The Keswick Convention has been running since 1875. Over these years, much has stayed the same: the same passion for Christ, the same longing for lives transformed by God’s word, the same heart for global mission.
The event is open to everyone and is funded by donations. There is no fee to attend. The beautiful town of Keswick in the Lake District remains the home of the Convention.
But there have also been changes. The initial one-week event has become three. The piano has been replaced by a band. There are no longer two talks every evening. All speakers no longer sit lined-up on the platform, smartly dressed.
In the early 2000s, the name of the organisation changed from Keswick Convention to Keswick Ministries as a wider vision developed. Then, around ten years ago, steps were taken to secure the future of the ministry and to grasp the opportunity of developing a year-round ministry. Integral to that was the Derwent Project – the purchase and transformation of the derelict Pencil Factory in Keswick.
I arrived as Ministry Director in 2016, to be part of implementing this vision – and there have been some of the biggest changes, and challenges, the Ministry has ever seen during this time. Some were expected, some were not!
The Convention has now moved from Skiddaw Street and other locations around town so that young and old are all on the combined Rawnsley and Pencil Factory site. There is no need to rush through the town after dropping kids off. The Pencil Factory has been refurbished, thanks to God’s grace and the extraordinary generosity of His people.
Teaching and training events through the year have been planted, have taken root, and are bearing fruit. In the Lord’s kindness, there has been a growing sense of partnership with the town of Keswick after some very challenging early days. There are now more than 10,000 subscribers to Keswick Ministries’ YouTube channel, and podcasts and study guides that bring the Convention to believers all year round.
And there has been Covid, too. Hosting the 2021 Convention in person felt like standing up in a little dinghy in a force nine gale, trying to shoot clay pigeons. We knew what we wanted to do, but everything was changing.
There is an overwhelming sense of gratitude at the Lord’s hand sustaining the ministry over this time.
The future…
And as we look forward, there are immense opportunities. The Convention can go from strength to strength, with the excellent team of trustees, staff and volunteers (teams were, amazingly, full, at the start of May!). More than 2,000 kids and young people attend.
Now that we are all on one site, there is a festival feel. Alex Bedford, a Conventioner, captured it so well,
‘The Pencil Factory site allows people to amble along at their own pace as they leave a meeting, those with disabilities don’t feel they’re inhibiting others, as there’s so many exits and so much space. As people leave, there’s interaction, conversations, unexpected meetings, and reflection, all in this spacious and safe environment. Many sit under the awning and linger in the atmosphere, sandwiches and drinks in hand. I suppose in a different sense than we usually imagine, this is the application of the Word; He’s lingering, people are ruminating, the teaching sinking in.’
It is with great sadness that I am moving on from being Ministry Director with Keswick Ministries, but it is in good heart, and in good (the Lord’s) hands.
