Spree South West is run by Urban Saints and SWYM (South West Youth Ministries). Urban Saints ran Spree SE in Kent and approached SWYM about partnering together to launch a similar event in Somerset in 2003. It has grown from a small camp for a handful of groups to a large regional event.
This year Spree SW was held at the larger venue of West Point Arena in Exeter and was bigger and better than ever. Young people from across the South West gathered for a weekend of sunshine, fun activities, to hear the Gospel and worship Jesus together.
Churches from Taunton, Yeovil, Wiveliscombe, Cotford St Luke and Shepton Mallet made the trip to Exeter with children, young people and youth leaders. They enjoyed a weekend of activities, fairground rides, Bible teaching, worship, small groups and time together camping in tents.
Some of those who travelled to Spree from Evercreech shared their excitement about the weekend.
- “I love Spree! It was our first time, but I definitely want to go again! There's so much fun stuff to do and I love camping and it was great to be at a place where I know everyone else is a Christian so I don't need to be afraid of what they think of me or what they might say that's unkind.” (13-year-old boy)
- “Spree was yeah! I liked that you could do what you liked and you didn't always need to have adults with you. I liked being able to go on things without having to pay and you could go on them more than once - my favourite was the bumper cars! I liked the drama sketches in my venue because it was really fun to watch.” (10-year-old girl)
- “Such a great variety of venues for worship and teaching and so many lovely activities for the youth to be doing throughout the day. There was just the right balance of activity time and chill time. The whole team were amazing; the weekend was so well organised with God clearly at the heart of everything.” (Youth leader)
Blaze, the Cotford St Luke Youth Club, were represented at Spree by a group of six young people and youth workers Tom and Claisse Tame. They had a brilliant time, and here’s the story of one of those young people:
“At the end of one of the talks, the speaker gave an invitation to anyone who wanted to be a follower of Christ to come forward and declare their faith. Jack*, alongside two other boys from Blaze, came forward and got down on their knees to pray to ask God to help them become His follower. On our last day, Jack told one of his friends: “This is the best Christian experience of my life.” He then later shared with us that he is keen on growing his faith by praying more. We prayed with the three boys who expressed their new desire in deepening their faith in Christ.” (*name changed to protect privacy).
Cheryl Govier and Ruth Slade, Growing Faith advisers for the Wells Archdeaconry, headed-up the "creative worship" team in Encounter (14+ worship venue at Spree co-led by Movement) together with young adults from Bath and Wells. Ruth said, "We had a great time helping young people encounter God through different ways of worshiping. It was so good to see young people praying for each other and hearing how God has a plan for their lives and wants to know them personally. We can’t wait to be back next year and see what God’s got in store for us.”
Next year Spree is at West Point once again from 21 to 23 June 2024. Tickets go on sale on 27 September at midday.