compton, 2026 Shine! coordinator, noted God “wove the conference together detail by detail.” As people were invited to speak, sing, and volunteer, God used Stacie’s heart for ministry to bring their hearts together. She worked closely with Kristi Johnson, director of WNAC, the organization that sponsors the Shine! Simulcast. Kristi ministers to women regularly and notes she enjoyed watching the next generation of women take part in something bigger than themselves. “I can’t wait for next year’s Shine! event,” Kristi noted. “We will continue offering the same dedication to sharing biblical truth to teen girls as they find their own place in the Kingdom of God.”
While girls participating in the Shine! Simulcast were challenged to ask themselves, “Who is speaking into YOUR life?” we all must ask ourselves the same question. Whose voice is speaking — sometimes with a quiet whisper and other times with a loud shout — into the deepest recesses of our hearts?
Who is hearing our voices and thereby shaping their search for Christ’s calling in their lives? As teen girls find mentors who can walk with them through doubts, struggles, and questions, they were reminded not only to find a mentor for themselves, but also to become a mentor to someone coming behind them. As each generation invests in the next, what they’ve learned will pass forward, and God’s light will continue to Shine! in hearts.
Hear From Shine! Participants
“Hosting the national Shine! Conference Simulcast gave our community the opportunity to be part of something bigger than themselves as women and girls from across the country gathered around the same message of faith and purpose. Women from five Kentucky churches joined together in unity, each using their God-given gifts to pour into the next generation.” — Rachelle Burchett, Heritage FWB Church, Paintsville, KY
“Shine! Simulcast 2026 was everything God intended it to be and a beautiful picture of His faithfulness. Being able to sit with young women who have powerful stories of walking in His freedom is so encouraging! I’m glad to be a small part of what God is doing through this ministry.” — Lindsey Padden, Panel Host and Social Media Coordinator
“From Spirit-led worship and powerful testimonies to biblical teaching, girls across the country and denomination shared in the truth that we really are Free in the Light, and it’s God’s Word hidden deep in our hearts that will help us remain there. May we never forget we don’t have to walk through hard things alone. The Lord…and the women just ahead of them…are here to walk beside them.” — Stacie Compton, Conference Coordinator
“I loved being a part of the Shine! Simulcast. I loved the mix of enjoying the speakers and worship with everyone while having special time with just our girls. They have already asked about next year!” — Allysa Harvey, Bethlehem FWB Church, Ashland City, TN
“I’m so grateful to see how God is continuing to use Shine! It has so many important truths to share with the young women coming along behind us!” — Diana Bryant, Shine! Location Coordinator
