# Nation's Oldest Continuing Reformed Theology Conference Celebrates 50 Years in 2023 with “Here We Stand: The Five Solas of the Reformation” in MI, PA



## Grant Van Leuven (Jan 5, 2023)

*NEWS RELEASE/Interview Opportunity: For Immediate Release * 

*Media Contact: * Grant Van Leuven, Community Engagement Coordinator
[email protected] | 800) 956-2644, Ext. 27



*Nation's Oldest Continuing Reformed Theology Conference Celebrates 50 Years in 2023*
*with “Here We Stand: The Five Solas of the Reformation” in Michigan, Philadelphia*​
*Lancaster, Pa. – January 4, 2023 – *The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals (alliancenet.org) will host its 50th annual Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology (PCRT) for the first time at University Reformed Church at 841 Timberlane St. in East Lansing, Mich., February 24 to 26, and again at Proclamation Presbyterian Church at 278 S. Bryn Mawr Avenue in Bryn Mawr, Pa., April 28 to 30. PCRT’s semicentennial theme is “Here We Stand: The Five Solas of the Reformation.” First held in 1974, PCRT is the nation's oldest, continually operating Reformed conference.




Costs per person are $45 for the pre-conference workshop and $95 for the conference; discounted prices of $35 and $85 respectively are offered to friends of the Alliance, host church members, pastors and their accompanying spouse, senior citizens, and groups of five or more registering together. Children under eight are free. For more information and to register, visit alliancenet.org/here-we-stand-PCRT50.

“Since PCRT’s inception, the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther’s stirring proclamation at the Council of Worms, ‘Here I stand, I can do no other,’ has animated our ministry,” said Executive Director Bob Brady of the Alliance. The Alliance also published the book, “Here We Stand,” with the organization’s 1996 Cambridge Declaration in its preface teaching through the five “solas” of the Protestant Reformation as still addressing the needs of today’s evangelical church: Scripture alone, by faith alone, by Christ alone, by grace alone, and to the glory of God alone.

“The 2023 gathering of PCRT will mark a half century of joining the great Reformers by standing on God’s holy, authoritative Word,” said PCRT Chairman and speaker Dr. Richard Phillips. “We will commemorate this year remembering why the five solas are vital.”


** Pre-Conference Schedule: “Guilt, Grace, and Christian Growth,” Geoffrey Thomas*
Friday
8:00 a.m.: Registration
9:15 a.m.: Opening Bible Study, Richard Phillips
9:45 a.m.: “The Plight of Man — Helpless Guilt”
10:45 a.m.: Break
11:00 a.m.: “The Provision of God — Heaven Sent Redemption”
Noon: Lunch
2:00 p.m.: “The Perspective of the Christian — Hunger For Holy Growth”
3:00 p.m.: Question & Answer Session

** Conference Schedule: “Here We Stand: The Five Solas of the Reformation”*
Friday
6:00 p.m.: Conference Registration
7:00 p.m.: “Is the Reformation Relevant Today?,” Philip Ryken (Mich.), Kevin DeYoung (Pa.)
Saturday
7:30 a.m.: Late Registration
8:30 a.m.: “Standing on God’s Word,” Geoffrey Thomas
10:00 a.m.: “The Standing or Falling Article,” Philip Ryken (Mich.), Kevin DeYoung (Pa.)
11:00 a.m.: Question & Answer Session (All Speakers)
12:00 p.m.: Lunch
2:00 p.m.: “In Christ Alone,” Richard Phillips
3:15–4:30 p.m.: Workshops
* “The Reformation Idea of Worship,” Richard Phillips
* “Piety and the Protestant Reformation,” Geoffrey Thomas
* “Reforming the Doctrine of the Church,” Phil Ryken (Mich.) / “Learning Godliness from the Pilgrim's Progress,” Jeffrey Stivason (Pa.)
4:30 p.m.: Dinner break
7:00 p.m.: “Grace So Rich and Free,” Kevin DeYoung (Mich.), Richard Phillips (Pa.)
Sunday
“The Reformation’s Chief End,” Kevin DeYoung (Mich.), Geoffrey Thomas (Pa.)
8:45 & 10:30 a.m.: University Reformed Church, East Lansing, Mich.
10:30 a.m. Proclamation Presbyterian Church, Bryn Mawr, Pa.

*About the Speakers:*





*Dr. Kevin DeYoung* is the senior pastor at Christ Covenant Church (Presbyterian
Church in America) in Matthews, N.C., and associate professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte. He holds an M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and received his Ph.D. in history at the University of Leicester (U.K.). In addition to being a regular columnist for World Opinions, DeYoung hosts the podcast, Life and Books and Everything, and writes regularly at kevindeyoung.org. He is the author of more than twenty books, including “The Biggest Story,” “The Hole in Our Holiness,” “Crazy Busy,” and “Just Do Something.”






*Dr. Richard Phillips* is senior minister of Second Presbyterian Church in Greenville, S.C., and the chairman of PCRT. He frequently speaks at conferences on the Bible and Reformed theology, and is the author of numerous books and co-editor of the Reformed Expository Commentary series with P&R Publishing. An adjunct professor and member of the board of trustees for Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Phillips also serves on the board of directors for the Alliance.







*Dr. Philip Ryken *is the president of Wheaton College and the Bible teacher of the Alliance’s “Every Last Word” radio and internet broadcast. He earned a master of divinity degree from Westminster Theological Seminary and a doctorate in historical theology from the University of Oxford. Ryken preached at Philadelphia’s historic Tenth Presbyterian Church from 1995 until his appointment at Wheaton in 2010, and has published more than 50 books, including “The Heart of the Cross,” “Art for God’s Sake,” and “When Trouble Comes.” He also contributes to the Reformed Expository Commentary series.






*Dr. Jeffrey Stivason* was a church planter and is now pastor of Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church in Gibsonia, Pa., as well as professor of New Testament studies at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh. He holds a Ph.D. in systematic theology from Westminster Theological Seminary and is the managing editor for the Alliance’s website, PlaceforTruth.org.







*Dr. Geoffrey Thomas* was the pastor of Alfred Place Baptist Church in Aberystwyth, Wales, for over 50 years, during which time he preached through nearly every word of the Bible. Thomas received his theological training at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, where he was later awarded an honorary doctorate in 2011. He is still a frequent conference speaker all over the world and also holds the position of visiting professor of historical theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Mich.



*About the Alliance:* Headquartered in Lancaster, Pa., the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is a coalition of Christian believers who hold to the historic creeds and confessions of the Reformed faith and proclaim biblical doctrine in order to foster a Reformed awakening in today's Church. It primarily does so through broadcasting, printed and online publishing, and special events. Founded in 1949, the Alliance also played a strategic role in the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy. Visit alliancenet.org.

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