So where are we in terms of planning for Devoted 2025?
First of all, can I thank the churches that have got involved and if you're a church that hasn't, would you think about it because it's a great way of discipling, getting to know people, in your church. A big thank you to Gateway York, Hope Harrogate, Jubilee Teesside, Freedom Chester, these churches have committed themselves to help in certain areas but we have a couple of areas left that we really need to fill, which are good examples where churches could get involved together.
Under 4s
One is the 2-3s and 3-4s age groups. So in the mornings we have 2-4 age group split into two groups. We'd love a church to get involved and say that we can do that as a church together.
Festival Oversight
Also, in the afternoons and after hours, we have the festival. There's no point in calling it the Devoted Festival if there isn't a festival aspect to it. So that includes sports, arts, crafts, exhibition, book shops, animal sessions, where people turn up with owls and you can stroke them and all that sort of stuff as well as after hours, so music in the evenings and that sort of thing. We'd love a church to say we could commit to planning and overseeing that, we could do that together. It's just good fun, you get to know a lot of people.
We also need individuals who can help in the following areas, for example:
Venue Managers
We need venue managers for the U19s area in the youth work. Now to be clear that's not doing the youth work, it's making sure that the venue is up to scratch and runs smoothly. We need a venue manager for the children's area. We need a venue manager for the main venue working with all our teams that working there.
Other Needs
We need individuals who can help us with health and safety perhaps that's your skill. Security - making sure the site is secure. People on the doors, making sure that kids can't wander off.
Admin Roles
We also need some administration roles to be filled. We need people who can help us with requisitions, getting the right equipment, the right things in the right time at the right price. That's a really good one on, site administration, making sure that everything's working in the offices and around the site.
Volunteer Lead
I also need somebody who's going to look after the 300 volunteers that are going to be on site. You think about that 300 people they all need caring for.
Group Coordinator Lead
We need somebody who's going to coordinate with the groups, particularly church groups, making sure that they've got everything they need making sure marquees are in the right place and that sort of thing. So if you don't volunteer, please don't come and complain when you don’t have the right size site!
OK, so these are the things we need. We're about 2/3 of the way there. We're meeting in June for the first time together as a team, just before Devoted Leaders 24 and we're hoping to have the booking site, live by then as well. That's what we're aiming for!
Summary
The event needs churches to fill volunteer roles in several areas:
- Under 4s: Supervising 2-4 year olds in separate groups.
- Festival Oversight: Planning and running afternoon/evening activities (sports, arts, music).
Individual volunteers are needed for various tasks:
- Venue management: Overseeing specific areas (U19s, children's, main venue).
- Logistics: Health & safety, security, door control.
- Administration: Equipment requisition, site administration.
- Volunteer lead: Coordinating 300 volunteers.
- Group coordinator lead: Ensuring church groups have necessary resources.
Current status and next steps:
- Devoted 2025 is about 2/3rds staffed with volunteers
- The planning team will meet for the first time in June just before Devoted Leaders 24
- The booking site is expected to be live by June 2024
A Message From Jeremy Simpkins
Thank you so much Paul! Can I really encourage you all to get behind Devoted 2025? These events don’t happen without you! We could put on the best event, we could put on all that we need. There is an incredible variety that Paul has been speaking about, but we need you, church leaders & teams to really get behind it and we need you to bring people to it!
These events cost a huge amount of finance – if there aren’t enough people there. Now to be clear we don’t do it so that we get the finance – we do it so that we can bless people.
I know that if you get people, families, young people, retired people, everyone you can to Devoted 2025, I know they’re going to be blessed. I know that it will bless us as a family of churches, so can I really encourage you, I know it seems like a long way off – but actually it will be upon us really quickly so please can I encourage you, get people booked in as soon as possible!