The main tent was packed for the morning Bible reading and the evening celebrations, with up to four overflow venues being used.
With well-known speakers, Don Carson (from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois) in Week 1 and Alistair Begg (originally from Scotland, now in Cleveland, Ohio) in Week 2, this year’s Keswick Convention got off to an excellent start. Alistair Begg expounded a number of Psalms.
Emu Music (Week 1) and Colin Webster and Band (Week 2) led congregations of more than 4,000 people in sung worship.
The theme of this year’s Convention was ‘Captivated: Hearing God’s Word’ and it explored the many ways in which God has spoken and continues to speak to individuals throughout the ages. As part of the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the programme included special seminar tracks on the Reformation and its meaning for today.
Derwent Project
With ever-increasing numbers of younger people attending the Convention, the organisers saw a 50% increase in children and youth in Week 1. This trend, as well as the newly introduced Teaching and Training track at other times of the year, promises to bring more visitors to the Convention and, as a result, to the wider Lake District. The new Derwent Project and refurbishment of the old pencil factory site next to the charity’s Rawnsley site was launched to prepare for this growth and will see adults and youth celebrating the Convention together on one site from 2019 onward.
Keswick Ministries introduced a new programme app allowing iPhone and Android users to access the programme digitally. The app has already been downloaded by more than 500 users.
Police presence
Another first at this year’s event was the police patrol outside the Convention, a common provision for large events these days. Conventioners loved seeing the police presence and expressed their gratitude to them, including providing them with cakes and coffees as a way of expressing their appreciation.
1,400 people attended the first day of seminars in Week 2. On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday morning, Dr Peter Williams (Tyndale House, Cambridge) gave lectures on the theme ‘Answering Moral Objections to the Scriptures’, which covered the historical accuracy of the OT, violence, slavery, polygamy, etc. Most topically, he addressed the question ‘Isn’t the Bible Sexist and Homophobic?’ This lecture was a tour de force which needs to be widely circulated. Dr Williams also gave the Keswick Lecture, on Wednesday morning, on the subject of trusting the Scriptures today. The main thrust was that we need to ‘heed’ the Scriptures, i.e. to listen, believe and obey them. Listening includes meditating. God has tied his identity to events such as the Exodus. If we don’t believe in these events, we are worshipping another God.
Week 3 included the opportunity to view the much-acclaimed comedy A Monk’s Tale by James Carey, which also is part of the Edinburgh fringe festival. Anna Newcome, daughter of the local bishop (The Rt Revd James Newcome) was one of the main actors.
Trudy Harrison (MP for Copeland) delivered the opening speech for Week 3 and reminded Conventioners of the many attractions and the great heritage found throughout Cumbria and the Lake District. She also highlighted the friendliness of the people in the area and welcomed Conventioners to Keswick.
Strong gospel message
One of the highlights of the third week was the preaching of the Revd Andy Prime, who is part of the 20schemes in Scotland. Andy, one of the youngest Convention speakers this year, delivered a strong gospel message on Monday evening and spoke again at the evening celebration on Wednesday. The 20schemes is seeing churches planted in a number of underprivileged areas across Scotland and seeing many new to the Christian faith attend local church services to hear the Word of God, (Click here to find out how Andy became involved in this ministry).
Ivor Poobalan (Principal at Colombo Theological Seminary, Sri Lanka since 1998) took the Week 3 main Bible readings in the mornings, on the book of Hebrews. Also Dan Strange (Acting Principal of Oak Hill Theological College) led a seminar series on the Five Solas of the Reformation.
