[{"id":4197,"order":0,"imagePath":"https://admin.ezystream.com/static/images/article/ae8e2265-abe7-49c7-b72e-43c24d6a3c78.png","type":"image","content":"https://admin.ezystream.com/static/images/article/ae8e2265-abe7-49c7-b72e-43c24d6a3c78.png"},{"id":4198,"order":1,"contentText":"It had been over a decade since Mt Albert Baptist Church had held a church camp when the idea for another such getaway was raised. Amy Williams explains why the camp was resurrected and how it helped a congregation of more than 30 ethnicities come together at a crucial period in the churchu2019s life.
Mt Albert Baptist Church has nearly 400 people and is a diverse intergenerational community with people who were born in about 30 countries from Asia to Africa.
A long-running building project meant the congregation had been meeting in the church hall while its main auditorium was rebuilt. Theyu2019re due to move in this April.
u201cWe recognised that the church is in a time of transition moving to a new building, which is disruptive and limits our space on Sundays for people to connect with one another,u201d says Lead Pastor Steve Worsley.
The solution? Plan a series of lunches after Sunday services throughout the building project, ending with a finale: church camp. It was planned around a theme of u2018breaking down wallsu2019 between young and old, different cultures, and church old-hats and newcomers.
More than 200 people attended the church camp at Willow Park one weekend in December 2019.
u201cI think there was a real hunger for it. Iu2019ve been involved in a number of church camps before and at times it was really hard to get people to sign up, but this time I didnu2019t have to push it hard from the front,u201d says Steve.
The camp tied into the churchu2019s vision to be an inclusive community.
u201cThe feeling among our international group was that weu2019d rather be a church that works really hard at helping internationals integrate,u201d says Steve.
u201cAt the same time, the other part of that vision is to help Kiwis understand what itu2019s like to come from these countries.u201d
u201cWe wanted to put tools in peopleu2019s hands to understand themselves better and how they could relate with people from different cultures.u201d
Enter the keynote speakers
If youu2019re holding a church camp and the theme is breaking down walls, who do you call? Someone with a metaphorical sledgehammeru2014or in Mt Albert Baptistu2019s case, two people.
Matt and Rachel Renata moved to Auckland from Wellington last year to start a new degree, majoring in indigenous theology.
They both know what itu2019s like to grow up feeling like outsiders in their own country, New Zealand, and told their story at the church camp.
u201cOn my dadu2019s side I can go all the way back to our waka and own that story and then on my mumu2019s side Iu2019m a second-generation Kiwi, so itu2019s really weird to hold these two things in balance,u201d says Matt, who is of Mu0101ori and Indian descent.
His parents had both tried to adopt the Pu0101kehu0101 way of life.
u201cI was born into that world and it was a struggle for Mum and Dad because the Mu0101ori wouldnu2019t accept the Indian side and the Indian wouldnu2019t accept the Mu0101ori side, so for quite a long time there was a huge division in my family,u201d he says.
Rachel shares a similar story, being of Japanese, Mu0101ori and Pu0101kehu0101 descent. She says her high school Mu0101ori teacher told her she was too white to learn the language.
u201cI had family members saying youu2019re too white to be Mu0101ori and my Japanese side saying youu2019re too Mu0101ori to be a part of us. I had this weird thing where my family were saying youu2019re not enough of us to be us,u201d she says.
u201cI was in the limbo zone of u2018where do I fit if Iu2019m not Japanese and Iu2019m not Mu0101ori? Maybe I should just embrace my Western side, but Iu2019m visibly not Western either.u2019u201d
Rachel says, over time, she felt God telling her to embrace her diverse ethnic roots.
u201cOnce I started learning about them, God started showing me that heu2019s given giftings to each group of people and itu2019s for us to pursue those or not.u201d
","type":"text"},{"id":4199,"order":2,"galleryImagePaths":["https://admin.ezystream.com/static/images/article/f35b787f-7d19-4c29-9ea3-cee38bee0172.png","https://admin.ezystream.com/static/images/article/43a50133-bbda-4c74-a5ce-9c47e2415674.png","https://admin.ezystream.com/static/images/article/e02424a7-a021-4b24-b494-bb3afb86977f.png","https://admin.ezystream.com/static/images/article/9b77848d-2e22-4c04-87c5-523b22242207.png"],"type":"gallery","content":["https://admin.ezystream.com/static/images/article/f35b787f-7d19-4c29-9ea3-cee38bee0172.png","https://admin.ezystream.com/static/images/article/43a50133-bbda-4c74-a5ce-9c47e2415674.png","https://admin.ezystream.com/static/images/article/e02424a7-a021-4b24-b494-bb3afb86977f.png","https://admin.ezystream.com/static/images/article/9b77848d-2e22-4c04-87c5-523b22242207.png"]},{"id":4200,"order":3,"contentText":"Breaking down barriers
Look around Mt Albert Baptist on any given Sunday and youu2019ll see the community is as diverse as that in the local shopping mall, with a key differenceu2014an opportunity to connect without being socially awkward.
Even so, Steve says itu2019s easy for people to slip back into talking to the same people each week at church.
u201cIf you donu2019t re-cast the vision for something like that then everyone goes back to their old habits. If a big part of our churchu2019s vision is integration of different cultures then we better get talking about it,u201d he says.
During the church camp, the Renatas spoke at a series of talks held in the evenings and mornings. These sessions gave people opportunities to explore their own backgrounds, strengths and weaknesses, as well as invite others to share about themselves.
They talked about being willing to listen to others. Matt says breaking down barriers is about getting to know who you are and owning your Godu2011given identity and where you belong. He referenced 1 Corinthians 12:4u201131, which talks about how there are varieties of gifts, services and activities, and how each person u201cis given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.u201d
u201cOur differences enhance each other; itu2019s not a sacrifice to accept someoneu2019s difference. If we really embrace diversity, what would that do for the church? Would it still look the same if we truly embraced differences and diversity?u201d
Rachel says sometimes churches try too hard, getting people to say hello and move on to the next hello.
u201cWe were trying to get past the name collecting and towards the importance of feeling heard and feeling seen,u201d she says.
u201cWithin churches we have this big opportunity to push past barriers that are set within our social climates.u201d
Rachel says a willingness to connect with others of different backgrounds is the first step, then the how comes next.
u201cMy biggest passion is that everybody has something thatu2019s worth using and everybodyu2019s enough right now. We all have things that could stop us from connecting with others but actually weu2019ve all got something that is worth connecting with,u201d she says.
After more than 20 years in ministry in different parts of the country, Steve says heu2019s held many church camps, sometimes with a sense of panic as the date looms, due to difficulties getting people to come along.
He says Mt Albert Baptistu2019s camp worked well because people wanted to connect with each other on a deeper level outside the Sunday services.
u201cWhen people want to do it, it comes together easily but if you have to push it, itu2019s harder. There is so much to gain from church camps.u201d
Contributor: Amy Williams
Amy is an Auckland-based journalist who writes about topics ranging from business to lifestyle for a variety of publications. She also freelances for RNZ in the newsroom.
Follow Amy at: facebook.com/amywritesnz | twitter.com/amywilliamsnz
3 tips to a successful multicultural church camp
- Start your planning early and bring in a small team of people from a mixture of ages and ethnicities so you get a wider range of ideas and your team can enthuse their circle of friends.
- Create teams with mixed ages and cultures that are in a competition throughout the camp and plan activities to build team spirit and encourage competition.
- Have someone appointed to be present in church over a number of weeks prior to the camp taking place, to explain what is actually going to happen there. This lessens the chances of awkward surprises and misunderstandings.
Scripture:
Unless otherwise specified, Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright u00a91989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide http://nrsvbibles.org/.
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