VacFest is a five-day, Christian summer camp for youth between grade 8 – 12. It is a fun and interactive way for youth from local churches to connect with each other and, most importantly, with God. VacFest exists to provide a united, kingdom-focused platform to mobilize a disciple-making movement through the local church.
VacFest was started in 2007 by Jlife Africa. It was initially called Vac Camp and later became VacFest as it began to grow. The first camp was at a campsite near Heidelberg, called Camp Zeneth, it was then moved across to Camp Eden. Over the years, the Lord built up an amazingly committed group of volunteers/ crew who ran camp. It was felt that VacFest wouldn’t always be a JLife event, but rather something owned by the churches who were involved in VacFest.
The heart of why VacFest was started, was to:
·       Get churches to partner together for the sake of young people
·       Help out smaller churches who weren’t able to host their own camp
·       Have a camp that wasn’t too far from Johannesburg, that was integrated on all levels, and was affordable to all
·       See young people coming to know the Lord, and grow in their relationship with Christ
·       And, most importantly, ignite a passion and agenda for disciple-making amongst youth

In 2017, JLife handed over VacFest to the local churches that came on VacFest. A steering committee was formed by youth leaders in some of these churches and a committee chairperson and camp director were voted in. In 2018, VacFest was registered as a Pty (Ltd), a VacFest bank account was opened, and we were able to create our own website.
VacFest seeks to provide a space for spiritual growth and encouragement for young people, irrespective of their church affiliation. We are seeking to bring the Kingdom to earth, to see the church united in one cause, around seeing this Kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven. Our main focus is to spark a movement of disciple-making amongst youth who are passionate about the Gospel and focused on replicating their faith in the lives of their peers through the local church. VacFest provides a platform of vulnerability for teens, and is a place where service is displayed.
Ultimately, VacFest exists to recharge, reenergize, and equip youth to build Kingdom culture beyond the few days they attend VacFest, to mobilize a generation who seeks to know Jesus Christ and to see His name known in their communities.