The annual Banner of Truth youth conference in Leicester provides a fantastic opportunity to be ‘sharpened’ (Proverbs 27.17).
Young adults gathered between April 25-28 from all over the UK and beyond. Many were from small churches, and having fellowship with other godly young people was a blessing.
However, not everyone is born again and this was emphasised this year. Stuart Olyott began the conference in Acts 8 about how conversion works, as seen from Philip meeting the Ethiopian eunuch. He also preached on being filled with the Spirit, again urging the unbeliever to get right with God, and the believer to develop a holy character. His final session, from Psalm 139 and Acts 17.27,28, was a powerful reminder that everything we do is done in front of God.
In between Stuart Olyott’s sessions, José Moreno gave a couple of messages. Being a pastor in Spain, his first talk was about the history of the church in Spain and its development over time. He also preached on encounters with glory, from John 1.14, and movingly spoke of the grace and compassion of God.
Questions and courage
As is the custom, after an afternoon of some down time, there was a history talk, this year on the life of John Knox, from Jonathan Watson, and a question time where the speakers were asked about topics such as evangelism, prayer, anxiety, how to encourage church leaders, purifying one’s thought life and God’s work in salvation. Euan Murray ended the conference with a message from Romans 1:16, on not being ashamed of the gospel. The Banner of Truth also generously give away a selection of free books, and this year's titles were great.
