European Youth Event 2025: Daring to look up

Ewan Hall (Norwich Citadel) reports on the European Youth Event 2025.

Having been a part of The Salvation Army my whole life, flying abroad to attend an Army event was a completely new experience for me. My flight took me to the Netherlands and, after a coach journey, I arrived at De Kroeze Danne camp for the European Youth Event (EYE) 2025.

Away from the noise of the outside world, the camp represented a miniature Europe, with approximately 700 Salvationists and friends from across the continent. Over just four days of worship, teaching and testimony, we would learn to Look Up, and discover how doing this influences our relationships with God.

In between main sessions, EYE offered space for creative and personal expression through sports, music, art and workshops. We learnt how The Salvation Army supports gender equality and people facing human trafficking. As well as shared meals and spaces to relax and talk, we connected with each other and God. The atmosphere was one of freedom, authenticity and joy.

From the very first main session, it was clear that, regardless of where we had come from or what language we spoke, people were there to express their love for God. The worship band and interpretive dancers united the room in powerful songs of proclamation.

Each morning began with Bible study led by Captain Callum McKenna (William Booth College). Through passages including Exodus 3:1–15 and Luke 10:25–37, small groups reflected on identity and the exhaustion of trying to be someone else. Yet God sees and loves our whole lives. The story of the good Samaritan introduced the Greek word splagchnizomai – a deep, stirring compassion that moves us to act, like the Samaritan helping the man on the road.

Evening sessions blended worship, music and teaching, each led by a different speaker: Territorial Commander Commissioner Bente Gundersen (The Netherlands, Czech Republic and Slovakia Territory), Lyndall Bywater (UKI Boiler Room team) and Lieutenant Lizzie Kitchenside (Harold Hill). Their messages, rooted in Scripture, reflected the theme of EYE – whether looking up from fear, from our lowest moments or towards the start of something new. All pointed to one truth: God is with us through it all. We just have to look up and see.

The final day stood out to me the most. Led by International Youth and Children’s Officer Captain Mariska Potters (IHQ), it offered a time of reflection on the Journey of EYE – not just a mountaintop experience, but preparation for real life, with all its joys and struggles. What impacted me was the response that followed. During a call to testimony, many shared their splagchnizomai moments. Reflecting on my own experience, I remembered a conversation I had with someone about attending a corps and found myself ad-libbing Matthew 18:20: ‘For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am with them.’ I wasn’t sure why I said that or if I’d used it correctly but, as I heard others sharing, it clicked.

As EYE 2025 came to a close, the message was clear: God is working across Europe and young people are responding. What some have called a ‘quiet revival’ is anything but quiet – it is bold, passionate, and full of hope. A generation is rising, looking up and trusting in God.

It doesn’t matter whether we are in a remote village in Finland or the centre of London, God is working to provide those splagchnizomai moments and show us the new thing he wants us to be a part of. Even when it seems like God is missing, he is present where we are – all we need to do is look up and put our trust in him.