Key speakers announced for next year's Keswick Convention

John Risbridger, former chairman of trustees for event organiser Keswick Ministries, will be the speaker for the morning Bible readings, for week one, which runs from July 13 to 19, 2019.

Mr Risbridger is currently chairman of council for the Evangelical Alliance and is minister and team leader for Above Bar Church in Southampton.

He is author of The Message of Worship.

The Bible speaker for week two, from July 20 to 26, will be Vaughan Roberts, rector of St Ebbe’s Church in Oxford.

He is a prolific speaker and writer of books including God’s Big Picture, God’s Big Design and True Spirituality.

He is also the director of the Proclamation Trust, an organisation that

encourages and equips Bible teachers.

Week three, from July 27 to August 2, will see Ray Ortlund speak at the Bible readings.

He is lead pastor at Immanuel Nashville, and part of the Council of The Gospel Coalition.

He is also a world-renowned evangelical leader and speaker.

His book Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel was one of the top-selling Christian books in 2017.

James Robson, ministry director of Keswick Ministries, said: “The Keswick Convention has a worldwide reputation for the quality of the bible teaching we offer. Once again, we have attracted three speakers who are renowned for their strong Biblical teaching and challenging messages. The confirmation that they are joining us means that we can already start to look forward to another inspiring event next summer."

The theme of the 2019 convention is Longing – the concept of Christians wanting a better world under Christ.

Mr Robson said: “The desire for a greater knowledge of God captivated those who founded the Keswick Convention, so 'Longing' is a natural and inspirational theme for us to return to in 2019.

“Longing is part of being human and we will be considering the view that all of us are searching for a deeper meaning in life. Although we may try to fill our lives with many different everyday pleasures, the only way to be truly satisfied is through a relationship with God. It is only when we have a relationship with God that we can truly experience satisfaction, healing and peace. Longing is common to all mankind and longing can only be satisfied by the one who created us. It’s often described as ‘A completeness in Christ’.”

Mr Risbridger said: “The question I want to unpack in our exploration of the Psalms at Keswick 2019 is, 'What would life look like if we nurtured longing for God as the defining desire of our hearts?' We know God wants to draw us closer, take us deeper and send us further in our journey with him. If this shape our values, influence our choices, defines the people we want to be - then we will long for change in us, long for impact in society and long for a new creation.”

Among those already looking forward to next year’s Convention is Gary Brown, pastor of New Life Church in Whitehaven.

He said: “As humans we are all a patchwork of hopes, fears and dreams that we could sum up by the idea of ‘longing’. The message of Jesus Christ brings a solid foundation to all of these areas of human life and flourishing. The Keswick Convention serves us wonderfully once more by bringing faithful teaching and faithful teachers to inspire us and challenge us all.

"I and the church I serve will make the 2019 Keswick Convention a priority.”

Conventioners are already booking for the event.

A Sally’s Cottages spokesman said: “The phone calls and emails have been coming in from conventioners wanting to book accommodation. We have received a lot of re-bookings for 2019 from conventioners, and it seems to have been at a higher rate than usual.

"We are delighted that, this year, attendees had more opportunity to get to know Keswick and to enjoy everything our lovely town has to offer. We hope more people will continue to explore the town's attractions next year."