Raising Expectations is our annual conference for the whole church. It takes place this year on Saturday 24th October 2026, and we'll be exploring the subject of HUMAN: Image | Christ | Future.
This year's theme is the Biblical doctrine of man. In a recent lecture, Dr. Carl Trueman noted, "The struggle for our cultural and political future is ...as one between humanists and anti-humanists.” By "humanist" Trueman does not mean "secular humanist", but those who affirm the biblical doctrine of the human person made in the image of God. In four addresses we will discuss the doctrine of the Image of God, male and female and the rich teaching on gender to be found in Scripture, the person of Christ as the image of God, and finally the future image and the challenges of contemporary transhumanism vs. biblical eschatology.
Speakers
Dr Alastair Roberts is a scholar and author. He and his wife, Susannah, divide their time between the West Midlands and Manhattan, New York. He works for the Theopolis and Davenant Institutes. He is currently completing a free chapter-by-chapter audio commentary on the whole Bible at audio.alastairadversaria.com/series. Keep up with his writing and activities at argosy.substack.com.
Pastor Steve Hayhow, Pastor of Emmanuel Church, Cockfosters, London. Steve is married to Kristine and they have seven children. After a career in IT and mobile communications, Steve became the pastor of Emmanuel in October 2019. He has been an elder at Emmanuel since the church was founded. Steve studied for the ministry at London Seminary.
Programme
9:30 Coffee and registration
10:00 Session 1
11:00 Coffee
11:30 Session 2
12:30 Lunch (see below)
1:30 Session 3
2:30 Tea
3:00 Session 4
4:00 Conference ends
Other details
Date: Saturday 24th October 2026
Venue: The Welsh Chapel, Freston Gardens, Cockfosters, London, EN4 9LY (view map). Plenty of on-street car parking is available. Nearest tube station is Cockfosters (Piccadilly Line), about 7 minutes away on foot. Step-free access is available at the venue; please contact us for details.
Cost: Families £35, Individuals £20, Concessions £10. Please pay in cash on the door.
Food: Tea and coffee will be provided before the conference and during the morning and afternoon breaks. Lunch is not provided; please bring your own or purchase it from shops nearby.
Childcare: Children of all ages are welcome at Raising Expectations, and we encourage them to participate in the sessions to whatever degree their age and maturity allows. Unfortunately we are unable to provide supervised childcare, but there is a large room adjacent to the main auditorium where parents may take small children for a break if necessary.
Booking: To book, fill in the form below. Any questions, please email office@northlondonchurch.org