Ligonier brings global church to London

Christians from 27 countries gathered in Central London on 8–9 September for a conference called ‘Pilgrims and Exiles’, held by Ligonier Ministries. Speakers delivered messages from the New Testament book of 1 Peter, encouraging believers in their calling to live as sojourners in this world and ambassadors for the world to come.

Based near Orlando, Florida, Ligonier is the international discipleship organisation founded by American theologian Dr R.C. Sproul (1939–2017). The September conference played a role in the ministry’s efforts to serve the global church with Biblical and theological teaching and to help Christians stand firm in their faith.

‘This is an exciting event for us,’ said Chris Larson, Ligonier’s President and CEO, ‘not just because of our deep care for the church here in the United Kingdom, but because London is a central rallying point for so many of the ministry partners that we work with in Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Africa, and the Middle East.’

This international partnership was also represented by the London Conference speakers. Regular teachers with Ligonier such as Drs Sinclair Ferguson, Stephen Nichols, Steven Lawson (pictured, p.1 bottom left), and Burk Parsons were joined by the Revd Mark Johnston of Groomsport EPC in Northern Ireland, the Revd Paul Levy of International Presbyterian Church Ealing in West London, Ken Mbugua of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Nairobi, Kenya, Dr Michael Reeves of Union School of Theology in the UK, and the Revd Péter Szabó of the Budapest Reformed Presbyterian Church.

The conference took place in Westminster Chapel, where the influential Welsh minister Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones served through the middle of the 20th century. At this venue, Ligonier also hosted a pre-conference event together with Union, titled ‘Pastoring God’s Flock’, to equip pastors in their calling to preach the word of God and shepherd their congregations.

‘Christians need encouragement in knowing that the Lord Jesus Christ keeps His promise to build His church,’ Larson said. ‘We’re seeing this conference as an opportunity to lift up the gospel for God’s people.’ He added: ‘This event is just a glimpse into Ligonier’s global outreach as we seek to make our deep theological library available in the world’s top-20 languages.’

Discipleship resources from Ligonier Ministries, including video recordings of the 2023 London Conference and pre-conference messages, are available on Ligonier.org, on the ministry’s YouTube channel, and in the free Ligonier mobile app.