Thoughts of Faith's Czech mission in Plzen hosted the annual convention of the European division of the CELC on April 19-21, 2007. The CELC (Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference) is an organization representing twenty confessional Lutheran church bodies around the world. The ELS and the Wisconsin Ev. Lutheran Synod have been active participants in the CELC since its founding in 1993. The Plzen conference theme was based on the Second Petition of the Lord's Prayer, "Thy Kingdom Come!" The six theological papers presented at the conference emphasized what the Bible teaches about the nature of God's kingdom of grace and how the Lord gathers people into it.

Delegates attending this conference came from churches in Russia, Sweden/Norway, Germany, Portugal, Latvia, Ukraine and the Czech Republic. They studied the Word of God together and encouraged one another in reaching out with the saving message of Jesus to the people of their home countries.

The closing Sunday service on April 22nd marked the high point of the conference. The delegates worshiped with the members of St. Paul's congregation in Plzen. They prayed and sang together, listened to God's Word together, and received the Lord's Supper together, enjoying the fellowship which God has established among the churches of the CELC on the basis of His holy Word.

Mark Grubbs is an ELS missionary working for Thoughts of Faith in Plzen, Czech Republic.