After a forced hiatus due to COVID-19, the North New South Wales Conference (NNSW) finally had their annual Big Camp in 2021. This year, event organisers scaled down the event and renamed it Little Big Camp due to the uncertainties of the pandemic.
“We decided to make all effort to put on this event because it is the heartbeat of our conference,” said NNSW general secretary Pastor Abel Iorgulescu.
“It was still a risk, and we had no certainty what the restrictions were going to be when we were planning the event,” explained NNSW president Pastor Adrian Raethel.
With registrations reduced by half and a detailed COVID safety plan that included an isolation accommodation facility in the event of a COVID case during camp, around 1300 people gathered at the Stuarts Point Convention Centre from April 14 to 17.
Little Big Camp also had fewer program tents than previous years, and campers were required to register for every worship program they attended. “This year, we had three tents, young adults, high school, and we also trialled an intergenerational worship program in the big tent,” said Pastor Iorgulescu.
The new intergenerational program focused on families and children aged between zero to 10, with the evening program starting at 6pm and finishing at 8pm— one hour earlier than usual. “Usually, children would go to bed or fall asleep, but this time we had a special program, and the speakers and activities highly engaged them,” said Pastor Iorgulescu.
There were also children’s tents with fun and creative activities during the day.
The 18+ tent, for young adults, also featured a range of programs throughout each day and livestreamed the nightly sermons, presented by Warners Bay church pastor Joseph Skaf, centred on the theme “Say So”, inspired by Psalm 107:2:
“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy.”
Sharing his story in a four-part series, Pastor Skaf inspired young adults on how our stories matter in presenting God to others. By the end of the series, 60 people committed to serve God by sharing their testimonies with others.
The initiative to livestream started in 2020 when the camp was cancelled due to COVID lockdowns, and the NNSW young adults teamed up to create Big Camp Online.
“We decided to continue with the live stream this year because we knew there were people that wanted to follow along but couldn’t make it due to whatever restrictions or commitments, so we decided to make the message available for a wider audience,” said NNSW Young Adults Ministry director Pastor Blair Lemke.
He shared that as the only livestreamed program on the campsite, they received positive feedback and thank you messages for making the program available online.
“In every tent, the speakers did amazing. People were happy with the programs they’d chosen to go to. Even though it was a little camp, just having something was a highlight to have people come back and have a taste of what we would like to do in the future,” said Pastor Iorgulescu.
