Faithful: Five Takeaways from Fresh Oil ’21
by Yolande Morris
Each year, I have the amazing opportunity to attend the Fresh Oil Conference at Purpose Life Church, and each year I am blown away by the worship, word, and vision of this conference. Here are five takeaways from this year’s conference.
A Restless Visionary
Sharese Williams is the founder of the Fresh Oil Conference. She is known to congregants as “Lady Sharese” and the wife of Pastor Heston Williams, lead pastor of Purpose Life Church, deep in the heart of Flatbush, Brooklyn. She describes Fresh Oil as a movement birthed out of a vision to see people, especially women, experience the type of anointing that would permeate the exterior and produce inward supernatural change.
A vision that came at a time when she was looking for something new.
“I walked into becoming a Pastor’s wife and I looked around and said God, ‘This is not the vision you showed me,’” Sharese said. “I couldn’t quite understand it. I fell into this deep, dark place because I’m like God, I’m so restless. I’m so uncomfortable because you’ve spoken some things into me and if I stay where I am, I feel like I’m going to crumble up and die.”
God revealed to her at that moment that while she was right in submitting to her husband and to the work of the ministry, she was also suppressing the giftings that He had put inside of her. He made it clear to her that He had called her to do something different.
Fresh Oil, Fresh Vision
Maranda Curtis
Doe Jones
Timothy Reddick
Prophetess Shambrae Gamble
And that is what Fresh Oil, now in its sixth year, has become – an oasis for women who have been in that dark, uncomfortable place and looking for something new. Over the years, the conference has drawn some of the biggest names in Gospel and Christian music, including Naomi Raine and Maverick City Music, David and Nicole Binion, and more.
This year’s conference was no different. The speakers and worship leaders included Dr. Jackie Greene, Doe Jones, Timothy Reddick, Maranda Curtis, Jovita Sheppard, Cycelia Matthews and more. Each speaker and guest applied the theme “Faithful” in various ways but all challenged the attendees to “Wait on God” and to “Remain Faithful” despite the circumstances.
Confident Trust
Dr. Jackie Greene
Dr. Jackie Greene spoke on Hebrews 10:35-37 and the confident trust that we should have in a God who is faithful and is trustworthy. Using a powerful analogy about her youngest son and his favorite toy, she reminded everyone of how the enemy’s tactics “to steal, kill, and destroy” and that we must “Wait on your faithful God,” “Don’t faint, be patient. Wait on him.”
“So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay.”
Faithful Friendships
Dr. Keisha Thompson, Yolande Morris, and Jennifer Daniel
For the last three years, Wit + Grace Magazine has had the opportunity to curate the panel for the conference. This year, I led a discussion on Faithful Friends: Sisterhood and Accountability, with panelists, Dr. Keisha Thompson, clinical psychologist, and founder of Goals Brunch; Jennifer Daniel, founder of Princess Chambers, Inc., and Wendy Jules, co-founder of Fleur De Lis Beauty & Esthetics.
We discussed how to be a faithful friend, expectations in friendships, boundaries, and how the pandemic has shifted our perspective on what it means to be a friend.
Signs of a Healthy Friendship
· Your friend wants to see you grow
· The friendship is mutually supportive
· The friendship is mutually beneficial
· Your friendship evolves as you evolve
· You understand how to support each other
· Setting boundaries doesn’t threaten the friendship
· Your friend is happy for you to be yourself
· Your friend acknowledges your quirks and works around them
· You can talk to your friend about your feelings
Prophetic Anointing and Generosity
Cycelia Matthews
For all these reasons and more, the Fresh Oil Conference has become the highlight of my year each year. The prophetic anointing is evident each year as the oil is poured at the altar on those who are equally desperate for a move of God. I’ve never been in a church that is equally as prophetic as they are generous. The conference team is careful to select speakers and worship leaders who can prophetically release fresh vision and purpose into the lives of the women in attendance. Each year, God reveals something new to me about his plans for my life through this conference.
The vision of the conference is to always give back and, each year, Lady Sharese and Pastor Heston have blessed attendees with money to help pay for school, housing, and other necessities. This year, a young lady who testified of God’s faithfulness in meeting her needs in a miraculous way after she was tempted to take on a job that would compromise her faith was gifted with a check to help her pay for her daughter’s school fees. Another young man in need of a kidney transplant was gifted with a check to help pay his medical bills.
Finally, this conference is F.U.N. I laughed, I leaned in, I sang at the top of my lungs and I just danced in the freedom that comes from knowing that I am deeply loved for a forever faithful Father. Watch the recap video below for a peek inside.
See you next year!
