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Some events are mammoth, like the national two-day Women of Faith conference that attracted more than 16,000 women to Dallas' American Airlines Center in late August to hear high-profile speakers and participate in contemporary worship. Others, like The Well, a two-hour banquet at First United Methodist Church of Grapevine on Thursday, are low-key, intimate and more local.

But no matter the format, "there's a female voice that really needs to be heard -- and not just in the business world," said Eddie Gibbs, a professor of church growth at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. "It's good to have a high-profile platform for women gifted in exposition of the Scriptures and in inspirational ways.

"Something that is appropriate in a women's context may come through to some people as kind of fluffy, but women have a very robust role in the church and home," he said. "Addressing issues like abuse in the home, the strains of single parenting -- that's good stuff."

Some compare the conferences to a female version of Promise Keepers, the men's worship and prayer rallies that have attracted millions to sports stadiums since 1991.

"Obviously, our style and content are somewhat different than men's," said Anne Wiman, an event spokeswoman for Plano-based Women of Faith, which began 11 years ago. "We're faith-based, like Promise Keepers, but we're not affiliated with them. Men are very charge-driven. For women, it's more of a chance to relax and soak it in."

California-based GodChicks, founded by Christian personality Holly Wagner, held its first annual conference in 2004 and attracts about 2,000 women. "The mission is to equip and empower younger women by surrounding them with amazing older women" via speakers, drama, music, dance and graphics, Wagner said.

Some women wore pink jeans, pink sandals, even pink maternity clothes. They packed the auditorium to sing, hear speakers, view videos on huge screens and see skits.

At Pretty in Pink, an evening session for teens, "a bunch of girls hung out together and ate pizza," said Jillian Hamp, 18, of Keller. "[Former Miss Texas] Tyler Willis and a makeup artist gave their testimonies.

In an opening assembly, speaker Debbie Morris, Gateway's associate pastor for women's ministries, drew parallels between mirrors and women's attitudes: rearview mirrors of what might have been, broken mirrors of death and divorce, and magnifying mirrors that distort. "But God has given us the ultimate spiritual makeup, because he is looking at us through Jesus," Morris said.

"You can feel free to buy popcorn and concessions, and it's more free and fun, not as reverential as church," she said. "You laugh a lot harder than you have in a long time. But you cry, too.

"They share very personal things," Luce said. "The one that hit me most was a dramatic presentation about breast cancer that a Christian woman goes through. I've had friends go through it, and as a nurse, I've taken care of lots of patients who have had mastectomies. But no matter what has happened to you, you can have joy in the Lord."

Conferences range in price from about $15 to more than $100. Some feature door prizes and merchandise, including laser hair removal gift certificates, pastel T-shirts, and books and videos by Christians.

"These can be made into marketing events," Gibbs said. "But if the things sold are practical things that can help women in their Christian walk, that's another matter."

"We will certainly have a strong spiritual theme, but people won't feel out of place if they don't read their Bible," chairwoman Ann Hailey said. "There's not marketing. The core is church members, but it's a place where they can say to their friends, 'Hey. Come with us.' It's to visit and get pumped up -- a casual, spiritual night out.

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