Built on a strong foundation

Each year in January our Bible Camp commission is required to hold a formal meeting. Years ago we all decided that it would be much better to make a Family Day out of the meeting. So we get together and talk about camp, sing, and encourage one another in what is going on in the various congregations around Belgium and the Netherlands.

This is a time to reflect on what has been done at camp, as well as to see how God has blessed us and challenged us throughout the year. It is also a time to look forward to how we continue building on this foundation of years past.

Looking back over 2015 (thanks to a great review put together by Luk Brazle), Ardennen Bijbelkamp (or ABK as we like to call it) was a busy place. We had 11 different planned activities at camp, including special days with Fathers and kids, a men’s retreat, congregational retreats, and our normal Bible camp weeks in the summer and Fall. In 2015 we had 319 campers. We also had multiple work sessions to clean and maintain our grounds and new building with 45 volunteers from all over Belgium and the Netherlands coming to help out.

We always say that ABK is ‘ours’, it belongs to all of us. ‘We’ are the ones who make it possible and keep things going – not some company or far-away corporate entity. We are a family and this is our place. It is exciting to see how true this is in the hearts of so many.

And 2016 has already started with Winter camp on the first three days of the year. As with many of the activities from 2015, we are looking forward to some new faces in 2016 among the campers and the staff members. More and more congregations are also using camp for a day away together or a retreat.

But we all know that a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are some places you links with tons of ‘words’!

- The officialcamp site (in Dutch)

- What we havedone with the buildings and what we are planning.  

- Pictures from various years (even long ago)

- My picture site with our camp pictures

Thank you for being part of this work, praying for these people and the efforts done here. Some of you have been here to help with these camp weeks. Others have been to work on the buildings. Many of you have only seen the pictures, but are faithful prayer warriors for those whose lives are touched here. Thank you!

We praise God for all that He is able to do at this place. And praise Him is exactly what we did Sunday at our ‘meeting’. What better way to use a formal time together.