Confident Faith Conference 2025

One Day Event in Oxford - 19 July, 2025

Stories that Shape Us – This year’s theme.

Join us this summer at the Oxford Union for a one-day event exploring life’s biggest questions through the lens of the Christian story. This isn’t just another story among many—it’s one that speaks to both mind and heart, grounded in reason and experience, and offering meaning, hope, and restoration. With talks, seminars, and plenty of live Q&A, we’ll create space for you to engage deeply and honestly.

Come with your questions— we would love to see you there!

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What to expect this year

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Talks & Seminars

Schedule

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Speakers

If you are a Christian who wants to grapple with the thorny questions of today’s culture, this event is for you!

The Confident Faith Conference is a day for you to engage with significant and difficult topics from a Christian perspective. Our hope is that you will come away from the conference encouraged and challenged to think more deeply about what you believe and to have more confidence to engage in meaningful conversations with people of different beliefs and backgrounds.

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“Being able to hear multiple talks from very knowledgeable people left me feeling encouraged to be more engaged and open with my faith. It showed me that there are answers to some very difficult questions of life found in the Christian faith but also there are still many people out there who need to hear the hope of Christ.”

Ben, Confident Faith Conference Attendee in 2024

Main Session Talks

Our speaking team and guest speakers are currently immersed in study, crafting thought-provoking main sessions designed to challenge and equip you. Each talk is 20 minutes long, with a dedicated time of Q&A throughout the day to tackle your most pressing questions.

At the Confident Faith Conference, you’ll engage with the narratives that shape how we understand the world, ourselves, and the significance of the Christian story to our existence. From questions of where our story begins, to the longings we carry for freedom, identity, justice, and love, the day will take us on a journey through the big themes that define human experience. Along the way, we’ll consider how the Christian faith speaks into these desires and tensions, not with easy answers, but with a story both richer and truer than we might have imagined.

Seminars

The Confident Faith Conference seminars allow you to go deeper into an area of interest. The smaller group sessions also mean you can have more interaction and engagement with the speakers and other attendees to think critically, discuss the material with one another, and ask your questions. Some of these topics will be subject to change as our team continues to curate this day for you!

2:50pm Seminars

Can we trust tech? – Max Jeganathan & Tom Price
But what about other forms of of spirituality? – Rahil Patel & Alanzo Paul
Can we trust science? – John Lennox
But what about discrimination? Clare Williams
Can we trust the Bible? – Cristo Rodriguez & Max Baker-Hytch
But what about mental health? – Ben Thomas

4:00pm Seminars

Open Q&A Session
Workshop: Answering difficult questions – Simon Edwards & Lara Buchanan
But what about power and trust? – Max Jeganathan
Can we trust our imaginations? – Aase Victoria Bøe
But what about sexuality and singleness? – Ben Thomas & Clare Williams
Workshop: Engaging the rising generation – Alanzo Paul & Sara Stevenson

A Day of Worship, Talks, Q&A, and Honest Conversations

9:30am – Doors Open, Coffee & Music
Start the day with coffee, connection, and live music.

Morning Session: Worship & Opening Bible Talk
With worship led by Matt Gatt and an opening message titled Finding Ourselves in the Story: Beginnings

Main Talks: The Stories That Shape Us and How the Christian Story Makes Sense of Our Longings
Across the day, you’ll hear short, engaging talks on themes like freedom, identity, justice, peace, and love—each followed by a chance to ask your own questions.

Lunch Break – 1:00pm

Afternoon: Honest Conversations in Breakouts
Choose from a range of breakout sessions tackling big questions: Can we trust science? What about the Bible, technology, other spiritualities, sexuality, mental health, and more? Workshops will equip you to engage thoughtfully in today’s world.

Closing Bible Talk
Final message titled Finding Ourselves in the Story: Future Hope

Worship & Close

5:45pm – Conference Ends

Tickets and Accommodations

The ticket price this year is £90  (book before 31 May to save £10).

Bursary Application

We want this conference to be available to anyone. If the cost is a barrier for you, please get in touch about a bursary. Want to help others be able to attend the day? Select a buy one, give one ticket to help provide a bursary today.

Tickets & Accomodation Options

Save your seat!

Save £10 per ticket if you book before 31 May.

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Find a place to stay

Download the list of accommodations for your visit.

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Bursary Application

If cost is a barrier, please apply to receive a bursary.

Request a Bursary

Summer School Speakers

Along with our team at the OCCA, we will be joined by a few guests who offer expertise on various topics.

Aase Victoria Bøe

Aase Victoria is a Speaker-in-training at the OCCA The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. She enjoys meeting people who think differently and yet also love to engage in meaningful conversations about existential questions such as: What is the meaning in life? Where do we come from? What is right and wrong? What happens when we die?

She has always been a Christian, but at the same time she has always been a sceptic. Her questions about faith are what sparked her interest to investigate the truth in life and led her to examine which worldview gives the best explanation to the reality we find ourselves in. She therefore thinks it’s very important to explore and engage with all the questions we might have about the Christian faith.

Aase Victoria has a degree in Theology and Leadership (BTh.) from The Norwegian School of Leadership and Theology. She is passionate about exploring the relevance, truth, and beauty of the Christian gospel.

In the past, she worked as an editor for the Christian online youth magazine iTro.no in Norway and gained valuable insight into the issues facing young people right now. Currently, Aase Victoria is researching human dignity and the ethical issues surrounding biotechnology, abortion, and euthanasia.

While from Norway, Aase Victoria currently lives in Oxford with her husband.

Alanzo Paul

Alanzo is passionate about literature, philosophy and theology. His work primarily focuses on questions such as, ‘Why does God allow suffering and injustice?’ and ‘What is the meaning of life?’. Additionally, he enjoys exploring topics such as the Occult, identity, Gen Z, difficult passages in the Old Testament, and the case for the historical Jesus.

Ben Thomas

Ben qualified as a doctor in 2003, and worked full-time in the medical field outside of the one year he took to pursue training in Theology and Apologetics at the University of Oxford and OCCA. In 2016, he became a consultant in Neurosciences Intensive Care Medicine and Anaesthesia unit, but now works as a consultant part-time alongside his role as a speaker at the OCCA.

Ben has interests in the intersection of faith and sexuality, gender, medical ethics, and psychology. He has spoken numerous times to the younger generations and adults in churches, conferences, and mission events across the UK and Australia. In his attempts to work out what it looks like to follow Jesus well, he is also a keen runner (Forrest Gump style!), musician, chef, and loves spending time with his family, friends, and Godchildren.

Charlie Styles

Revd. Charlie Styles currently leads OCCA’s team, after spending 12 years in church leadership. He loves teaching the Bible and is responsible for setting the direction and culture of OCCA.

Clare Williams

Clare's work focuses upon questions of race, justice and culture, and what the Christian message has to offer these contested issues. She studied English Language and Literature at Oxford University, and has Masters degrees in Leadership, Culture, Diaspora and Ethnicity.

Cristo Rodriguez

Cristo has a background in Modern Foreign Languages and Religious Education in secondary schools. He has been involved in education for over 20 years in one form or another. Having worked in schools abroad with the British Council he worked in Alternative Provision, Youth Work and the voluntary sector as well being Managing Director of a Christian Education Charity and recently a Chaplain. He currently works as a subject leader in Religious Education and is a speaker and tutor responsible for schools work here at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. Cristo will be a Farmington Scholar at Harris Manchester College University of Oxford 2024/25 researching RE exam questions. Cristo is also a trustee of the Association of Christian Teachers (ACT) and a member of the Christian Coalition for Education (CCFE) and a Committee Member of the Religious Education Network (REN).

John Lennox

John is the President of the OCCA The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. He is an Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University and speaks on the interface of science, and religion, and is a well-known biblical teacher. He has debated the likes of Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Peter Singer, and has lectured extensively in North America, Eastern and Western Europe, and Australasia on mathematics, the philosophy of science and the intellectual defence of Christianity.

John is also an Emeritus Fellow of Green Templeton College, Oxford University. In addition, he is a Senior Fellow with the Trinity Forum, and has written a number of books exploring the relationship between science and Christianity, among them: Where is God in a Coronavirus World? (2020), 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity (2021), and Cosmic Chemistry: Do God and Science Mix? (2021). Most recently, Lennox has produced a biblical exposition, Friend of God: The Inspiration of Abraham in an Age of Doubt.

He gained his MA, MMath, and PhD at Emmanuel College, Cambridge University. He also holds an MA and DPhil from Oxford University (by incorporation), an MA in Bioethics from the University of Surrey, and a DSc from the University of Wales.

John lives near Oxford and is married to Sally. They have three grown up children and ten grandchildren.

Lara Buchanan

Lara Buchanan holds degrees in History, English Literature, and a PGCE in Secondary Education from the University of Cape Town. She also has a Certificate in Apologetics through the OCCA The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics, and Theology from Oxford University. Previously, Lara worked for several years as an English and History secondary school teacher, before going on to run the internship and theological training program for St Aldates Church, Oxford.

Lara has a specific interest in studying the impact of Jesus’ life for the individual and for the community. Lara has spoken in various academic and corporate settings in Africa, Europe, Asia, North America, and across the UK. Her hope is to develop meaningful connections with people from other cultures, faiths, and worldviews in order to explore the deep questions of life together within the context of friendship.

Max Baker-Hytch

Dr. Max Baker-Hytch is the Academic Advisor at OCCA. He received his PhD in Philosophy from Oxford University in 2014. Afterwards, he held two postdoctoral research fellowships, one at Oxford (2014-15), and one at the University of Notre Dame. Separately to his role at OCCA, he is Lecturer in Philosophy at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University.

Max Jeganathan

Priyan (Max) Jeganathan is an international speaker and writer for the OCCA and Thinking Faith. He is passionate about helping people make sense of current issues and life’s big questions through the lens of the Christian worldview. As a former lawyer and policy adviser in the Australian National Parliament, Max has spoken around the world in banks, universities, and businesses, including Facebook, Google, Nike and Goldman Sachs. He is based in Sydney, Australia and is currently undertaking a PhD on the ethics of human dignity.

Rahil Patel

Rahil's work revolves around Hinduism and searches how to offer the beauty of the Christian Gospels to that eastern worldview in order to build bridges across demographics and faiths.

Sara Stevenson

Sara is passionate about exploring questions raised by Philosophy of Religion and Ethics. She has an MSc in Philosophy of Science and Religion from the University of Edinburgh, and an Education Degree in Religious Studies.

Tom Price

Tom Price studied Philosophy at university and later completed an MA in Christian Apologetics, and is currently undertaking doctoral research in theology, philosophy and film.