Church youth groups across the country will be familiar with Gaines - a magnificent manor house near Worcester which for over four decades has hosted them on Christian retreats and houseparties. Although sadly its doors closed in 2006, wonderfully God has granted the opportunity to see them re-opened as a centre both for youth outreach and as a base for Bible and leadership training. We’d love to take just a minute of your time to share this new vision for Gaines with you.

Now under the management of Camp XL (a charity launched to promote and support Bible centred residential holidays) Gaines has two equally weighted objectives:

So, what does this mean in practice, and how will we set about it?

Each year we’ll take roughly a dozen gap-year students on our residential programme. Through our partnership with the Midlands Ministry Training Course they’ll receive formal Bible and leadership skills training. Through our programme of residential holidays (see below) they’ll gain hands-on experience in the practical aspects of Christian youth work too.

And since we maintain that the primary responsibility for reaching and discipling lies with local churches, we hope in addition to see this team support a number of other church and school groups - (our location means that groups all along the M5 corridor from Birmingham to Bristol are potentially in reach).

Once refitted, Gaines will be able to sleep close to 100 individuals. With grounds that include playing fields, tennis courts, an indoor pool, a lake and even a go-kart track, it’s a magnificent venue for youth retreats! We’ll be running camps during the school holidays as well as a number of weekend retreats during term time. Our facilities will also be used to support our work with local churches and schools - all with the over-arching aim of introducing those who do not yet know Him to the Lord Jesus, and better equipping those who do in their daily walk with Him.

And, yes - although by God’s grace much has already been achieved, far more still remains to be done. So we’re asking if you would consider becoming a partner with us in order to bring all this about. Thanks for visiting!