MAX West

Dates

Contagious MAX West runs from Saturday the 8th of August through to Friday the 14th of August

Arrivals and Departures

Please arrive between 2:30 and 3:00PM on Saturday. Once you arrive at the Pioneer Centre there will be leaders on hand to direct you where to park and register.

We will have registration, a chance to meet small group leaders and activities for the young people. Our welcome meeting will be at 4:00PM so if you’re running late then please contact Carrie (her phone number will be in the email sent out to parents) to let us know.

On the final day we have a response meeting which we would love for parents to join us at! Please arrive anytime from 11:00AM on the Friday. The final meeting will run from 11:30 until 12:30PM. After that there will be a picnic lunch provided for young people, if you can we’d love for you to join us for the lunch – lunch is provided for young people but you will need to bring your own.

accommodation

The young people’s rooms have between 4 and 6 beds with an en-suite bathroom in each room. We try to accommodate small groups together in two or three rooms with their leader in a room nearby.

Where sharing requests were made, we will do our best to room young people together or near to one another. This is not always possible as our venue is full this year but we have been able to put almost all requests in small groups together.

All bedding is provided but please bring a towel.

What to bring

Suitable Clothes: including sports wear for some of our activities and swimming clothes to be worn under shorts and a t-shirt for water games. We will also have raft building for one of the activities. We recommend that you pack a pair of shoes that you don’t mind getting wet/muddy for the water games and raft building.

• Physical Bible (New International Version is what we teach from)
• Pens (we will provide a booklet for your notes)
• Card to pay for tuck and the book shop
• Supply of any medication needed plus changes to medical information written down   
• Toiletries, sun cream and hat (the weather can be very hot)
• Two towels (one will get wet!)
• Labelled water bottle 
• Pajamas
• Indoor and outdoor footwear 
• Any sports equipment (eg. football, rugby, tennis, golf, cricket) or musical instrument (please note that there aren’t secure storage facilities on site so these will be brought at your own risk).

PLEASE DO NOT include any snacks that contain nuts as we have those attending who have severe nut allergies.

Please do not bring painkiller medication as these will need to be stored securely by our TEAM. We will have paracetamol and ibuprofen available via the Medical Supervisor should any young person need it.

Photographs and social media

We are hoping to take some general photos or videos during the week that may be used for publicity, uploaded on our website or shared on social media sites.

If you have particular concerns about social media, photographs or publicity, please inform us by emailing admin@contagious.org.uk.

Mobile Phone policy

Young people at Contagious MAX may bring their phones to Contagious and use them throughout the day during breaks.

Phones will be taken off all young people overnight, they will be securely stored by leaders and given back to young people at Breakfast.

NO phones are to be used during teaching sessions unless as part of the activity or required. Phones should be switched off or on silent during teaching sessions and at other times all users should act responsibly to avoid distracting themselves and others from engaging with people and activities. 

If any attendee of Contagious uses their phone in an inappropriate or immoral way then we reserve the right as leaders to confiscate the phone and return it to them at the end of the Conference.  Any illegal use of a phone will be reported.

MEDICAL, Pastoral and Dietary Information

If you wish to update anything before the conference please email admin@contagious.org.uk.

Expectations

When you booked onto Contagious, we asked you to agree to our terms and conditions. You can access them here. In particular, please note our expectations with regards to behaviour throughout the week. 

Contacting us

You should have contact information from the parent communication email that you have been sent (this is usually about a month before the conference).

If you have any non-urgent enquiries that you can also contact Contagious at admin@contagious.org.uk. In an emergency or if you can’t find the phone numbers on your email you can call our safeguarding number on 07300 044 849 and we’ll get you the information that you need.

FAQs

What does a typical day look like?

Wake up is at 8:00am. We have a busy morning so every Conference has a filling breakfast with cooked and continental options. After breakfast is our SUS group time. This is time in small groups studying the Bible together. The rest of the morning is spent in two Seminars with a break in the middle. Seminars are interactive sessions where we dig deeper into God’s word together, they are usually where we get to see the big picture of what the whole sweep of God’s word has to say about a subject. We then have lunch and afterwards it is into afternoon activities. The activities are usually split into two (or three) slots and are a mix of all-together activities and options. We then have dinner together. In the evening we have our Big Teaches. These are meetings that include games, singing, interviews and the reading and preaching of God’s word. A day at Contagious MAX then ends with some after hours activities before lights out at 10.45pm.

How are young people kept safe at Contagious?

We are serious about keeping all children and young people safe at Contagious. If you would like to read our safeguarding policy then you can access that here.

How can I be praying for Contagious? 

We would love it if you could be praying for us throughout the week! It is only through God’s word applied to the hearts of the young people through the Holy Spirit’s work that lives are changed. Please be praying for faithful teaching and for hearts opened to the good news of the gospel. For particular points for prayer check out our dedicated page.

What is being taught at Contagious this year?

At Contagious 2026 we are going to be looking at Proverbs: The way of Wisdom. Proverbs invites us to listen to the words of wisdom from a father to his son, written to encourage youth to grow in wisdom. This summer we want to see lives shaped and changed as we listen to God’s wisdom for all of life. Proverbs is both poetic and practical. It is not just a series of moral sayings but is a story that is filled with rich truths and points us forward to Christ.