From March 15-17, the Northern Rivers PY Camp returned for its annual regional camp, this time venturing to Camp Drewe in Lennox Head, NSW.
This year’s camp was on the topic of ‘Worth’ from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. Jesse Barnwell, former student of Queensland Theological College and Pastoral Assistant at Evans Head Presbyterian Church, was the speaker for the weekend.
One of Northern Rivers PY camp organisers and MTS apprentice at Southern Cross Presbyterian Church Cameron Bryant reflects, “The talk series on Worth from Philippians was helpful in reminding us that following Jesus is worth it. We can know following Jesus is worth it, as we are reminded of gospel truths and encouraged to live God’s way.”
This year’s Northern Rivers PY Camp had around 60 youth and 15 volunteers from 6 different churches across the region. The camp timetable was made up of talks, discussion group times, quiet times and group games.
Celia Chew was also part of the committee that organised the camp. She is a part-time ministry worker at Byron Bay Presbyterian Church where she serves alongside her husband Julian.
Celia reflects, “A highlight for me was seeing one of the girls in my group reading her Bible during quiet time after breakfast. She isn’t from a Christian family and has not yet professed faith in Jesus so to see her taking quiet time seriously was encouraging. I loved watching the kids from my youth group interacting with other kids from the region as our youth group only comprises ten teens.”
“I also really enjoyed working alongside other youth leaders from different churches and engaging with PYNSW too.” Celia reflects, “PYNSW took the rego off our hands and that was extremely helpful with a small committee of people who are quite busy! They were great with helping us promote the camp to the region also. It is helpful to offer a local alternative to PY Summer Camp if kids are unable to get to Sydney.”
When reflecting on what was helpful in organising camp, Celia shared, “Our committee members live varied distances from each other so the best way for us to have meetings was via Zoom. I would also recommend inviting various members of the church to be involved even if they are not youth leaders. A helpful way for people to serve could be through catering or playing music. This could take some pressure off youth leaders, lower the cost for rural families, and also give others an insight into youth ministry.”
Celia considers regional camps to be “a great way to get small, rural youth groups together as an encouragement to both teens and youth leaders. A camp would be especially helpful for teens who may be the only teens at their church or those who don’t have a youth group.” She strongly encourages other regions to consider running a regional camp of their own.