Planning ahead

As the summer comes to an end and our Bible Camp weeks finish, we look ahead to the coming months and the activities planned for various groups. In September we as a congregation will be quite busy. Each weekend has an activity planned which we hope to use to encourage and challenge in our faith. 

In the first weekend of September we are inviting the congregations from Germany (Cologne and any in Aachen) as well as the French-speaking members in Belgium (from Liege and Verviers) to join us in Maastricht for an afternoon of singing. We are also inviting all of the Dutch-speaking congregations, but especially Eindhoven, who is only an hour away and is in the Euregion. 

It has been a few years since we have been able to hold this day of singing. We look forward to singing in German, French, Dutch, English and maybe even in Russian or Ukrainian. We have also advertised the day in the neighborhood of our building, so we may get some visitors from the neighborhood who enjoy singing and meeting new cultures. It is always a nice time to see old friends and make new ones while singing for the Lord. 

The weekend after the singing, the congregation from Maastricht is organizing the Family Day down at camp. This is a yearly event bringing the various congregations from Belgium and Netherlands together for a day of encouragement. We take care of a meal for all who come, present a lesson and do plenty of singing. It is also a time for the congregations to share any news they have. This year we will also plan a quiz with information from the camp weeks this summer. 

The following weekend is the European Singles Retreat in Germany. Although we do not have any singles attending, this is an event we encourage among those we know in the Dutch work. It is a good time for single Christians to gather and encourage one another in their walk with the Lord. Attendees come from all over Europe for an encouraging and challenging weekend. 

The last weekend we as a congregation will plan our second youth day this year. We have a good team and have found a good location the last three times we have hosted the youth from the churches. This is a chance to help our youth get to know and see youth from other congregations. This will be a reunion for many who saw each other during one of the camp weeks in the summer. We are looking forward to welcoming them for a day focused on what we can learn from the Bible for our daily lives. 

The day after the youth day I will also be attending an evaluation meeting for the camp weeks. This meeting is held every year in September and serves as an evaluation and planning session at the same time. We will decide who will lead the camp weeks in 2025 and will talk about changes that are happening or need to happen. The meeting this year will include news about coming plans for renovations and will be the first with our new board. 

So September will be a busy month for us, simply in the weekends. This doesn’t count all of the normal activities that begin again after the summer camp weeks. And suddenly it will be October and heading into the end of the year. Sometimes it seems days move very quickly. We are thankful for the many ways that we can be utilized for the church here and that we can work with a congregation that is so willing to be active in this many ways. Keep these events in your prayers.