PYV 2018 Summer Camp – Day One

We’ve had some hot summer camps in the past, but it’s been a while since we’ve had a day this hot at camp. At least that’s my memory. Today Kyneton hit 40 degrees, and we felt every one of them on the drive to camp. A big shout out to the parents and others who drove people to camp, and then had to drive home again. 

We like to start the camp with various activities outside before our first introduction session, but today was just too hot for that, so we had a quieter start to camp. It was great to see people sitting around tables playing games, or sitting in circles on the carpet just talking. 

Our Introduction session is an important way to start the camp. In this session we are able to talk through the campsite rules, meet the key leaders at the camp, and advertise about the new hoodies and t-shirts that are available before getting together in dorm groups. From there it was dinner – and the food was good and plentiful – before racing back for our first worship session. 

Rev Toby McIntosh is our speaker, and is preaching from the gospel of Luke. Tonight he introduced us to the story of Mary meeting an angel. There were a few things that stood out for me, one of these being that God chose a teenage girl from the middle of nowhere to do this important thing. It’s good for our current teenagers to know that God uses teenagers for remarkable things.

We’ve had some great songs, and we have a great music team and a great tech team using their gifts and abilities. Some of these people will never be seen up front but they make a serious impact.

Following the worship session, we broke into our activity groups for the first time. If you’ve heard me speak about youth ministry, you’ve probably heard me speak about the importance of relationships in ministry to youth. Groups like this, and the games they play, can be a great help to build the friendships between people when they first meet. Who knew that Duck-Duck-Goose could be made into a good group game?

It is something of a PYV Summer Camp tradition to have a radio show at the end of each night. But in the spirit of trying new things, at this camp we are having a live radio show

“The Late Show with Bec and Matt”

This includes interviews, some appalling singing – which just makes it so much better – and prizes. I look forward to writing more about this through the camp. 

As I write this, the temperature outside has dropped to 27 degrees and it feels lovely. But who knows how hot and uncomfortable it will be in the cabins? There’s a whole camp full of people who are about to find out. 

Welcome to Summer Camp 2018

Worshipping Together

Activity Groups

This is why we tell people to wear shoes.

Five seconds to go.

The first interview on The Late Show.