Ruth Graham & Friends Offer Spiritual Stimulus Plan

At Get Growing Conference April 24-25 In Casper WY

Contacts:           Tex Reardon                                 Doug Hovelson            

                          Ruth Graham & Friends              Big Thunder                   

                          651-261-1964                                612-722-5501                 

                          treardonjr@comcast.net           dhovelson@bigthunderpr.com

         Conference Aims To Help People Throughout Wyoming

MINNEAPOLIS – (March 18, 2009) Tired of waiting for the effects of the economic stimulus plan to take hold? Ruth Graham & Friends have a spiritual stimulus plan you can count on to improve your life, and the lives of those around you. It’s called the Ruth Graham & Friends “Get Growing” conference, set to take place at Highland Park Community Church in Casper, Wyo., on April 24-25.

You won’t need to ask Congress for a loan to attend this conference either – it’s free and open to the public. (To reserve tickets for the conference, please go online to www.ruthgrahamandfriends.org.)

              The Ruth Graham plan for spiritual stimulus offers immediate help for people seeking to understand how to get “unstuck” from life-controlling issues – the issues that hold people back from living life to the fullest – and get growing again on a personal basis.

              “We deal with the issues that affect all of us – divorce and personal relationships, depression, addiction, anger, pornography and more – in a positive, life-affirming way, based on practical information gleaned from our own personal experience, secular psychology and the Bible,” says Ruth Graham, founder of the Ruth Graham & Friends ministry and youngest daughter of the Rev. Billy Graham. “Everything we do is aimed at equipping people to help themselves and those they care about experience the power of spiritual transformation in their lives,” she says.

“Our conference is designed for everybody, men and women alike, and as we hear so often, there truly is something for everyone who attends,” says Graham.

              “We are so fortunate to have the Ruth Graham Get Growing conference in Casper,” says Juli Banks, publicity chair for the Casper conference. “Ruth Graham is an inspirational speaker, as are all of the speakers and worship music leaders. The entire conference promises to be an unforgettable experience for everyone who attends – and it is free for all to attend!”

               The two-day program begins with a Friday night introduction to all of the conference speakers and musicians, and the personal testimony of Graham herself, who founded the ministry based in part on her own experience dealing with painful issues in her life.

              Saturday’s full day of activities includes opportunities to attend a variety of seminars led by expert speakers who have also experienced the very issues they discuss. All seminars include abundant time for people to query the speakers about issues pertinent to their own lives, and the speakers also make themselves available both before and after their sessions to meet with people one-on-one.

              “Transparency is our hallmark,” says Graham. “We want people to know that our conference is a safe and secure place for them to put their fears aside and ask for help, and the best way we can do this is by letting people see that we too – the conference speakers – are accessible and open about our own trials in life.”

              Graham is also a keynote speaker on Saturday, speaking on the need for forgiveness, as well as the leader of a seminar on “Divorce, Loneliness and Singleness.” Also speaking to the full conference will be Dr. Jimmy Ray Lee, founder of the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Living Free Ministries, an international, interfaith ministry that provides structured small group learning opportunities for people dealing with life-controlling issues.

              Other speakers and worship leaders include:

• Dr. Linda Mintle (Dr Linda of the ABC Family TV Living the Life show) on achieving healthy relationships and working with body image issues
• Aleta Nichols, addictions (Living Free counselor, Springfield, Mo.)
• Rev. Steve Wiese, anger, illusion of control (psychologist, Christian counseling center leader)
• Dr. Don Miles, depression (accredited psychologist, ordained minister, Denver resident)
• Tal Prince, pornography addiction (host, Tal Prince Live! program on Sirius Satellite Radio)
• Kim Ketola, veteran on-air radio host; abortion and its impact on individuals
• Huntley Brown, Jason Catron, national Christian recording artists
• Tex Reardon, executive director, RGF, retired from 25-year career with the Billy Graham Evangelical Association

 

Although free, reservations will be required for attendance. Reservations can be online at www.ruthgrahamandfriends.org. Free will offerings will be accepted in lieu of ticket charges, to help offset the costs of producing the conference.

Ruth Graham is an author and speaker who, through her ministry, writes and speaks to help the church provide care for people experiencing life and its constant challenges.

Graham is no stranger to heartache herself. As she speaks with audiences, she shares her journey through her husband’s infidelities, her divorces, her teenage daughter’s two unplanned pregnancies, another daughter’s bulimia, and her son’s battle with drugs.

The “Get Growing” conferences are held on average only six times per year, and this conference in Casper will be the only one conducted in the western U.S. in 2009. Ruth Graham, youngest daughter of renowned evangelist Billy Graham, founded Ruth Graham & Friends to

Ruth Graham & Friends conferences have been attended by more than 9,500 people in more than 13 U.S. and Canadian locations. Also on the schedule for 2009 are conferences at Angola Prison, Angola, La., Sept. 18-19; Logan County/Bellefontaine, Ohio, Oct. 23-23, and Wichita, Kans., Nov. 6-7. For information on hosting a Ruth Graham & Friends conference in your community, call (877) 743-7884 or send an email to info@ruthgrahamandfriends.org.

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