Three hundred people, representing 15 nations and more than 135 churches, gathered in Bath 7–9 May for the second annual Worship God UK conference, hosted by Sovereign Grace Churches UK.
The focus of the weekend was equipping those involved in leading worship in their churches through theological teaching and practical workshops.
The theme of the week was ‘Gathering… to behold, rehearse, sing, edify, commission’ and ‘Gathering around the Word’. Speakers included Mike Reeves (Theologian-at-large, WEST), Kevin DeYoung (author and pastor, University Reformed Church in Michigan), and Bob Kauflin (director, Sovereign Grace Music).
Revel in the Good News
‘The most important thing Christians can do when we gather on Sunday morning is to remember, revel in and respond to the good news that Jesus Christ has come to reconcile us to the Father’, said Bob Kauflin – who led several worship sessions throughout the weekend.
‘Churches can lose their confidence in the Gospel and so we turn to technology, and business models and communication techniques hoping that those will bring more people and affect them, but only the gospel has the power to do that. So we want to do everything we can to encourage churches being built on the gospel any way that we can.’
Linking arms
Afternoon workshops were given on topics ranging from cultivating godliness in musicians, to building a tech team, to instrumentspecific workshops for acoustic, electric, bass guitars, drums and piano.
‘The idea of the conference is for us to link arms with other churches in the UK who want to see more theologically-informed, gospel-driven, spirit-empowered singing and corporate worship in their local congregations,’ said Nathan Smith, lead pastor of Grace Church Bristol – who spoke at and helped organise the conference.
‘Our goal is to equip churches, musicians, leaders to help people enjoy and revel in the grace of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ.’
Worship God UK is part of Sovereign Grace UK’s desire to see the gospel advance in the UK. To find out more about what they believe and what they are doing throughout the country, please visit SGUK.org
