Every summer our denomination’s North American church organizations sponsor conferences which we call “camps”. Back in the old days these conferences were held at rustic campgrounds, hence the origin of the term “camp”. The conference or “camp” we are attending this week actually is held on a college campus with lodging in dorm rooms instead of the traditional cabins. Meals are served in the campus dining room. We have access to many of the college’s facilities including the gymnasium, track, and soccer field, so we are far cry from the original setting of the camps. While the venue has changed over the years, the format remains much the same.

The first required event is a general assembly at 8:40 a.m. each morning which begins with singing as people gather in the main auditorium. The day’s announcements are then made noting special presentations that day (“forums”) and recreational activities in the afternoon. At the end of general assembly a corporate prayer is offered and everyone departs to their individual Bible classes. The younger classes are separated by age group and there are multiple adult classes with a mixture of all ages above 29. Each camp has a theme for the week and a corresponding banner which hangs in the main auditorium. The theme this week is “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” taken from Revelation 22:20. The focus is on how we should be living our lives so that we are ready for Jesus’ return. The class lessons this week are organized around the parable of the sower, which each day’s lesson is focused on one of the places where the sower’s seed fell.

At 10:30 “forums” begin. There is a single forum for teenagers and three forums for the adults to choose among, focusing on specific topics (e.g., The Power of Words, Finding God’s Purpose in Every Stage of Life, Mentoring the Next Generation, etc.). After the forums, the teens go to teen choir practice and the adults go to lunch or to adult choir practice. In the afternoon, organized recreational activities are held in the gym and on the outdoor sports’ fields. Late in the afternoon/early evening there is orchestra practice and men’s choir practice with supper in between.

In the evening there is another general assembly in the main auditorium with congregational singing and an evening worship service. For the younger children there are separate “Junior church” services, and on two nights, separate services just for the teens. After the evening services, there is a short break for everyone to reconvene in the auditorium for “Inspiration Time”. In the original camp days this was known as “Camp Fire”. There would be a physical fire and someone would be chosen to emcee the evening and tie together special musical numbers and testimonies into a narrative. Today, this is still done in much the same way except that the fire is gone and the emcee stands on the stage in the auditorium instead of next to the fire. After Inspiration Time, those who still have energy gather to sing some more.

Music is very important to us as a group and all those practices referenced above lead to musical programs that are presented on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. EDT is the men’s choir program. Thursday night at 6:45 p.m. EDT is the teen choir program, and Friday night at 6:45 p.m. EDT is the adult choir program. Nowadays, we stream these live along with our services and Inspiration time. You can listen in live, at no cost, by visiting easterncamplive.org and creating an ID. All live broadcasts are also available in “on-demand” mode as soon as the live streaming ends.