As of last Sunday, we have 111 adults & teens and 23 children registered for Zone Camp 1, 66 and 5 for Zone Camp 2, and 128 and 24 for Zone Camp 3. I appreciate all those who have signed up (and done so early), but there are still so many more of you who are yet to do so. I am hoping and expecting that at least 450 adults & teens will be at the Zone Camps; which roughly translates to about 75% of the church (however, I’d love to be surprised with a 100% attendance!). If we are to move together as a church, we must first hear together what the Lord is saying to us as a church.

There is nothing like a church camp to do this, when we can take a few days away from our overcrowded schedules and just be quiet before the Lord. I believe all of us need that—to let the Word of God and the Spirit of God refresh our souls. Too many of us are running on empty and we need to have our batteries recharged (pardon the mix metaphors). The experience of many will tell us that camps or retreats do that for us in ways that other forums cannot.

Secondly, we need to bond together. Many of us are very much like individuals who happen to worship in the same church. We come, we go; few know we are here, and neither do we care that we only know a few here. This is especially true if you don’t even belong to a Cell Group. Please don’t have the idea that the Zone Camps are only for those in a Cell; it’s for everyone who worships at PJEFC. It’s just as much for you, even if you don’t belong to a Cell. For reasons of convenience and efficiency, we have organised the Camps under the structure of the CG Zones. If you are not in a Cell, all the more you need to attend one of the Zone Camps: to get to know people and get connected with the church.

It goes without saying, if we are not connected with the church we will not be able to move with the church. But that, if I may stress, is not how it should be. If you are in this church, then you must be a part of this church. If you are part of this church, then you must move with this church. I am thankful that many of you  are actively involved in one ministry or another in PJEFC. But what’s lacking is that we are not pulling together in the same direction.

The first thing we need to do, of course, is to align ourselves to the Lord’s agenda for PJEFC. This is the third vital objective of the Zone Camps.

I’ve been praying: Lord, what is it that You are doing? What is it that You want to do? As I work on the messages I’ve been asking: Lord, what is the message that You want us to hear? Pray with me. Pray for Pr Choon Meow and Pr Nicky who’ll also be speaking at one of the Zone Camps.

Pray for yourself, that you will come with a heart and mind that are ready to receive and respond to the Lord. Pray that the Lord will show up at each of the Zone Camps; to speak to us and minister into our lives. Pray that we as a church will experience a spiritual breakthrough as a result of these Zone Camps. I’d like to believe that this season shall be a new spiritual milestone for PJEFC, and that from here we will move forward with passion and purpose, in concert with the Lord and with one another.

New wine, new wineskins—the now word for PJEFC.

                     PrSH