Apologetics SA - Women's Conference 2026

On 7 March 2026, we hosted our annual Womanhood, Marriage & Motherhood Conference — a rich and thought-provoking gathering centred on exploring the depth and significance of these themes in today’s world.

The conference featured a diverse lineup of guest speakers who engaged with key topics, including modern gender critiques of womanhood, historical perspectives on Jesus and women, the biblical role of motherhood within the church, and marriage as a foundational pillar of society.

It was a meaningful time of learning, reflection, and conversation, equipping attendees with deeper insight and a renewed appreciation for the role of womanhood, marriage, and motherhood within both faith and society.

We are grateful to everyone who joined us and contributed to making the event such a valuable experience. We look forward to hosting you again at future conferences.

OUR SPEAKERS

Nel Brace

Ratio Christi South Africa

Nel grew up and matriculated in Northern KwaZulu-Natal. After completing her undergraduate studies at the University of Stellenbosch, she taught in London for six years. She completed a master’s degree at Southern Evangelical Seminary in the USA and currently serves on the national staff of Ratio Christi South Africa. Through this work she strives to be a witness to those who do not know Christ and to be part of the resurgence of Christian thinking on university campuses and in the church at large. She is married to Simon and they have five children, Eva, Olivia, Cai, Jannes and Ruben.

Roedolf Botha

Oosterlig Gemeente Pretoria

Roedolf’s interests are church planting, leadership, reading, research and life coaching. He planted two independent congregations before being readmitted as a Dutch Reformed minister in 2018. His love for the Lord is expressed in his passion for the local church, faithless people and equipping leaders. He currently leads Oosterlig Gemeente, consults weekly on strategy, leadership, coaching, training and personnel management and works with Stephan Joubert at Ekerkspan to train leaders across South Africa. In 2016 Roedolf obtained a Ph.D. in the New Testament from the University of Nijmegen. He is married to Marié and they have two children, Ruben and Jessica.

Jill Gorven

South African Theological Seminary

After school Jill completed a B.SocSc. Psychology Honours and worked in qualitative market research. She married young and had the opportunity to live and work in London with her husband Stephen. Once back in South Africa they started a family and Jill became a full-time mom. After raising Amy, Matthew and Ruth she completed a B.Th. Honours through the South African Theological Seminary (SATS) and worked in various capacities for SATS for six years. She is currently writing a master’s thesis on the topic of women’s relationship to mothering and most wonderfully for her, is a granny of two.

John Grobler

Apologetics SA

John became a Christian in 1985 and joined Youth with a Mission in 1989. His many years of training, evangelism, missionary work, teaching and leading a Bible College now shapes Apologetics SA, a ministry founded by John and his close associates to strengthen the church’s understanding of the gospel and to provide believers with reliable training and resources. John obtained a B.Th. Honours from the South African Theological Seminary in 2018 and is currently completing a Master of Arts in Christian Apologetics and Theology from Southern Evangelical Seminary in the USA. He is married to Liesel and they have two adult children, Meghan and Nicole.