Sometimes we can only marvel at the faithfulness and wisdom of the Lord. Countesthorpe Baptist Church hosted the second “Firm Foundations” conference on Saturday 6th April and we were stunned when tickets sold out in just three days. Two hundred adults and three hundred children joined us for Bible teaching and encouragement and another fifty adults were on the waiting list hoping for a last-minute place.
The theme this year was “Home Educating in the Fear of the Lord: Principles from Proverbs” and we praise God that his Word is utterly all-sufficient and able to be applied directly to the lives of UK home-educating families in 2024.
We want to honour some of the people who worked to make the day happen:
• @pooyan.mehrshahi and Ian Walkington who took the broad themes we gave them as titles for their talks and turned them into rubies and riches.
• @cchtrust who were undaunted by the task of keeping well over two hundred children occupied and safe for four hours. We pray that the Bible-teaching and fun will add palpable richness to each child’s home-educating experience and be part of the means of drawing them to Christ.
• Paul and Wills who willingly gave up their Saturdays to bring us sound, record the talks and make it possible for parents in the creche to see and hear all the action!
• The books stalls: @AiG.UKE, @groups/ccukofficial, @Conquest.Books.UK, Church and Family Life UK, Chapel Library UK and Rainbow Books. We pray that the day was fruitful for you and that the resources you sold will be a blessing to families for many years to come.
• Sarah Barton, who has the priceless gift of Microsoft and Paypal rolled into one!
• @CountesthorpeBaptistChurch, our little congregation of faithful believers who rose to the task of hosting such a large conference and provided practical and prayerful support on the day and in the run-up to the event.
• Joe and Tami Bailey, our dear brother and sister in Christ, who never laughed at the crazy idea of a conference for home educators, but who freely gave of their many gifts and precious spare time to bless home-educating families from all over the UK.
Above all, we give thanks to the Lord who has seen fit to preserve a way for believing families to raise their children in the Lord in the UK in 2024. We pray that our children’s children will still have this freedom.
All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with fear, His praise forth tell,
Come now before Him and rejoice
Know that the Lord is God indeed;
Without our aid He did us make;
We are His flock, He doth us feed,
And for His sheep he doth us take.
O enter then His gates with praise,
Approach with joy His courts unto;
Praise Him and bless His name always.
For it is seemly so to do.
For why? The Lord our God is good;
His mercy is forever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.
