Christian Festival

    Saturday 23rd – Monday 25th May 2009

Alive09 Youth Venue will be in the hall of Woodbridge Primary School, just a short walk from St John’s Church.  The programme will include youth specific teaching and contemporary worship at morning and evening celebrations.  The Youth Venue will be hosted by Andy Williams who is the Youth Worker at revival, which is the youth congregation at St John’s Church. 

Each morning, from 10:00am to 1:00pm, there will be Bible teaching that will help young people to live their lives as Christians.  Matt says we will be exploring the question, “So, what happens if we don’t feel ‘Alive’ to God? When it all just seems like a big con.”  With fun, laughter and craziness, as well as openness and brutal honesty, we’ll explore together what we do when we don’t feel alive to God, when God seems a 100 miles away, and when we just don’t hear from him.  In the evening there will be more time for worship and prayer ministry and each evening we will be welcoming a visiting speaker.  All this will be in a relaxed atmosphere with drinks and tuck to purchase during the breaks.

In the afternoon, the venue will be open as somewhere for the young people to hang out, with a tuck shop and computer consoles.  There will also be a seminar or workshop each afternoon specifically for young people and there will be opportunities to join the main seminars (look for the seminars with smiley faces).  Alternatively, if the weather is good, you could relax with some young people down by the river or in one of the parks in Woodbridge –please make sure your parents know where you are.

The Speakers

In the morning sessions during the weekend, Matt Levett will be bringing the Bible teaching.  It is great to invite Matt back after experiencing him at Alive08.  Matt, an avid admirer of all things DC - especially WonderWoman - has been a Youth Worker for some thirteen or fourteen years.  Having worked for Churches in Bury St. Edmunds and Amersham, Matt is now the Youth Worker for Forge Community Church (formerly Mendlesham Christian Community Church) in Suffolk.  Matt has also been a speaker for Suffolk Christian Camps held at Sizewell Hall.  Matt also (in his own words) “loves films; loves McDonalds; loves surfing (but is pants at it); has a rubbish car, plays Risk, and he has just submitted his application form to Total WipeOut…”

Saturday evening’s speaker is Mark Tuma, who is the Director of Norwich Youth For Christ, where he has been working for the last ten years.  He is married with two young children, and his interests include “music, power tools, things that go fast and 'geeky combat flight simulators'!”  Mark will be asking the questions ‘Are we alive or just existing?  Are we giving the world an inspiring view of life with God, or does it just look a little bit beige?  What does it take for us to really “live for God"?’

On Sunday we will have Drew Waller.  Originally from America, where he spent 8 years on staff as an Area Director with Young Life in Atlanta, Georgia, Drew is the Director of Youth Ministry at Holy Trinity Church in Claygate.  Drew will be speaking on “Life together in Christ”, answering the question “What does it mean to live as a Christian Community?”  Drew is married to Emma and has a three year old son, Thomas.

On Monday we will be joined for the day by Kat Collar.  Formerly part of “Collective east Anglia”, Kat will be sharing from her own life and encouraging us to be “Alive in the World”.

As mentioned, in the afternoons there will be a seminar / workshop specifically for the young people.  They are: -
Saturday – Dance workshop run by Eximo
Sunday – Relationships seminar by Drew Waller
Monday – Drama workshop run by Kat Collar