More than 3000 church members from 45 local churches attended the inaugural East District Retention Camp Meeting at the Bautama campgrounds, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, from June 15 to 20.
During the day, basic life skills training was conducted, while local church administration training happened in the evenings.
Pastor George Paki, Central Papua Conference (CPC) general secretary, was the guest speaker for the morning and evening devotions.
The aim of the camp meeting was to introduce and teach basic life skills to new and current church members, equipping them to continue to learn trades and improve their small businesses or their craft making skills, so they can earn a living.
Many people who join the church in Papua New Guinea have to learn a new trade to support themselves and their family, as their previous occupation may not align with the lifestyle principles of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Events like this are important for retention and encouragement of church members, who can face economic hardship because of decisions to keep the Sabbath or other lifestyle issues.
Electricians, plumbers, dress makers, mechanics, job interviewers and CV writing experts facilitated the training.
“Many full-time employees, including me, took time off work for a week so that we could be with our church members and support them in their training and learning experience,” said John Olo, a 47-year-old IT expert and senior elder from the 8 Mile Seventh-day Adventist Church.
This is the first district camp for the East District since they were established as a separate zone of the CPC from the North-East District last year.
East District director, Pastor Ismael Teine said, “The interest was very high and participants’ attendance at all training [sessions] was at full capacity. Our church membership for the Port Moresby East District is more than 16,000, and based on the success of this camp, we plan to have this as an annual event for as long as possible. God is teaching us how to love and be united as His people, and we are being blessed.”
On Sabbath, at the end of the week, 140 candidates were baptised, marking a new era in the way camp meetings are conducted in CPC.
