Taiwan Church News 3233 Edition February 10 - February 16, 2014 Headline News Main Theme As "Line of Light - Would Add God As Your Good Friend?", A Sunny Juvenile Winter Camp Kicks Off! Reported by Hwang Yi-lek During the lunar new year, February 3rd to 6th, a sunny juvenile winter camp organized by PCT Youth Ministry Committee was held at William Sha Memorial Youth Camp in Puli Township. About 160 juvenile youth, covering from middle school to high school students, accompanied by dozens of working staffs and teachers, went through an experiential education with spiritual exercise. The main purpose of this convention is to encourage PCT juvenile youth to add God on their "Line" app, a very fashionable smartphone application familiar to youth, encouraging them to seek and know God as their best friend. Four days activities of winter camp started from an action drama, inspired from the Hollywood movie - Iron Man. Working staffs played kinds of movie roles, Iron Man, American Captain and Spider Man etc, alluding to different personal bad habits could be overcome by God's grace and love after 4 days experiential education. A night of camp fire was also held in the first day to break the ice and let the youth to know each other. From the second day, the winter camp delivered the major programs for each team to learn and experience. According to Rev. Cheng Chun-peng, PCT Youth Committee Secretary, the characteristics of this winter camp course was tailor-made to suit different needs and youth backgrounds. In addition, most teaching lecturers had been trained through this winter camp, some were even church deacons or ordained pastors. There were programs to encourage the group works: The objective of "the Night of Domino" at the second day is to experience the power of solidarity, juvenile youth are challenged to complete a puzzle map with 16,000 pieces domino; "Group Dynamics" at the fourth day, learning to practice the action of Good Samaritan, the youth members were requested to find the ways out sending the injured up to the hill, where the medicare station was located. In fact, from the perspective of PCT Youth Ministry Committee, this sunny winter camp is not just an outdoor activity for the church youth. It is the first part of a trilogy program. The final part is to equip local churches get ready to summon their community youths in the summer camp to learn their past histories and invite God as their best friend. After this winter camp, the intermediary step will transfer to each presbytery to hold their own youth camp within the usual semester terms. At this intermediary step, hosted by each each presbytery or district, either they can use their own resources to assemble their local youth, or they can ask PCT Youth Committee to support the teaching equipment, training lecturer or finance coverage. Some pastors express that the sunny juvenile camp is worthy to promote as it help the poor church to empower their juvenile youth. Translated by Peter Wolfe |