We attended “Bible by the Beach” for the first time on the May bank holiday. This is an annual event held in the Congress Theatre in Eastbourne about 100 metres or so from the beach. This year the theme was ‘Commending Christ in a Changing World’ focussing on empowering and equipping us to live and speak for Jesus with confidence wherever he has placed us.
The programme was very full but participants were free to do as much or as little of it as they wanted. The Friday night chaos on the M25 meant we sadly missed the opening evening celebration, so if you go ensure you leave before 4pm!
There were four talks over the four days by Vaughan Roberts on the book of Revelation. These looked at the Glory of Christ, the Word of Christ, the Reign of Christ and the People of Christ. One of the main messages to me was from Revelation 3 reminding us not to be lukewarm Christians. It is a challenge for us to ensure we are not complacent or apathetic.
The evening celebrations on Saturday and Sunday involved some banter between Glen Scrivener and Rebecca McLaughlin. Rebecca then helped us consider how the church must stay on-message amid the culture wars which, like it or not, surround us. We were challenged to think about who in our lives we thought might not be interested in Jesus and reminded that in the Bible many people who were discounted ended up coming to him. The second talk followed a similar theme as we studied Luke 7 where the sinful woman is forgiven.
There were groups for children and teenagers. Our children had a great time reuniting with old friends from camps they have attended.
There were several seminars on offer over the weekend. These included: How the Church Could Save Your Life, Engaging with Gen Z and Living for Christ as Gen Z.
We attended one by John Wyatt on A World with a Low Value on Sanctity of Life. John ended this talk with a beautiful verse, “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter until the full light of day.” (Proverbs 4:18) John said this was one of his favourite verses. This verse encourages us to stand firm, pursue wisdom and trust in God’s guidance.
There was a fabulous book stall and plenty of stands to meander round during the breaks. The stands provided an opportunity to find out about amazing work going on all over the world and how the gospel can be shared in different ways.
I would definitely recommend this event to anyone of any age. It is very well organised and there is something for everyone. It’s also wonderful to be by the beach so during the breaks you can enjoy the sea air and views.