DTI Camp 2026 - By Andrew Barkley

On 29th July, I went with five of the youth from St Paul’s and 27 from St Matt's Burley to the DTI Festival at Staffordshire Showground. DTI stands for Dreaming The Impossible and is run by Vineyard Churches. It ran for five nights and was attended by over 5,000 people.

This year’s theme was discipleship with the key verse being Luke 9:23. Every day, there were two main meetings where everyone gathered, worshipped together and listened to a talk based on the theme. Many of these talks were thought-provoking and challenging. The speakers came from across the UK, as well as one lady from Canada. Each spoke of their own experiences and faith journeys as well as helping the youth to grow in theirs.

The talks also brought up difficult subjects and theologies which differed from mine and those of some of the youth. This led to many interesting discussions which are still ongoing and will hopefully be covered in more detail in our youth small group. However, the highlight of the main meetings for me was being able to stand in a building with 5,000 other people to worship and sing praises together. The worship band led us and it was a real joy to be a part of. It was also brilliant to see the five from St Paul’s getting the opportunity to be in a room full of people their age, worshipping God together.

In between the main meetings, there was a lot going on across the site for people to take part in. There were many seminars laid on each day on a huge variety of topics. The St Paul’s gang chose to go to at least one a day, including a 9 am seminar on suffering!

There were a variety of sports across the site each day, from football tournaments, rugby, pickleball and even some late-night dodgeball. The closest I got to exercise, though, was going against some of the other youth on the inflatables. Don’t believe what they tell you, though; I definitely let them win…

In between sessions and activities, there was time to get in a milkshake and sit down together, to discuss the main meetings, have a laugh, but also share more of our faith journeys. These were really special moments, sitting on the sofas in the café, sharing a time of fellowship together. I know from personal experience that being a Christian as a teenager can sometimes feel quite lonely, so these moments hopefully show them they are not alone and have a family they can turn to.

The final night of the camp was the fancy dress disco. The theme this year was 'movies' and the St Paul’s gang decided to do a group costume. I was told that I was to be included and they were going as the Men in Black. However, they didn’t want me to be a Man in Black with them, but instead I was to be the alien they were trying to catch! I will be honest, I didn’t take much persuading and happily dressed up! We had a lot of fun, running around the campsite and dancing in the disco!

Overall, a good time was had by all and we look forward to exploring another camp next year.