Dear BPCWAians, We announced last week that we will be having an online camp this year, and that we encourage worshippers to continue to keep these dates free to join us for  the camp. In today’s pastoral, I would like to emphasize why we are still having a family camp, give worshippers an update of what this year’s camp will be like, God willing, what you need to do, and what to expect.

There is no reason why you should not be able to attend the camp this year! You have more time on your hands. Your companies are likely to approve your leave, and you cannot be travelling. There are no worries about a long-distance drive to camp and there are no affordability issues for you and the entire family. Neither is there any fear of any flu and COVID-19 spreading in an online camp. Do not let the flesh give you any excuses!

Why are we still going ahead with our church camp? The camp is always a spiritual retreat, drawing ourselves apart to seek God with undivided attention in His Word, and to fellowship with our covenantal family. Hence, every year, we encourage as many worshippers as possible to join us for our family camp together. Many testify of the yearly family camp’s helpfulness in rejuvenating their walk with the Lord and bonding with others. Given the current situation, coupled with the increased opportunity for all to attend a form of camp, then now more than ever before, it is needful for all of us to really seek to spend time with God in a spiritual retreat over a few days at a camp. We need to ensure that while we are physically apart, we are still growing spiritually as an individual and as a family. Moreover, an organised online camp allows us in some measure to be able to have some targeted fellowship with the brethren – renewing fellowship which we’ve all sorely missed during the past month.

How will it be like? With the current restrictions, it will naturally not be held at Orchard Glory Farm Resort. It will be in the comfort and convenience of your own home! (1) Timetable. As far as possible, the online camp will include as many activities from our regular camp schedule as is feasible. Remember that it is a retreat. So the camp timetable, which  we encourage all  to keep despite being at home,  will be very similar to the usual camp. We will miss having meals cooked for us, but we will allow for a longer break in the timetable to accommodate your mealtimes. (2) Messages. Morning devotions and thematic messages will be streamed sermons. We thank God that the speakers have agreed to video record their sermons and send them to us. Camp opening briefings, singspirations, and announcements will be streamed accordingly. (3) Fellowship and Group Discussions. Though online, our desire is to also include activities like “Chalet” Fellowship and Group Discussions. These are another important part of our family camps. English and Chinese camp organisers will need to separately evaluate and decide on what software or technology to use for these online fellowship and discussions. For example, it depends on what is best to reach out to and engage their campers based on the size of the group, the profile of users, and their familiarity with software usage. More details will be made available later. The camp organisers will reach out to participants before the camp to help them get familiar with the software chosen.

What do you need to do? (1) Register quickly for camp when it opens. Why do you need to register? For those that may have seen last week’s announcement, you may be wondering – since the sermons are online, why register? There are several reasons for this. As mentioned, we are also going to try running some sessions that are a bit more interactive. So, we need to know who is indeed attending so as to arrange for grouping of the registrants, for example for the discussion groups and “chalet” fellowship. We will need your registration details to invite you into these group chats for online security of the groups. Also, we need to have your contacts to send you information about the camp, since not all information will be made available online. (2) Note that there is no children’s program. As it is online, it will not be feasible to run a children’s program (eg due to class control issues) with this online camp. However, we do encourage families to continue to have their children sit with them during the online camp sermons, just as they have been doing during the Sunday Worship livestreams. But do register your school-going children who are in Year 5 and above as we can consider grouping them to be part of group discussions.

Expectations. (1) Quality of videos. Despite the lockdowns in various countries as well as difficulties in recording from where they are, our speakers  have been very obliging to accede to our requests to help out through video during this time. So, we also hope that campers will understand if the quality of these videos are not like what we have been used to on our livestream or other recordings, as we are trying to manage in the best way we can during these difficult times. (2) Setups. On our side, this is our first online camp. We are doing our best to make camp available, but there may be some hiccups, some less than ideal setups that do not meet your own preferences. (3) Be understanding. Do not expect things to be like we are at Orchard Glory Farm as you are used to. We hope that all will have a spirit of tolerance and appreciation for those who are working hard to enable this camp to occur for you. Make the best of things when it occurs and thank God that we can still have a form of family camp which many are not able to. Remember, the more critical you are about things, the more you will find yourselves distracted and unhappy. Have the right Christian spirit as you approach this camp. Otherwise, it will be counterproductive to your study and to your fellowship with other brethren, as it occurs.

In the following weeks, more information will be made available through announcements in our bulletins. Do sign up for this camp, even though it is online. For those that have not joined us at our camps over the past few years, do take this opportunity to start this year. For those that have been joining us at our camps, this year shouldn’t be too different. But most importantly, we hope that all of you will join us together to pray for the planning of this camp, and that the lessons learned will spur us on in our walk with Him.

Acts2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.

Yours in our Lord’s service,