Two months before the church camps, I was occupied with preparing messages and slides. That was why I have not been able to blog about what has been happening. During this period of packed sermon preparation, I have felt like the time has come to stop accepting church camps. Maybe I am getting on in age and should know my limits! Or is it because this year I bit off more than I could chew, accepting an invitation to speak at a second church camp?
However, my anxiety ended with gratitude to God for his faithfulness. Somehow, all the preparations for the messages and workshops were completed before the first church camp began. I felt so very thankful and chided myself for being anxious.
While in the 160 bus to the Johor customs, I received a message of encouragement from my friend Francis Shin: “Remember the consolation that Abba Father is multiplying your 5 loaves & 2 fish for His people”. It was a reassuring reminder of an image God had burned in my soul in my early years of ministry. I may feel that what I have in my hands is not enough, but if I offer it to Him to bless and multiply it, it will be more than enough. As it turned out, this was exactly what happened. I was glad to be like the little boy who offered what little he had to Jesus, and see God feed and satisfy His people.
The theme of the Glad Tidings Church Camp 2026 was “Maranatha! Our Lord Come!” It was a call to be “faithful and joyful labouring for the harvest” in the light of Jesus’ return. The brief that they gave me included these sessions, after a little modification:
RECEIVE THE SEED: Experiencing the gospel fully and trusting its transforming power.
READY THE FARMER: How Jesus related to God and how we grow in our relationship with God
PRACTICES OF JESUS: workshop & group discussion
READY TO SOW: Following Jesus in the way he loves and shares.
READY TO CARE: Spiritual formation of believers in the church.
SIX STAGES OF THE LIFE OF FAITH: workshop & group discussion
READY TO TRUST GOD: Trusting in the providence of God.
The congregation was welcoming and receptive to what I taught them, and I loved interacting and communicating God’s ways with the members. This is something I thrive on: the receptiveness of a congregation energises me to preach with greater openness and spiritual liberty.
The pastoral staff and their leaders were warm and accepting, and I liked their company, the church’s vision and missional DNA. My wife and I were assigned to discussion groups, and we both enjoyed the conversations with their members. It gave me an idea of where my messages were landing, and a ground-level view of what was happening in some of their members’ lives.
At the end of the sessions, I gave invitations for commitments to act on the messages and for a holy consecration of their “bodies as living sacrifices”, set apart from sin, and wholly given to God’s will. The Spirit is always pleased to respond in pouring out the love of God afresh in surrendered hearts. The Lord’s hand was upon his people.
The Lord moved many hearts and deepened many lives. I heard that many have learned the ways of God and are returning home with truths and a desire to practice the spiritual insights and practices that moved them. When I reflected on all this, it was like the Lord was telling me that church camps are special occasions when people set apart time to seek Him. Separated from their routines and environments, they were in a sacred space with open hearts, in which the Lord loves to do His transforming work.
My personal takeaway: although church camp preparation is hard work (like ploughing and sowing), in the end, when I see what God does in people’s lives, I find myself being open to being used by God in this field again.
They will still yield fruit in advanced age; they will be full of sap and very green. (Psalm 92:14 NASB2020)
I love this: full of sap.
And now I will prayerfully run through all the sermons and slides before I leave on Thursday for a more intimate church camp in Bangkok. Please remember the Rivers of Life church and me in your prayers.
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