June 24 saw Adrian Reynolds of the Proclamation Trust take to the stage of the Barbican conference centre in London, to welcome nearly 1,300 people to the 30th Evangelical Ministry Assembly.
When the conference ended two days later, the delegates who had attended, primarily preachers and church leaders, left the centre encouraged, challenged, and burning anew with a passion for Christ.
Change of venue
The huge number that attended represented over 650 Bible-believing churches from five different continents and 21 different nations. It was with these large numbers in mind that this year’s conference was moved from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate to the Barbican. The new venue seemed to work very well indeed.
Each day started with a helpful exposition of 1 Peter from Vaughan Roberts of St. Ebbes in Oxford under the title, ‘The True Grace of God’. This was heavily tied into the conference’s theme of ‘Faithful’. This challenging series highlighted many key struggles and difficulties that the average Christian, and therefore the average pastor, needs to address. On day one Vaughan provided four key foundations from which we can aim to live faithfully for God: the need for a clear understanding of our identity, a firm hold on our hope, robust theology of suffering and a great delight in our privileges. From this basis he unlocked the rest of the chapters of Peter’s first letter, and helpfully applied them to how we can serve those around us, and remain faithful to God in an increasingly pagan society.
Other highlights of the event included Rico Tice’s helpful, instructive, and frequently amusing seminar on evangelism. Speaking on the title ‘Reaching the Lost’, Rico used 2 Corinthians as a foundational text and focussed heavily on verses 5 and 6, giving us two key ideas of evangelism, that when ‘we preach Christ’, ‘God opens blind eyes’. For those of us who attended the conference who are not church leaders, Rico stressed the challenging concept that we may not all be Bible preachers — but we have no excuse not to be Bible sharers, with our friends and those around us. Other sessions which were helpful were Mark Dever’s study on the confusing yet wonderful chapter of Ezekiel 1, revealing the character of God through a complex vision, and Dan Strange’s ‘Engaging with the Culture’, helping us recognise the traps of a man-centred world, and the opportunities to preach Christ that this also presents.
Resounding prayer and praise
Each day contained four sessions, with the third being a smaller seminar with individual speakers, or discussion panels. The numerous breaks witnessed prayer and encouragement resounding around the Barbican’s halls. The sounds of over 1,000 men and women singing God’s praises loudly and heartily was a sight to behold, and an exciting taste of the Kingdom we’re all promised in Christ.
Thriving or disheartened
For those of you in leadership at your local church, be it a thriving community or a struggling chapel which leaves you disheartened, it would be good to prayerfully consider attending this helpful and exciting conference. Next year the event runs from June 24-26, again at the Barbican, entitled ‘Removing the Veil’.
