Word Alive (previously known as New Word Alive) is an annual

evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

conference which originated through a partnership between the UK Christian organisations

UCCF Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) is a UK-based charity that was founded in 1928 as the Inter-Varsity Fellowship of Evangelical Unions. UCCF's dual aims are: #To advance the evangelical Christian faith amongst students, gr ...

and Keswick Ministries. The conference is focussed on

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

teaching, corporate worship, and family time. The conference is a continuation of the former Word Alive event which ran within

Spring Harvest Spring Harvest is an inter-denominational evangelical conference and gathering in the United Kingdom that started in 1979. The festival arose in the late 1970s at a time when evangelicalism was growing in the UK and there was uncertainty as to ...

. As well as attracting around 4000 guests, the conference has historically included the largest

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

student conference in Europe.

Format

Word Alive is billed as "a Bible holiday week inspiring and refreshing the whole body". There is a full adult programme throughout the day along with activities focussed for children and youth. There is also a specially tailored 'Student Track' conference which is one of the largest Christian student conferences in Europe. The Student Track joins the main programme for the morning Bible Readings, the centrepiece of Word Alive, during which the main speaker for the week gives an in-depth bible study. There are a variety of sessions available throughout the day – Bible studies, seminars, activity groups and worship meetings – all designed to equip children, young people, students and adults to serve their church and reach the world with the good news of Jesus Christ. Later in the evening there is an 'After Hours' programme featuring contemporary worship, film nights, live interviews, comedy nights, gigs, as well as the highly anticipated

cèilidh A cèilidh ( , ) or céilí () is a traditional Scottish or Irish social gathering. In its most basic form, it simply means a social visit. In contemporary usage, it usually involves dancing and playing Gaelic folk music, either at a house p ...

. The majority of guests stay in the on-site accommodation (chalets) provided at the holiday centre, with options for either self-catering or dinner, bed and breakfast. There are also Day Visitor and Events Passes available for those wishing to stay off site in nearby hotels, B&B establishments or holiday cottages.

Venue

From 2008 to 2011 Word Alive was held at the Haven Holiday Park, Hafan y Mor, near

Pwllheli Pwllheli () is a market town and community of the Llŷn Peninsula ( cy, Penrhyn Llŷn) in Gwynedd, north-western Wales. It had a population of 4,076 in 2011 of whom a large proportion, 81%, are Welsh language, Welsh speaking. Pwllheli is the pl ...

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

. From 2012 the conference moved to the

Pontins Pontins is a British company operating holiday parks in the UK, founded in 1946 by Fred Pontin. Since 2011, it has been owned by Britannia Hotels. Pontins specialises in offering half-board and self-catering holidays featuring entertainment ...

site, Prestatyn Sands,

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

. "Situated between the rolling hills of North Wales and miles of award winning beaches, there is plenty to do in the local area: visit the majestic Conwy Castle, enjoy the fun of the Rhyl Water Park, or even plan a climb up Snowdon! Prestatyn Holiday Park itself also has plenty to offer, particularly for the children. As well as Captain Crocs Driving School and skate park, we also provide a Clownfish nflatablesactivity area and 5-a-side football and volleyball competitions every year."

History

The first Word Alive event took place as part of

in 1993 and was a partnership between

, Keswick Ministries,

and initially the Proclamation Trust. In 2007, it was announced that Word Alive would no longer be a part of Spring Harvest, and from 2008 would run independently (as New Word Alive) in

, rather than Skegness. Press releases explaining the split were released by UCCF, Keswick Ministries and Bishop

Pete Broadbent Peter Alan Broadbent (born 31 July 1952), known as Pete Broadbent, is an English Anglican bishop. He served as the Bishop of Willesden, an area bishop in the Church of England Diocese of London for twenty years, 2001–2021. During the va ...

of the Spring Harvest leadership team. The statements emphasise different factors leading up to the decision to cease working together. Following a subsequent statement by Pete Broadbent all sides accept that disagreements over Spring Harvest leadership team member Steve Chalke's view of the

atonement Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ...

played at least some part in the split. From 2008 until 2015 the conference was run over two separate weeks, with different speakers on each. From 2016 onwards Word Alive has been run for a single week only.

Main speakers and worship leaders

References

{{reflist

External links

Word Alive
* ttp://adrianwarnock.com/2007/04/word-alive-and-spring-harvest-to.htm Article and statements on the reasons for the separation between Word Alive and Spring Harvest Evangelical Christian conferences Student religious organisations in the United Kingdom Recurring events established in 2007