Perhaps it was the most-recorded Reformed Presbyterian event in history. Nearly 2,000 Reformed Presbyterians with luggage and cell phones converged on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion for the quadrennial Reformed Presbyterian International Conference July 23-29.
Conferees biked, drove, and flew from across the U.S. plus at least 10 additional countries. The conference began with a Saturday-evening assembly in the chapel auditorium including the a cappella singing of conference psalm 68B from The Book of Psalms for Worship. The devotional theme of the week was “The Sacrificing Church: Ministering faithfully as priests in the local congregation.”
Prof. Barry York, president-elect of the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, was speaker for the adults, but 10 other age group leaders were needed to accommodate approximately 1,000 children.
There were dozens of recreational activities available. Conferees enjoyed use of an athletic center (swimming, rock climbing, volleyball, basketball, racquetball, etc.), outdoor fields, and, on Monday night, an entire water park.
The mall-like student center at Indiana Wesleyan hosted dining facilities, a movie theater, coffee shop, conference bookstore, and informational tables, as well as countless informal and planned gatherings including an Irish dance and a TFY (Theological Foundations for Youth) reunion.
Over 60 workshops were offered on an exhilarating array of topics including missions, social issues, testimonies, and personal growth.
Speakers for the worship gatherings were Rev. Gordon Keddie (author and retired pastor), Pastor Matt Kingswood (Russell, Ont., RPC), Pastor Jeff Stivason (Grace [Gibsonia, Pa.] RPC), and Pastor Pete Smith (Covenant Fellowship [Wilkinsburg, Pa.] RPC).
Other popular conference gatherings included the talent shows and psalm sings.
More Information
The conference web site (rpic2016.org) contains a lot more information about the week, from winners of the jam tasting and quilting competitions to photos and videos from the conference.
Multimedia
More photos can be seen on the RP Witness page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/rpwitness) or by searching #RPIC2016 on Facebook and Twitter. Talks from the keynote speaker and the worship services are on Reformed Voice (http://reformedvoice.com/source_detail.asp?sourceid=rpcna). Finally, Schneider Photography’s summary video can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJqdCQxv-rg.
—Drew Gordon, editor | Reformed Presbyterian Witness