Camps & Conferences

Every year, our church family invests time, energy and prayer into a variety of camps and conferences. These weeks away from home aren’t just fun in the sun (or the rain!) — they’re places where children, young people and adults alike get uninterrupted time to hear God’s word taught clearly, to build friendships with other believers, and to grow in their faith outside the routines of ordinary church life. For many of our young people, camp is where faith stops being something they’ve inherited and becomes something they own for themselves. For adults, a week at a Bible convention offers space to be fed, refreshed and challenged. We support and attend these events because we’ve seen God use them again and again in the lives of our church family.

Pine Lake Camps (Foundation Matters)

Foundation Matters runs affordable holiday camps at their Pine Lake site in Derbyshire, offering children and young people from all backgrounds the chance to enjoy a week of fun activities alongside clear, engaging teaching from the Bible. Camps run during the school holidays and are split by age group: Kids Camps for 8–11 year olds and Youth Camps for 12–16 year olds, so the programme, games and teaching are always pitched right for the campers taking part.

What makes Pine Lake special is the combination of genuine adventure with substance. Days are packed with the kind of activities children talk about for months afterwards — team games, sports, crafts and outdoor pursuits — all set within a safe, well-run and supportive environment. Alongside the fun sits solid, faithful Bible teaching, delivered in a way that is accessible and compelling for children and teenagers, giving them a real opportunity to encounter who Jesus is, many for the very first time.

We send children and young people from church to Pine Lake because it strikes a rare balance: it’s a camp kids genuinely want to go back to, while also being a place where we’ve seen real spiritual fruit — questions asked, faith explored, and in some cases, the first steps of a lifelong relationship with Jesus. Affordability matters too; Foundation Matters is committed to keeping camps accessible to all so that no child misses out. If you have a child or young person in the 8–16 age range don’t miss out at a Pine Lake camp.

Authentic Camps

Authentic is a residential summer camp for children and young people held at Downside School near Bath, bringing together campers from churches across the UK for a full-board week of wide games, sport and activities in beautiful, secure surroundings. The camp is organised into three age streams — Signed Authentic (ages 8–11), Sealed Authentic (ages 11–14) and Delivered Authentic (ages 14–19) — so that teaching and activities are tailored to where campers are at, from primary-aged children right through to young adults.

At the heart of Authentic is a firm commitment to faithful, age-appropriate Bible teaching. The camp takes seriously both the Scriptures and the young people it serves, building each week’s programme around seminars, practical teaching sessions and small-group Bible studies designed to help campers grow in their relationship with Jesus. Camp help youngsters understand what it means to follow Christ as a journey of faith, courage and hope.

We support Authentic because it offers our young people something increasingly rare: a whole week, fully immersed, among peers who are also wrestling with what it means to follow Jesus. Being away from home, in a full-board setting with games, sport and new friendships alongside solid teaching, tends to open young people up in ways a normal youth group evening can’t. Many of our teenagers have returned from Authentic with a renewed appetite for God’s word and a stronger sense of belonging to the wider church.

Keswick Convention

The Keswick Convention is a long-standing gathering of many thousands of Christians — adults and children together — held over three weeks each summer in the heart of the Lake District. Entry is free, and the Convention exists to refresh God’s people through rich Bible teaching, times of sung worship, and the simple joy of being part of one large, united family of believers gathered from churches across the country and beyond.

Each week centres on a series of Bible readings working through a book or section of Scripture, led by respected teachers, alongside all-age worship led by different music teams throughout the summer. Alongside the main programme, Keswick Kids & Youth runs dedicated groups for ages 3–18, so that children and teenagers get age-appropriate teaching and activities of their own while parents are free to attend the main meetings. There’s also a mission exhibition, a wide range of seminars, and plenty of opportunity for fellowship, walking and rest in the surrounding fells.

We encourage church members — families and individuals alike — to attend Keswick because a week of unhurried, in-depth Bible teaching does something a Sunday sermon alone can’t. It gives space to sit under God’s word for an extended period, to be refreshed rather than rushed, and to return home with a renewed sense of purpose and conviction. Many in our church treat it as a highlight of the summer, often booking accommodation together so families can share the week as a church community.