Once again over the Easter holidays some of the team headed to Butlins to serve in the youth team at Spring Harvest. Our Director, Mark, sits on the event leadership team and oversees youth ministry across the two sites. This year our senior ministry manager, Clare, was the pastoral coordinator for the 16-18s venue in Skegness, and our gap year volunteer, Jenifer, also joined the 16-18s team in Skegness. As ever, God was so good and faithful.
There are so many stories that could be told but here are just a few.
Morning one. Skegness. 16-18s. The team had planned two seminars and a host of sports for young people to choose from. In a Spring Harvest first, not one single young person chose to do sport. Instead, 30 decided to hear more about sharing Jesus with their friends and 50 explored Christian leadership.
Evening four. Skegness. 11-16s. The young people heard about the compassion of Jesus and a life of love which overflows. Following this we spent time waiting on the Holy Spirit, who began to meet young people across the room. We had young people being prayed for to receive the Holy Spirit for the first time, young people praying for one another, young people who sensed God giving them compassion and a sense of calling and young people being prayed for to be equipped for a life of love that overflows.
Night one. Minehead. The Pursuit. People were invited to respond to the gospel. It was quiet, and we waited. And waited. As we were about to move on one teenage girl made her way through the crowd to come and stand alone at the front of the venue and give her life to follow Jesus. There is such significance when one young person is willing to stand before their peers, not swayed by or following the crowd, but making a confident decision for themselves.
Morning three. Minehead. 16-18s. The preacher rounded off their talk and led into what was planned to be a 15-minute time of prayer and ministry. This was supposed to be followed by a 30-minute break and then a choice of seminars and workshops for the next hour. Instead, Holy Spirit began to meet with young people and they would not stop worshipping. They worshipped through the break. They worshipped through the workshop/seminar time. When the team finally had to bring the worship to a close these young people had been worshipping for an hour and 45 minutes.
Evening four. Minehead. The Pursuit. As we were praying for young people a teenager came forward with a sense that God was calling her to plant churches in the rural communities in the north of England. It is so exciting that young people are open to receiving God’s purpose for their life and the Holy Spirit is speaking. We were able to pray for this girl as well as connecting her to someone with responsibility for rural church planting in a northern church of England diocese who happened to be on site.
Over the two weeks we saw around 180 young people make commitments to follow Jesus. It was a joy to see and be part of all God was doing in the emerging generations at Spring Harvest this year.