In the English Riviera town of Torquay, Devon, approximately 1,400 adults and 600 young people gathered for Rising Lights. The debut Easter holiday event was organised by the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC).
The morning main sessions were on Philippians and led by Paul Mallard. The evening celebrations were themed “Moments with Moses” – journeying through Exodus, with Mike Cain, Maurice McCracken, Rick Raja and John Stevens. Evening worship was led by Phil Moore.
A further combination of evangelical voices hosted Tracks, Seminars, Training Hubs and Drop-ins. All of this was in addition to the extensive Kids and Youth programme, run by Growing Young Disciples, and a plethora of other things to do, including bouncing on the inflatables in the Fun Zone (which, to our amusement, was right by en’s exhibition stand!).
Rising Lights’ large attendance – which was remarked upon by lots of attendees – potentially pointed to that longing for such a springtime event, following Word Alive’s closure. One woman said: “I’ve really missed having something [where] you do just gather as Christians all together and get really good teaching and hang out. It’s a little slice of heaven, isn’t it, being all together.”
“I didn’t know anything about Rising Lights until I got the September issue of en last year,” one gentleman – Peter – told me. “I saw that there was an advertisement for Rising Lights.” He continued: “If it hadn’t been in en, we wouldn’t have known about it.” Despite being arranged by the FIEC, the organisation was keen to emphasise that all Christians were welcome – not just those in FIEC-affiliated churches.
en was one of numerous Rising Lights partners. It was the first of multiple events we’re partnering with to celebrate our 40th anniversary in 2026. We set up camp in The Arena, where we had an exhibition stand and enjoyed countless conversations with subscribers – both new and existing. One gentleman, Tom, read April’s issue of en cover-to-cover in a single evening after being handed a free copy at Rising Lights. The following day, he visited our stand to subscribe, stating: “It was the breadth of everything that you were talking about. Both the way of thinking through the news, but also the broader stuff about thinking through what’s going on in culture. Great. Amazing.”
en also hosted an “Any Questions?” event. Attendees were encouraged to submit questions to a panel of Glen Scrivener, Sharon James, Tim Thornborough (host), Rick Raja and John Stevens. Dozens turned up to hear the fascinating ensuing discussion. A write-up of "Any Questions?" can be read on en's website here: EN at Rising Lights: Should the term 'evangelical' be ditched?
