Reflections on the 30th Zambia Reformed Conference

Last week my family and I attended the annual Zambia Reformed Family Conference, whose theme was “Cessationism and Confessionalism” on its 30^th anniversary. Every conference is unique in its own way. I am convinced that believers and families should make the habit of attending conferences for their spiritual nourishment. Pastors should also intentionally plan to attend conferences where they are not preaching and simply sit under the preaching of other men as well as interact with God’s people from different places. Here are the five points I took away from this year’s conference

Uplifting singing

There is something about singing that just lifts up your soul. Even more so, hearty singing from a 1000 plus voices in a packed room. It was encouraging to my soul to join in with the belting voices as we sang both old and contemporary hymns. It was truly a foretaste of glory divine. The simplicity of the congregational singing was also a great blessing.

Clear preaching

Sometimes preachers can overdo things. There are conferences which have more prose than form and thankfully this was not the case here. The preaching was done clearly and simply and the Lord used the preaching of the word to minister to my soul.

Unity of the brethren

The diversity at the conference is unmistakable. You have Zambians from all the 10 provinces and people from all over Africa and beyond. Each of them representing a variety of local churches. It is however remarkable how these ‘strangers’ to each other put their oneness in Christ on display. And each night when we gathered for the final service the singing reflected that oneness.

The Lord is building his church

Hearing from people from different places about their churches struck me how the Lord builds His church. In the midst of all the dark and gloom in our world, it is easy to think that the church is doomed and there is no hope for her. But on the contrary, the Lord of the church is building His church. I left the conference encouraged and energized.

The benefit of a panel discussion at a conference

One of the favourite features at conferences are well-moderated panel discussions featuring the speakers. A panel discussion is different from your traditional question and answer. Done well panel discussions give the speakers the opportunity to address questions raised from their preaching and also give further applicatory points. I have always felt that is something that this conference misses over the years I have attended it.

I was grateful for the opportunity to attend a conference that offers faithful biblical preaching and has done so for 30 years! My prayer is that may it long continue for the years to come.