Proclaim His Name Family Camp – Event Review
On September 1st – 3rd, Word International Ministries of Ontario had its 2018 family camp themed “Proclaim His Name” at Pearce Williams Christian Centre. Over 140 attendees from across Ontario, including over 30 people from Ottawa, gathered for an eventful weekend packed with fellowship and exciting and meaningful activities. This included group dynamics, devotions, worship and seminars that equipped us with effective skills and confidence to whole-heartedly proclaim and glorify His name.
Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. – Psalm 105:1
Some of the goals for this year’s family camp was to learn various skills useful for leading others to Jesus and igniting a need to share the faith. For many, including myself, it can be an everyday struggle to challenge ourselves to go out there and Proclaim His Name without asking ourselves how.The name of the camp was very fitting as it was drawn from Psalm 105:1 which defines the very calling God wants us to do in our lives. During the weekend, many were uplifted, inspired and felt equipped after taking part in the teachings led by WIMO’s pastoral team. Bro. Joven Quilacio’s Principles of Relational / Friendship Evangelism, Bro. Roderick Garcia’s Preparing and Presenting Your Personal Testimony, and Bro. Rey Quilacio’s Sharing a Simple Gospel Presentation.
God moved in such a powerful way during that camp. I’ve seen and done things that convinced me that once you trust in Him and let him take the wheel, you’ll be at the right path in which you can do things outside your comfort zone and also receive the things you’ve once thought you didn’t deserve. – Hilaree Pendon
These were all teachings I thought were practical which I appreciated a lot this time around especially during a time in my life, just coming from my trip from the 180 Young People’s Conference the weekend before, desiring to reach out to as many people to tell them about our savior, Jesus Christ – A Great Commission lifestyle worth living for Him. However, as I mentioned before, the difficulty I’ve had in my journey in faith is more so the “how” in approaching people who haven’t heard His Name.
My thoughts for the most part during camps have always been about my family since after all it is called “family” camp. These thoughts include questions of how can I share with them about Jesus or how can I invite them to camp next time? At the end of camp, I shared my testimony with everyone about the experience I’ve had and how God answered my questions about the “how” through the people He sent along to minister to me.
One realization came through the words of my groupmate, Tita Rowena, who enlightened me of the value of my family as I balance my time between serving the church and spending more time with my family. Another realization came through Bro. Joven Quilacio’s teaching which revealed to me that along with having a Serving style of evangelism, that I also have an Interpersonal style that would allow me to reach out to my family in ways I thought I couldn’t before. Then lastly, an affirmation that God has already been guiding me through this situation which would also be the highlight of my camp is witnessing the water baptism of my sister, Missy. I tear up time to time just thinking about how much she’s grown in her faith and as we share the same goal in reaching out to our family, I’m always going to be forever grateful knowing we both share the same WIMO family and same God we rest our faith in.
My prayer for everyone as it’s always been every camp after is to not let the desire to know more about Him and Proclaim His Name be temporary. Giving praise to Him and sharing our love for Him with others shouldn’t only be a weekend-long camp festivity but an everyday activity and calling worth waking up, dreaming, falling, fighting, and hoping for, that it will bring Him the ultimate glory.
– Mar Jay Rigor
View Photos – Day 1, Day 2 Part 1, Day 2 Part 2 and Day 3
