| Keswick Ministries is the operational name for Keswick Convention Trust | |
| Founder(s) | Rev T D Harford-Battersby, Robert Wilson |
|---|---|
| Type | Registered as a British charity and a private company, limited by guarantee with no share capital |
| Founded | 1875 |
| Location | Keswick, Cumbria, UK |
| Coordinates | (Convention Centre, Skiddaw St) (Rawnsley Centre) |
| Key people | Jonathan Lamb (Chairman) David Bradley (General Director) Simon Overend (Ops Manager) Ian Sowerby (Hon Treasurer) |
| Area served | UK |
| Focus | To promote Bible teaching at an annual Convention in Keswick and on other occasions with the aim of encouraging holy and Biblical life styles. |
| Revenue | £ 1,166,586 (2010) |
| Volunteers | 650 (during Convention weeks) |
| Employees | 8 |
| Motto | Bringing the Word alive |
| Website | www.keswickministries.org.uk |
The Keswick Convention is an annual gathering of evangelical Christians in Keswick, in the English county of Cumbria.
Contents |
The Keswick Convention began in 1875 as a catalyst and focal point for the emerging Higher Life movement in the United Kingdom. It was founded by an Anglican, Canon T. D. Harford-Battersby, and a Quaker, Robert Wilson. They held the first Keswick Convention in a tent on the lawn of St John's vicarage, Keswick, beginning with a prayer meeting on the evening of Monday, 28 June. During the conference—which continued till Friday morning—over 400 people attended uniting under the banner of "All One in Christ Jesus"—which is still the convention's watchword.
Robert Pearsall's formative impact probably influenced the Convention's use of the American term "convention" rather than the British, "conference". During the same time period, D.L. Moody—the New England evangelist—also employed the same term to denote a special Christian gathering.[1]
Among the Keswick Convention's early notable speakers were Anglicans J. W. Webb-Peploe, Evan Henry Hopkins, E W Moore, William Haslam, W. Hay, M. H. Aitken and Handley Moule, as well as a Baptist, Frederick Brotherton Meyer. Additionally, the founder of the China Inland Mission, Hudson Taylor, also spoke; and in response Amy Carmichael decided to dedicate her life to missions.
In 1903 at the convention, Barclay Fowell Buxton and Paget Wilkes founded the Japan Evangelistic Band. The convention also influenced John George Govan, who later founded The Faith Mission in [[Scotland]; and the highly influential post-war Scripture Union worker, E. J. H. Nash, valued the Keswick Convention and considered R. A. Torrey his theological mentor.
It was Stephen Olford who introduced Billy Graham to the Keswick message at a Keswick Convention in 1946 over a period of days of Bible study and prayer in a hotel room. This teaching gave Billy Graham the assurance of God's power in his life, which Graham wrote in his autobiography, Just As I Am, came to him as a second blessing and had empowered his preaching ever since.
At the 1965 convention, the Rev John Stott, Rector of All Souls, Langham Place, gave the week's Bible readings on Paul's epistle to the Romans, chapters 5 to 8. His exposition of chapter 6, in particular concerning "death to sin", is now regarded[2] as a key watershed in recent Keswick teaching, departing from the approach taken to this passage in earlier years. Price and Randall state that "more than thirty years on the so called traditional Keswick stance on Romans 6 would now hardly ever be heard from the Keswick platform".[2]
In 1969 a second week was added to the programme, this taking the form of a "Holiday Convention" giving more free time for visitors to enjoy the local area. In 1975 the centenary celebrations were held, with the highlight being an address by Billy Graham before some 15,000 people gathered at the town's Crow Park on the shores of Derwentwater.
A major development in the facilities of the convention was achieved on 12 July 1987 with the opening of the new building, Keswick Convention Centre, on the site in Skiddaw Street. The construction of the building is such that the rear of the roof becomes a point of support for the tent erected for each year's convention event. The following year during the second convention week, the tent was destroyed in a storm on the Monday night. Two days later a replacement tent had been acquired and erected and the programme was able to be resumed as normal.
In order to extend the range of activities undertaken, Rawnsley Hall, formerly part of the Keswick School, was purchased by the Convention Trust in 1997. This is located about 10 minutes walk from the Convention Centre and now forms the focal point for all the older children's and youth work.
In January 2000, a position statement was issued by the Convention Council to address the question as to how Keswick see its role in the 21st century. The following specific goals were set out:
In 2001 in response to a demand for additional capacity notably for families and younger people a third week was added.
Keswick Ministries was established in 2003 with the aim of taking the Bible teaching ministry at the Convention to a wider audience both nationally and internationally throughout the year using the many and varied forms of media available.
Keswick Convention is run by Keswick Ministries, the operational name for Keswick Convention Trust. The charity exists to promote bible teaching at the annual convention with the aim of encouraging holy and biblical life styles. Trustees are drawn from a number of Christian organisations and denominations but on a personal basis only not as sponsored or in delegated roles. The Trust employs a small number of permanent staff, based at the Convention Centre, and led by the general director and the full-time operations manager. During the convention event itself a heavy reliance is placed on recruiting volunteers to join the various support teams.
In the 21st century, the annual convention is still centred in a large purpose-built tent erected over a concrete showground with audio-visual facilities to aid praise and teaching. The venue is entered via the Convention Centre: a narrow two-storey block containing offices, a small shop etc., which fronts the site on Skiddaw Street. Additionally, events (including the main youth activities) take place around Keswick chiefly in the convention's other venue, its own Rawnsley Centre, but also in local churches and meeting halls. The aggregate attendance over the three weeks in 2010 was 12,000.
The convention comprises three consecutive weeks in July and finally ending on the first Friday in August. Each week has its own presenters, speakers and musicians, but to a common theme. The weekly pattern starts with the opening meeting on Saturday evening and concludes with the Communion and celebration service on Friday evening. A major feature of each week is the morning Bible readings running from Monday to Friday. These consist of a series of expositions, usually from one book of the Bible, given by the principal guest speaker for that week. Each week covers a different part of the Bible. Other invited speakers cover related topics in the evening meetings, seminars and book cafe events.
The event does not charge any admission or registration fee but relies on voluntary donations to meet expenditure. Visitors to the convention find their own accommodation in the town, either in hotels, B&Bs, self-catering properties, or on one of a number of caravan or camping sites nearby. The campsite at Crosthwaite is run as a trading subsidiary of the trust.
All meetings in the main tent are recorded on video and audio formats. A compilation CD of the year's praise and worship is released each Autumn. Talks from the Keswick Convention are broadcast weekly on a Christian radio station, Trans World Radio, as part of the Keswick Programme hosted by Trevor Newman.
The convention publishes, in December, a Year Book in paperback format giving a selection of the teaching from that year's events. Other books are also published throughout the year featuring Keswick speakers and topics.
BBC Radio 4 has broadcast from the Convention for its Sunday Worship programme on a number of occasions in recent years.
Keswick Youth is a separate program alongside the main event, offering a range of Bible teaching and activities for those aged 11–18 years.[3]
Root 66 is a part of Keswick Ministries delivering all year round training for youth and children's ministry to churches at the local level throughout the United Kingdom.
From 1978 the annual ministry book published each December has taken the title of the convention theme for that year (although only since 1991 has the convention itself been given a specific theme in the pre-publicity). In addition to the main speakers listed below, each week has up to 16 other speakers covering seminars, evening celebrations and afternoon events. A full list of all speakers for the years 1875 to 1996 is given in Maurice Rowlandson's book.[4]
| Year | Theme | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 |
| 1978 | The Gospel, The Spirit, The Church | John Stott | Dick Lucas | |
| 1979 | The Lord is King | Alec Motyer | Eric Alexander | |
| 1980 | The People and the King | Donald English | Bp John B.Taylor | |
| 1981 | Purity and Power | Dick Lucas | Alan Flavelle | |
| 1982 | Walking with the King | Alec Motyer | Philip Hacking | |
| 1983 | Living the Light | Richard France | David Jackman | |
| 1984 | God's Very Own People | Donald English | Stuart Briscoe | |
| 1985 | Giving God the Glory | Eric Alexander | Michael Baughen | |
| 1986 | Rebuilding The Foundations | Dick Lucas | Keith Weston | |
| 1987 | New Beginnings, Old Paths | Raymond Brown | David Jackman | |
| 1988 | Real People - Real Faith | Donald English | Stuart Briscoe | |
| 1989 | Servants of the King | Philip Hacking | Chuck Smith | |
| 1990 | Looking To Jesus | Michael Baughen | Charles Price | |
| 1991 | The Kingdom, Power and the Glory | R.T.Kendall | Roy Clements | |
| 1992 | The Cross and the Crown | Derick Bingham | Raymond Brown | |
| 1993 | Dangerous Faith | Donald English | Alistair Begg | |
| 1994 | The Whole Family of God | Philip Hacking | Jim Graham | |
| 1995 | The Light of His Coming | Alec Motyer | Roy Clements | |
| 1996 | Clean Hands | Michael Wilcock | Stuart Briscoe | |
| 1997 | A Voice in the Wilderness | Michael Baughen | Charles Price | |
| 1998 | Truth on Fire | Chris Wright | Alistair Begg | |
| 1999 | Deep Impact | Don Carson | Nigel Lee | |
| 2000 | One Lord, One Church, One Task | John Stott | Jonathan Lamb | |
| 2001 | A Different Drumbeat | Michael Baughen | Steve Gaukroger | Stuart Briscoe |
| 2002 | Learning Together as God's Royal Family | Bruce Milne | Liam Goligher | Steve Brady |
| 2003 | From Base Camp To Summit | Joseph Stowell | Charles Price | Vaughan Roberts |
| 2004 | Out of Control ? | Alistair Begg | Jonathan Lamb | Derek Tidball |
| 2005 | The Glory of the Gospel | Sinclair Ferguson | Steve Gaukroger | Dominic Smart |
| 2006 | The Church in the Power of the Spirit | Chris Wright | Ajith Fernando | Vaughan Roberts |
| 2007 | Unshackled ? Living in Outrageous Grace | Alec Motyer | Steve Brady | Ian Coffey |
| 2008 | Creation, Chaos & Christ | David Cook | Liam Goligher | Charles Price |
| 2009 | Faith that Works | Dale Ralph Davies | Jonathan Lamb | Vaughan Roberts |
| 2010 | Christ-centred Renewal | Don Carson | Paul Mallard | Alistair Begg |
| 2011 | Word to the World | Ajith Fernando | Chris Wright | Peter Maiden |
| 2012* | Going the Distance | Simon Manchester | Steve Brady | Jeremy McQuoid |
(* as planned)
The Keswick Convention hosts four shorter "Bible Weeks" and other events throughout the year. Related to, but not directly managed by the convention, there are up to 20 "Keswick-style" events which take place over the year in various towns and cities in the United Kingdom. The convention also has close links with New Word Alive which takes place in Spring in North Wales.
| Convention(s) | Chairman |
| 1875–1882 | Canon T. Dundas Harford-Battersby |
| 1883–1889 | Henry Francis Bowker |
| 1890–1900 | Robert Wilson |
| 1901 | Albert Head / General Hatt-Noble / The Rev Francis Paynter (shared) |
| 1902 | Albert Head / Capt F.L. Tottenham (shared) |
| 1903–1916 | Trustees |
| 1917 | (no convention) |
| 1918–1920 | Canon John Battersby-Harford |
| 1921–1924 | W.H. Wilson |
| 1925–1929 | The Rev John Stuart Holden |
| 1930–1932 | R.B. Stewart |
| 1933–1935 | J.M. White |
| 1936–1939 | The Rev William H. Aldis |
| 1940–1941 | (no convention) |
| 1942–1943 | The Rev E.L. Langston (held in London churches) |
| 1944 | (no convention) |
| 1945 | The Rev E.L. Langston (held in Westminster Chapel) |
| 1946–1947 | The Rev William H. Aldis |
| 1948–1951 | Fred Mitchell |
| 1952–1969 | The Rev Alfred Thomas (Tim) Houghton |
| 1970–1974 | The Rev John A. Caiger |
| 1975 | Canon A.T. Houghton (acting chairman) |
| 1976–1984 | Canon Alan S. Neech |
| 1985–1993 | The Rev Philip H. Hacking |
| 1994–1996 | The Rev Keith A.A. Weston |
| 1997–2000 | Jonathan Lamb |
| 2001–2009 | Peter Maiden |
| 2010–present | Jonathan Lamb |