A number of our youth group attended The Salvation Army’s ‘Roots’ conference recently. Here’s what two of them had to say about it.

Rebecca Ant

Ladies first! Here’s Rebecca:

On Friday 29th April until 2nd May Roots was taking place, everyone had a lot of fun and learnt lots of different things about the Bible. For me it was the first time i had been to Roots and i had lots of fun meeting up with old friends, meeting new friends and learning lots of things I didn t even know about the Bible.

We sang songs, played games and had lots of laughs. The main thing i learnt at Roots was you don t need to read the Bible cover to cover to be a good Christian, you just need know what it is, how to be one, and how to set a good example to others. I also learned that you don t need to be as quick as others in knowing the Bible and what it means, the Bible can be very complicated and the further you dig into it the more questions you have and the more answers you want.

In one of our after hours sessions we met a dance group called release they were amazing and i love their dance moves. They did street dance while they were at Roots and they taught us a few moves. The following morning everyone at youth Roots went to their morning sessions as normal, but afterwards we all walked over to the theatre to the resources zone. We all walked around the hall as normal, as if we didn t know each other, then after about 10 mins we broke into a dance!. It was brilliant and a lot of fun. The technical men that were in youth Roots filmed it and it s now posted on Facebook on ALOVE UK. It is a group, so you can t add them but you can like them. Just click on that and search for flash mob 2011.

In a different after hours session we had a visit from a band called DWEEB. It was my first time hearing their music and they were fantastic, and they played on our last night at Roots   so it brightened up our last day at Southport Roots.

It was sad to leave all our friends there but hopefully we will be able to keep in contact with them.and possibly meet up with them

I had a great time at Roots and hope to go again in the future.

Now here’s Ants comments:

At what felt like the crack of dawn on Friday eight members of the Chatham youth group set off, with a mixture of excitement and nervous anticipation, for the Roots Conference. They were joined by friends new and old from Maidstone Corps.   For most this would be their first time at Roots.

The theme for the weekend was “Uncovered – Reading between the lines.”   In brief, the Celebration services and seminars used differing creative arts to look deeper into the Bible.

Personally, I struggled to engage with the speakers in the first two Celebrations.   However, in the third Celebration, Krish Kandiah really inspired me as he spoke about the Story of the Bible.   The messages in the last three Celebrations were equally inspiring.

The After Hours sessions were a particular highlight for me: Adrian Plass offered his usual witticisms and challenging stories; Abby Guinness wowed us with performances from her “Word of the Wives” monologues; Noel Richards showed his longevity as he led the Praise Party.

My hope – for myself and all those who attended Roots, especially the nineteen of us from Chatham and Maidstone – is that it won t just be about this weekend.   But that Roots will equip us all as we continue on our journey with God.