TRUE LIFE CHURCH CAMP 2015
A Report by Dn Tan Beng Lee, Campmaster
Our 12th annual church camp was held in the Indonesian island of Bali, from 14 to 19 June 2015 with an attendance of 268 people. Flying in two main groups (Tiger Airways and KLM Airlines), we arrived safely in Bali in the evening after a smooth 2½-hour flight and took a short taxi ride to the Harris Hotel, Sunset Road which would be our “home” for five nights during the camp.
In this camp, we were joined by brethren from Malaysia and Australia (Faith Presbyterian Church and Brisbane BPC) who flew in on their own for this spiritual retreat.
The camp started on Monday morning with a combined meeting of the English and Chinese congregations at the Convention Centre of the hotel which was just opened in November last year. The Rev Stephen Khoo gave the first devotional message entitled “Fellowship One with Another”. He highlighted how believers of the early church “continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship and in the breaking of bread, and in prayers”, and exhorted us to encourage and pray for one another so that we can grow together spiritually. The rest of the daily devotional speakers were the Rev Nguyen Gia Hien (on “Ministers of God’s Word”), the Rev Errol Stone (on “Vengeance Belongeth”) and Elder J T Joseph (on “The Sermon on the Mount”).
The theme for the camp was “The Saving Power of Doctrine” and our pastor, the Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo was the theme speaker. In the first of his eight messages which was preached at the Worship Service at RELC, he preached from 1 Timothy 4:16 on the importance of “the doctrine.” “The doctrine” here is the whole, complete and unified truth of the Christian Faith which comes from the only living and true God. There is power in this truth to save us from sin and death and we need to believe in Jesus Christ alone, by faith alone, not works in order to be saved.
At the camp, pastor preached twice daily and taught us (1) the doctrine of the Bible which saves us from foolishness and superstition, (2) the doctrine of Christ which saves us from sin and Satan, (3) the doctrine of the Trinity which saves us from philosophies that destroy the family and society, (4) the doctrine of the Holy Spirit which saves us from biblical ignorance and spiritual weakness, (5) the doctrine of salvation which saves us from doubts and depression, (6) the doctrine of the Church which saves us from deception and apostasy, and (7) the doctrine of the End which saves us from worldliness and the fear of death.
The Rev Lee Lim Shong, pastor of Calvary Jaya B-P Fellowship ministered to our Mandarin-speaking campers from the book of 1st Timothy. The morning devotions in Chinese were given by the Rev Dr Koa Keng Woo who lectures at FEBC and is actively and faithfully pastoring three churches in Malaysia though already 86 years old. His wife and grandchildren also attended the camp.
With three solid messages in the mornings interspersed by short breaks in between, campers were fed spiritually each day. The afternoons were kept free and campers took the opportunity to rest or catch up with one another. The more energetic ones either played ball games, worked out in the gymnasium or went for a swim.
Most would head for the Carrefour Hypermarket, about a 10-minute walk from our hotel, or take a taxi which was cheap and readily available to other parts of town to do some shopping or sightseeing.
Tuesday night was devoted to missions update and prayer. There were six reports on missions in Malaysia, Australia and China. Rev Koa began the evening by sharing with us his pastoral ministry among three churches in Muar, Bukit Gambir and Rawang.
Rev Lee shared on the founding of Calvary Jaya in 1984 through the late Mr Chew Fook Wah and how the Lord had blessed the church over the years with outreaches in Puchong, Selayang, Sibu, Miri and Kuching and the acquisition of the property and eventual construction of a new church building next to the existing one.
Dr Wee Tiong Soon reported on the challenges faced by the Kemaman Life B-P Church especially in the Chinese Service due to the lack of a resident Mandarin-speaking preacher and his own handicap in the language. He thanked the Lord for sustaining the church for over 20 years. He shared about how a Baptist church closed down recently because of a lack of preachers and dwindling members. These Baptist members now without a church have joined Kemaman Life BPC. Let us remember to uphold God’s work in Kemaman in our prayers.
Rev Stone and Rev Hien gave an update on their various ministries at Faith Presbyterian Church in Perth and the Brisbane/Vietnamese BPCs respectively.
Esther Chew, daughter of the late Mr Chew Fook Wah was the last to share and she related how the Lord has opened the door for her to share the gospel to the many undergraduates in various parts of China by teaching them English from the Bible, despite her limited Mandarin vocabulary. Esther’s sister Grace was also in camp with us.
On Wednesday night, the film “Pilgrim’s Progress” based on John Bunyan’s classic was screened. The story is a spiritual allegory of “Christian” and his journey from the “City of Destruction” to the “Celestial City” and his encounters at “Slough of Despond”, “Doubting Castle” and “Vanity Fair” which tested him, and the encouragement he received from “Evangelist” and “Faithful” along the way.
The camp ended on Thursday with a flurry of questions for pastor at the Q&A session in the morning and a time of thanksgiving and testimonies in the evening. Besides praise items, about a dozen campers stepped forward to give thanks to God for His faithfulness, guidance and the saving power of doctrine which they had personally experienced in their own lives.
As a fitting end to the camp, a thanksgiving offering was collected. The sum of more than $8000 collected will be distributed among the following four ministries as announced in the camp: Baraka BPC (Bible Conference), Calvary Jaya BPF (Missions & Building Fund), Gethsemane BPC (Building Fund), and FEBC (Renovations).
I thank God for leading us to a most conducive hotel for our camp. The conference facilities were the best we have had so far—excellent audio and video equipment, good lighting and air-conditioning. The place was compact and easily accessible to the old and those on wheel-chairs, with lifts and escalators. The rooms were clean and hotel staff provided good and friendly service. The Lord also provided us a comfortable dining hall for us to enjoy our meals, and many opportunities to get to know one another during and after meal times.
Indeed God has blessed us with another wonderful camp and I am very thankful for His protection upon every camper, from the youngest at only five months old to the oldest at 93 years old, and bringing all of us safely home.
May all campers remember the lessons taught to us and the need to pay close attention to the doctrines of the Christian Faith which are very protective and practical especially in these last days. The Lord’s return is sooner than we think.
“And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them.” (Jer 32:39)
