Spring Harvest Youth Preaching Prize 2023 - winners announced

In association with APPologetics, we have been encouraged by the entries in our first Youth Preaching Competition. From the choice of topics, many chose to talk about ‘Why there is hope.’ And we think there certainly is hope with young people like this in the world!

The entries were very strong and deliberation was challenging for our expert panel of judges. Dr Amy Orr-Ewing, Rev Cris Rogers and Dez Brown, CEO of The Greenleaf Trust and Founder and Director of Spark2Life were excited by the talents shared.

Dr Amy Orr-Ewing said, “We were so impressed by the quality of all the entries and the passion of the young people. Hearing them engage with the Scriptures and applying it to their lives was inspiring. We have a lot to look forward to as these communicators keep developing their gifts as speakers and preachers.”

We think they are all winners, but only three could receive a prize.

Skegness winner: Esther Overton, 14, from Cambridgeshire.

Minehead winner: Grace Keir, 16, from Hertfordshire.

Runner-up (Minehead): Thomas Ngome, 12, from Greater London

We hope they’ll be able to deliver their talks in celebrations at this year’s event so that you can appreciate what they have to share.

Bethan Thomas was one of the excellent applicants and said, “Spring Harvest will still be great this year whether I have won or not. This has been an amazing opportunity for me and has really pushed me out of my comfort zone. Thank you so much!”

The entrants ranged from 11 to 16 years old and came from all over the UK. We think it has been a success, so watch this space for news of more initiatives to help us hear a wide variety of voices contributing to Spring Harvest over the coming years.