Our History

Our Roots

Three Days is inspired by the Cursillo and Tres Dias ministries.

The whole movement began in the fallout of the Spanish Civil War and World War II. These conflicts devastated the local church in Spain and took the lives of many of its leaders. In the late 1940s, the Spanish Roman Catholic Church experienced the beginnings of a revival. Small groups of friends in various Catholic “action groups” (similar to a small group) began to share their faith regularly to encourage one another. Pilgrimages were eventually organized which gave men and women the opportunity to rededicate their lives to Christ and His Church.

Over time, these groups evolved into periodic retreats where the reality of living a Christian life was intensely taught and experienced. These weekends became known as Cursillo de Christiandad, which means “short course in Christianity.” All of the subsequent movements, including the Anglican Cursillo, Tres Dias, Walk to Emmaus and Three Days are founded on the basic three-day structure of the original Cursillo retreats.

The Cursillo movement was brought to the US in the late 1950s and quickly spread across the country to other Spanish-speaking Catholics. The first English speaking Cursillo was held in the early 1960s.

In the 1970s, the movement was adapted by Protestant Christians to create the Tres Dias and Anglican Cursillo ministries. Walk to Emmaus was launched from Tres Dias as an independent retreat in the late 1970s.

Three Days Ottawa

Three Days Ottawa (or TDO as we like to call it) was founded in the fall of 2007 at Silver Lake Wesleyan Camp by a faithful group of men and women. It was humble beginnings by any standard. The weather was unseasonably chilly, the team was small in number and the accommodations were rustic. Yet, as in every Weekend since, the warmth of the Holy Spirit saw lives forever changed through an encounter with Jesus Christ.

At the time, TDO was a part of the global Tres Dias movement and was called Ottawa Canada Tres Dias. It was planted by the wonderful people of Georgia Mountains Tres Dias from Northern Georgia, US.

In 2019, TDO became Tres Dias Ottawa (just because it was easier to say!) and affiliated with One Way Ministries. This partnership provided TDO with much needed administrative and technical support. It also enabled TDO to operate under a charitable umbrella while maintaining independence as a ministry organization. This means TDO can provide charitable tax receipts when receiving donations, which helps offset the costs of running Weekends. 

One Way has also provided valuable resources for leadership development and more importantly, has connected TDO with other ministries and Kingdom leadership across Ottawa. It has many ministry affiliates including Band of Brothers, Souly Business Canada and Hearts of Beauty.

Our affiliation with One Way has been one of TDO’s greatest blessings.

For more information about One Way Ministries, please visit www.onewayministries.ca

After much prayer and consultation, TDO became an independent movement in 2023, launching out as Three Days Ottawa. It remains affiliated with One Way Ministries.

TDO is overseen by a Board of around a dozen faithful stewards, all of whom have attended and served on a Weekend. They meet throughout the year to look after all the administrative things that are part of running a ministry. Most importantly, they oversee the spiritual health of our community to ensure that Jesus always remains at the center of what we do.

While TDO has been blessed by many special people over the years, there are two individuals that have made a greater impact on our community than anyone else – Doug and Linda Sprunt. We are proud to call the Sprunts our Founders. They faithfully fostered TDO from a little seedling so many years ago on that cold first Weekend into the sturdy tree that it is today. Many lives have been transformed by Christ through their dedication and hard work. They are worthy of our acknowledgement. Thank you Doug and Linda. We love you.

While we cannot predict what the future holds for Three Days, we do know that Jesus has used Cursillo-inspired movements to change lives for over 75 years. We plan to faithfully move forward with this knowledge and the Truth that this world needs more of Jesus Christ.

Please visit our homepage for more information on upcoming Weekends and opportunities to Nominate a Candidate.