Annual Church Camp

February 11, 2011

Our annual camp this year was once again held at Wu Kwai Sha Youth Village. The theme was “Life. Be in it!”, and it was conducted in a brand new format! Instead of having mainly teachings, there were many inspiring and meaningful activities for everyone to participate in. Through the 3 days of teaching and activities, brothers and sisters were encouraged to reflect on their lives and their relationship with God, and be revived through the camp.

The teachings were focused on the book of Exodus. The first lessons that took place on the first day provoked us to think more deeply about what God really wants us to do in our lives. We were reminded that God despises lukewarm Christians, and we really need to set ourselves apart from the world and be holy and on fire for God. Pastor Gavin also brought us to realise the reason why God led the Israelites out of Egypt it is not to bring them to the Promised Land but to worship Him all the way. God has been also preparing us and pursuing our lives in hope that we will choose to be intimate with Him, walk in His ways, focusing on Him instead of “the Egypt in our hearts” i.e. the world. Therefore, we need to go up the mountain, draw near to God, listen and follow His principles.

After hearing the powerful message, the activities which followed further inspired all brothers and sisters to think. On the first night, after a powerful session of praise and worship, the first activity took place. In the activity, brothers and sisters were encouraged to recall and write down, on green and red cards respectively, all the bad things and good things that took place in each of our lives after we came to know Christ. For a long while, everyone was carried away in deep thoughts while peaceful music filled the hall. The pieces of paper were stuck on a long filmstrip that ran down the hall according to the years we took place. Pastor Gavin then shared his personal experiences of serving God in a heart-to-heart manner. He encouraged everyone to pray to God and forget about the sad events and not let them hinder our walk with Christ. With so many “red cards” on display, it is clear that God has not forsaken us. Pastor reminded us that even though we would face persecutions, trials and difficulties, we should press on for God who will surely help us overcome.

The second activity further encouraged us to think. It consisted of a number of warm up games, a few of which brought much tears into the activity hall. One of them was to pluck up our courage to call a family member to express our gratefulness towards them. Some sisters, and even brothers, could not hold back their tears even before they opened their mouth to speak. Another one was to go up to brothers or sisters whom we have once trespassed and ask for their forgiveness. It was a moment of much brotherly/sisterly love, and the hall was filled with tears and hugs. It was a beautiful picture. Brothers and sisters were then given a booklet called “Book of Life”, and the questions inside led us to think and reflect step-by-step on different aspects in our lives, such as our personality, our ministry, our weaknesses and our burden to spread the Gospel etc. Silence once again filled the hall as brothers and sisters carefully filled in the book after deep thoughts and reflections. Afterwards, each member openly shared in their Unit their own feelings and thoughts. We encouraged one another to be renewed by God in all aspects and to live a fuller’ life.

After much reflection, there came action! The third activity was “Be a leader”, where everyone was asked to step up one level in their spiritual roles to solve many different problems that were encountered in the church in a calendar year. Members became shepherds, and shepherds became care leaders etc. It was fun, chaotic and inspiring. In the debriefing session, each sub-district gathered the members to share the difficulties they encountered and what had been learned. Brothers and sisters learned more the role of their leaders, and appreciated them more. We also learned about the characteristics of a leader, such as: having vision, faith, patience and a sacrificing heart, being obedient, patient, humble etc. All of us were inspired to think deeper and from a wider perspective.

The fourth activity involved even more action! Brothers and sisters became fishermen and were asked to catch as much (paper) fish as possible while Satan, played by a number of brothers and sisters, tried to use different methods to snatch them away (including using a vacuum cleaner!). It was great fun and everyone was proud of their catch. Afterwards we were shown a video of Rev. Reinhard Bonnke evangelising in Africa. The powerful scene where more than a million people were being saved at an event struck the hearts of all brothers and sisters. Pastor Arlene then spoke to us, encouraging us to take action at the word of God to go and preach in the name of Jesus Christ and reap the harvest for God, as God had promised to work with us and let signs and wonders follow us. It was followed by a powerful prayer session where all care groups gathered in circles praying in unity, praying for each member of the group to be set free from their bondages, and be granted faith, a humble heart, obedience, more anointing, and for us to go together in unity to spread the gospel.

Renewed and revived by God, brothers and sisters attended Sunday Service on the third day. It was a joyful service, with a powerful session of praise and worship and an encouraging testimony by Sister Pik from SD2, who shared how God used her and gave her boldness and courage in the Philippines mission trip. Pastor Gavin then preached the last part of the lessons which encouraged brothers and sisters to be really reformed by God, choosing to go up the mountain like Moses, instead of being complacent and staying at the bottom like the Israelites. At alter call, brothers and sisters responded to God wholeheartedly.

After a chaotic but very joyful photo-taking session, the 3-day camp came to an end. All the Unit Leaders stayed behind with all the Filipino and Thai sisters to enjoy their special activity folk dancing!

Praise God for this refreshing, reviving and mind-opening camp. Through the teachings, activities, sharing and fellowship, brothers and sisters learned a lot about God’s principles, and the relationship between God and us grew more intimate. Let us all choose to climb up the mountain together to worship our everlasting God, and work together in unity for the revival of God’s Kingdom!