I wondered at the Reformed Presbyterian International Conference this year how many photos were being taken. A lot more people have digital cameras than had them at the last conference in 2004, and digital “film” is now cheap. The number of photos taken must have been in the hundreds of thousands.

Add to that the number of friendly introductions, happy reunions, pithy conversations, helpful notes, and memorable events, and you have a lot of sweet things to reminisce about until RPI 2012.

But what if you didn’t want to, or weren’t able to, attend the international conference? Of what value is it to you?

I think conference leaders did an excellent job of making this conference a unifying event. Those I spoke to, at least, felt much closer to their Reformed Presbyterian brothers and sisters around the world for having attended. And not just to those who attended.

RP International is similar to the Olympics in at least one way. Though most citizens of the competing countries don’t attend the games, all are represented there. We feel drawn together by a world event we didn’t attend. We benefit from any increased unity that is accomplished through the Olympics.

All the more, with about one-fourth of RPCNA members attending RP International, the blessings should return home. Nearly every RP congregation in the world was represented, so it’s likely that your congregation was represented too. To the extent that the rest of the denomination benefited from solid teaching, deepening fellowship, and improved networking, your own congregation and family will reap rewards also.

Our camps-and-conferences system, of which RP International is the crown, is viewed by other denominations as highly desirable. Some leaders hope they can convince enough of their membership that this sort of thing is well worth the effort. They hope that someday they can gather a large percentage of their families in one place. By God’s grace, may it one day be so.

I’m thankful that we have a great heritage in that regard. And, by the way, it was nice meeting so many of you in July.

—Drew Gordon