Sterling College will host “No Ordinary People: A C.S. Lewis Conference” on Friday, March 27, 2026. Sponsored by the Sterling College C.S. Lewis Center and Faith and Learning, the conference will bring scholars, students, and guests together for a day of reflection on discipleship, education, and the enduring legacy of C.S. Lewis. The conference is free and open to the public, but registration is recommended. 

“We are excited to host our first C.S. Lewis conference here, just over a year after we cut the ribbon and opened the Sterling College C.S. Lewis Center. For this conference, we are taking, as our focus, C.S. Lewis’s bold statement that ‘we have never met a mere mortal’ and there are ‘no ordinary people’ in his sermon, ‘The Weight of Glory.’ I’m certain that anyone reading this announcement is, in fact, no ordinary person, and I want to invite your extra-ordinary self to join us for our inaugural conference,” said Dr. Sarah Waters, director of the C.S. Lewis Center.

The conference will begin with a special pre-conference presentation on Thursday, March 26, at 7 p.m., in the Sterling College C.S. Lewis Center. Dan Hamilton, literary historian and leader of the C.S. Lewis Society of Central Indiana, will present a talk entitled “Beyond the Text,” in which he will explore the hidden stories found within books once owned or written by C.S. Lewis and the Inklings, examining inscriptions, marginal notes, and provenance that reveal unexpected insights into their lives and work.

The featured keynote presentation on Friday will be delivered by Dr. Nathan L. King at 10 a.m. in Culbertson Auditorium in Spencer Hall. Dr. King’s address, “Good Minds for a Good God: Discipleship, Education, and Virtues of the Mind,” will examine the relationship between intellectual formation and Christian faithfulness.

In addition to the keynote, the conference will feature student and faculty paper presentations responding to the theme, as well as opportunities to engage with curated selections from Eighth Day Books. Attendees will also have the opportunity to view rare Lewis materials and experience a new performance by the GhostLight Players, Sterling College’s theatre outreach team. All events, beside the keynote address, will be held in the Sterling College C.S. Lewis Center.

“At Sterling College, we believe that faith and learning are not in competition but purposefully belong with each other. C.S. Lewis was one of the greatest Christian thinkers in the 20th century. Throughout his life, he demonstrated the principle of faith seeking understanding. His writings continue to inspire devotional faith and intellectual rigor. So, I am thrilled to partner with the C.S. Lewis Center to host a C.S. Lewis Conference at Sterling College in our efforts to integrate faith and learning,” said Shebuel Varghese, assistant professor of theology and ministry and director for the Integration of Faith and Learning. 

The “No Ordinary People Conference” reflects Sterling College’s commitment to fostering thoughtful engagement with faith and learning through the work of the C.S. Lewis Center.

More information about the C.S. Lewis Center can be found at www.sterling.edu/academics/cs-lewis-center.

Sterling College is a Christ-centered, four-year college located in Sterling, Kansas, with a mission to develop creative and thoughtful leaders who understand a maturing Christian faith. For more information, visit www.sterling.edu.