Report: Free Presbyterian Congress 2024
Fall 2024
The Fifth International Congress of Free Presbyterians was held in the Martyrs Memorial Church, Belfast, Northern Ireland, July 1–5, 2024. A few dozen made the journey across the Atlantic. This account from two members of the Phoenix church is reflective of the experience of all the visitors.
“We traveled nearly 5,000 miles from our home in Phoenix, Arizona to spend a week in Northern Ireland for the 2024 International Congress of Free Presbyterians. Despite the distance, it was a joy to experience close fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ as we met many new faces from our churches in Ulster. We also enjoyed re-connecting with friends from the USA and Canada who had traveled for the week. Coming from the heat and desert of Phoenix, we had no complaints about the cooler weather.
Each morning, we enjoyed a hearty “Ulster fry” breakfast at our hotel before leaving for the day’s planned activities. Some of the sightseeing highlights were driving up the beautiful north coast to the Giant’s Causeway, visiting the Titanic Museum in Belfast, the tour of Stormont, and seeing the sites and churches where the Spirit of God came down during the 1859 Revival. We were able to visit a different church for lunch each day, where we experienced an abundance of hospitality (and an even greater abundance of great food). Seeing various churches, fellowshipping with members of the congregations, and meeting many of the ministers were some of the highlights of the trip for us. We returned to Martyrs Memorial for another bountiful meal before each evening service.
The theme for the week was “Going Forward”, based on Exodus 14:15. Each night we heard encouraging sermons from Rev. Samuel Murray, Dr. Larry Saunders, Dr. Ian Brown, Rev. John Wagner, and Rev. Paul Foster on going forward in our Work for the Lord, our Witnessing, our Worship, our Walk, and in the Will of God. This theme was especially heartening for us as the Phoenix church has been going forward without a minister for a few years. The congregational singing was also a highlight, hearing God’s people raise their voices in praise to our great Savior.
We also enjoyed hearing reports on various ministry and missionary endeavors of the Ulster Presbytery and were encouraged to hear of God’s work going forward in that land. We especially noted the active participation of many children and young adults in public ministry outreach. God is at work through the willing obedience of His people, and it has inspired us to see what more we can be doing through our church and denomination at home in North America.
As we look back, we are encouraged by God’s faithfulness to His people around the world and to go forward for Him. We want to extend our deepest appreciation to all those that planned the activities, gave us various tours, prepared food (including more traybakes and tea than we could consume!), extended friendliness, and showed us the love of Christ. Our time at the 2024 FPC International Congress in Northern Ireland was a great blessing, and we would recommend future Congress gatherings to everyone in the denomination.”
Isaac and Kara Sassa | Members of Phoenix FPC