JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—Teacher and evangelist Anne Graham Lotz will bring her “Just Give Me Jesus” women’s conference to the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena April 24-25, 2009.

Spearheading the event is Ginger Soud, a member of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville and former president of the Jacksonville City Council, who chaired the Billy Graham Crusade in 2000.

For over a year, Soud and a group of Jacksonville-area women have been “seeking God’s will through prayer,” in anticipation of the event, she reported. The group gathered more than 80 letters from Jacksonville-area pastors, civic leaders and political leaders asking the daughter of evangelist Billy Graham to bring her conference to the First Coast.

“We hope to reach out to all parts of the Body of Christ in an event that will lead people to make decisions for salvation and Christian believers to refocus their commitment to Christ and to service in the church,” said Soud.

“A vital relationship with Jesus Christ comes with understanding how to study your Bible and knowing how to pray—this is foundational in the Christian life and will revolutionize your walk with Christ,” she added.

Soud recently returned from a “Just Give Me Jesus” conference in Des Moines, Iowa, which drew participants from 4,000 churches and resulted in the creation of 100 Bible studies, she reported.

Two kick-off events before the conference will be held Aug. 5 featuring Southern Baptist author and teacher Henry Blackaby, who will address pastors and pastoral staff in the morning; and Lotz, who will speak to the women in the evening.

Volunteers are needed to help organize and implement the meeting. Persons interested in serving as volunteers are invited to attend a planning meeting June 3 at 7:15 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Jacksonville.

For more information about Lotz’s ministry and to view a video of the conference, go to www.annegrahamlotz.com and click on events. To contact the local planning team, e-mail jgmJesusJax@gmail.com.