Houseparty this year was held at Hebron Hall in Wales. It was a little bit further afield but was most definitely worth the travel, with chances to enjoy the Welsh Countryside, Coastline, tourist attractions and even do a bit of shopping in Cardiff. We had our biggest number for a long time with 80 people attending.

As well as the usual great fellowship, fun and late night crazy games, we were totally blessed to have Pete Hodge from OAC Ministries as our main speaker. His theme for the weekend was Jonah; he brought out so many new and challenging things that gave us all A LOT to think about. Two standout points were that God DOES and WILL work in our lives – even when we are unrepentant at times! Plus we must be on our guard because when we want to go the wrong way, there is always a boat to take us there these points were very powerful in making us understand the seriousness of our actions, it is so important to be in constant close relationship with God and have support from our fellow Christians. His talks resulted in some good times of prayer, sharing, fellowship and a time of reflective Communion on the Sunday. Our worship was sensitively led with support from a number of our regular talented musicians. Due to the large number of children we were able to run the ‘Jonah’ club.

In closing, we thank God for the opportunities he gave each of us to meet new people as well as old friends and share time together, plus the way he used Pete to challenge us about the seriousness of our own relationship with him. We are also very thankful to all those who supported us in prayer over the last year, please continue to pray for the team as we make preparations for next year’s event at Heatree House, Dartmoor from Friday 4th to Monday 7th May 2012.

Quote from Ashley Taylor, Houseparty Manager
“The reason why we do houseparty is that we love to see young people coming together and having a great time, meeting with God in a new way, encouraging each other and going back to their homes and churches refreshed…”