Pop idols Kylie Minogue and Christina Aguilera had an unlikely impact on a massive gathering of women at Darling Harbour on Saturday.
Their lives and lyrics pointed to the bigger star of the show, Jesus Christ.
Chair of the annual Equip conference, Isabel Lin, told the 2300 women who packed out the Sydney Convention Centre that the shock news of Kylie's breast cancer is a reminder that "bad stuff happens to us. Even our pop princess Kylie is not immune'.
"Life is controlled by God," Mrs Lin said. "Life is not controlled by luck, but by the God who is only good."
Subsequent speakers " Di Warren, Jane Tooher and Miriam Chan " unpacked this theme of joy in suffering from the first chapter in the book of James.
Aguilera's rousing girl power anthem, "What a Girl Wants' had groups singing along in the stalls.
It was a theme song of sorts for the launch of a new book, What Women Really Need: Australian Women Talk about Jesus, published by Evangelism Ministries and edited by member of the Diocesan Women's Ministry Team, Lesley Ramsay.
"I haven't read a book in a long time that I would feel comfortable giving to my non-Christian friends and family in a "non-cringe' way," says recent Moore College graduate Emma Fooks.
Her confidence was echoed by others who were keen to translate the Bible teaching into practical ways of evangelising their friends.
The bookstall, run by Christian publishers Matthias Media, did a roaring trade and What Women Really Need sold out.
While there were no international speakers to draw a crowd " the seven speakers were all Sydney women " the one-day convention, formerly known as the Young Evangelical Women's Conference, still attracted the largest number of attendees in its seven-year history.
Organisers maintain a large support base since the conference's beginnings in 1999 with a combined teaching day for 135 women from seven churches in Sydney.
This year groups came from as far off as Wee Waa, Canberra, Newcastle, Brisbane and Melbourne thanks to cheaper domestic air travel.
In addition to the Bible talks, electives were held on magic (Kirsten Birkett), the secret of contentment (Jenny Salt), encouragement (Lesley Ramsay) and the divine marriage (Claire Smith).
The seminar on contentment attracted more than 1000 people.
According to Ecom women's evangelist and Equip committee member Alison Napier, the organisers are "very clear that we're teaching God's word', and women are attracted to that.
"It's very encouraging for women to get together in this way," she says. "It's the biggest conference we've ever had."
Next year's Equip will be held on Saturday May 27 at the Sydney Convention Centre, Darling Harbour.
Visit the Equip website for more details.
