JUDY VALENTE: For those who attend [Women of Faith conferences], it's a celebration of womanhood -- a place where Christian women go to rejuvenate their faith.

KATHY TRICCOLI (Speaker): We're all here together, there's a lot of estrogen in this room.

VALENTE: But it's also a for-profit organization owned by the Thomas Nelson Publishing company. Their gross ticket sales last year totaled $17 million. And Women of Faith conferences continue to fill major arenas such as the 18,000-seat MCI Center in Washington D.C. -- even with the $65 ticket price.

Pam Roth (pictured at right) is attending her fifth Women of Faith Conference. She first heard about the group two years ago, while she was suffering from breast cancer and a series of family problems.

MRS. PAM ROTH: That year was really an awful year, it was really like our lives were just being torn apart.

VALENTE: Like many of the women who attend the conference, Pam went with a group from her church and says the experience changed her life.

MRS. ROTH: It was their message that gave me hope that I can go on. That it's not the end of the world, and it hasn't been the end of the world. I feel like I have my life back.

VALENTE: That message is delivered by a panel of six speakers -- all of them best-selling Christian authors. They mingle with the audience during breaks in the program. Onstage, each tells a personal story of keeping her faith through life's adversities.

NICOLE JOHNSON (Speaker): And I confess, it is a daily struggle to wake up and have the energy and the hope to live another day sometimes. But God speaks to us in the midst of that with deep encouragement.

VALENTE: Women of Faith avoids taking a stand on controversial topics like abortion and homosexuality. Organizers say they don't want to alienate anyone attending the conference. They espouse a nondenominational, inclusive message of acceptance and celebration, and often use humor to get their point across.