It is already one month since Reformation Carried Forward by Kenyans (ReCFoK) held its 4th Reformed Family Conference, and yet it is still so vivid in our minds and hearts. The conference ‘anthem hymn’ continues to echo in our ears and hearts. The hymn’s first stanza is:
All the way my Saviour leads me:
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my guide?
Heavenly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.
This 19th century hymn not only helped set the spirit throughout the duration of the conference itself, but it also rightly described the whole experience of the organizing team months before the conference. It took the leading of the Lord.
The keynote address was delivered by the host Pastor Sam Oluoch. From Matthew 18:16-20 he showed us both the authority and power of Christ which are pillars, assuring us that His promise to be with us is true and will stand. This truth however means that the Christian must live with the awareness that Christ is around and about him, the proof of which is production of fruit.
Main Speakers
There were two key speakers for the conference. They are seasoned Pastors, faithful partners in the gospel and true friends. Howard Sayers from UK has participated in several preaching trips to Kenya, but this was a special one. Les Beard with his wife Ann had earlier served as missionaries with the Grace Baptist Mission in Kenya for five years. Together with a few others, the Beards were founding members of Grace Baptist Church – Kisumu. These brethren have a genuine continuing interest in seeing the Reformed Faith spreading locally.
‘Christ on the Cross’
Pastor Howard Sayers delivered six sermons under the title ‘Christ on the Cross’. He began by clearly tracing from Genesis 3:1-24 the truth that
‘The Cross must be the subject of each one of us’
Genesis 3:1-24
Then from 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Howard raised three points
‘Why Christ on the Cross is Man’s Greatest Need’
1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Pastor Howard brought his speaking to a close by declaring that
‘Christ on the Cross brings glory to God alone.’
‘Christ in the Heart’
Les Beard also preached six times on the theme of ‘Christ in the Heart.’ He set his sessions running by showing from Mark 8:27ff, showing,
‘What Christ has done and how that should change us.’
Mark 8:27
In his 2nd session, Les set out clearly that Christ’s life was marked by ‘Obedience’. Therefore, if Christ is in our hearts then we will love Him and obey His commandments.
We must not underestimate the dreadfulness of sin. It destroyed fellowship between God and man, which is only ultimately restored through the reconciling work of Christ. Thus in his 4th session, Pastor Beard fervently reasoned that if Christ is in the heart then we must labor to remove the barriers between us and others. We each need to deal with issues that come up among us and so establish peace.
Pastor Les Beard closed the conference by passionately persuading us from Revelation 21:1 that if Christ is in us then we must be ‘Heavenly Minded’. The thought of heaven should motivate and influence our lives.
Attendance
There is an encouraging increase of attendees annually. The officially registered, the children and the daily unregistered attendees brought the total number close to 180. People came from Uganda, Tanzania, and UK, and of course from different parts of Kenya. All this was exciting, but it gave the accommodations committee sleepless nights as the host church members’ homes were full and the hotel was overbooked! Thankfully, the meeting hall proved the last resort for many of our young people.
Gospel Expansion
This 4th Reformed conference witnessed a very unique procedure. Two men were officially commissioned for the church planting work. Pastor George Wambua is engaged in planting a Reformed Baptist Church in Machakos. This is a fast growing town only 60 Km from Nairobi. George is under the oversight of both Grace Baptist Church – Kisumu and Bethesda Baptist Church – Kiatuni. Pastor Bill Issa is engaged in planting a Reformed church in the city of Kampala Uganda called Reconciliation Bible Church. Bill is under the oversight Kisumu church.
Pray with us that the Lord of the harvest would be pleased to call and raise up more men for the ministry.