Around 200 Christians of all ages and various denominations came together in a bid to show the heart and characteristics of Jesus Christ to people in Ballymena. Click here to watch video footage.

Spark volunteers were active in seven 'target areas' throughout our town, namely Ballee, Ballykeel, Doury Road/Rectory, Dunclug, Fisherwick, Harryville and the Town Centre.

Within each zone, they showed Christ's love in various practical ways such as picking up litter, undertaking gardening tasks for residents on each estate as well as visiting elderly people in residential homes.

Various events were also organized in every area on most nights. For example, there was a Treasure Hunt in Harryville, a Health & Fitness evening in Ballykeel Community Centre and even a Fun Night in Dunclug on Thursday.

What's more, the town centre team were also kept busy all week. Every afternoon, they treated passers-by to live music at Broadway Bandstand as well as free tea, coffee, balloons, CDs, face-painting and companionship as they chatted to people on the streets.

Meanwhile, another clean-up and practical work team were busy in the Demesne area while a night-time Global Café, (based at the YMCA) brought together people of several nationalities.

An International Kids Club, which also took place at the YMCA and brought together children from countries like Belarus and Poland, was another major success.

Spark co-organizer, Rick Hill reflected: "To see a bunch of young Polish kids come in and enjoying themselves while learning English under Christian influence has been a real joy."

Rick was also encouraged by the way that the young volunteers gave their all to whatever tasks they were given.

He added: "Another of the highlights for me has been seeing our guys out in the areas – they just seem to be having a great time and enjoying themselves. It's so good for them to be doing formalized outreach and yet just enjoying it so much. One of my prayers is that they would want to continue doing that in their everyday lives, through their churches, or school SU groups or wherever."

Matthew Boyd, who also led the event, spoke about the positive feedback he had heard from people in various areas who were touched by the kindness of the Spark workers:

"People on the Estates have been really receptive towards it. I chatted to a guy who commented that it was great to see the churches actually doing stuff and offering free services.