African Camp Meeting
‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.’
—Hebrews 12:1
The African Adventist community held a camp meeting at Livingston Seventh-day Adventist Church from 4 October 2022. From Friday 7 to 9 October 2022 it continued at Advent Park. Over 200 people attended the camp on Sabbath. The theme was “Watch and Be Ready,” and it complimented well with the theme song “Waiting and watching.” The lyrics included: “...we know not the hour of the master’s appearing… but we’ll watch and we’ll wait, with our lamps trimmed and burning.”
The guest speaker Pastor Khethelo Mazibuko came all the way from South Africa. He was accompanied by his lovely wife Noma. It was such a great blessing to hear the Lord speak to the crowd through him. He shared his testimony on how the Lord had called him to ministry while he was studying for a Bachelor of Science in Medicine. He encouraged all who hear God calling them to service, to respond to Him as the Lord will always see them through. The message was clear and relevant for all age groups. He reiterated the need to drop all the weight that inhibits us on our journey to the Heavenly Kingdom. He highlighted forgiveness as one of the key issues that facilitates us in dropping the weight. We were also reminded on the need to get rid of obstacles while running the race with endurance. His words were “If you will make it to the finish line, you’ve got to forgive, not because they deserve it, but because you deserve to run freely. You can’t run wearing your entire past”
Pastor Obed Soire also addressed the youth on Sabbath afternoon, and he highlighted that our youth have their own set of unique challenges that align to them. While it was great engaging with the youth and hearing their views and questions, there is a need to have more of these sessions to address them in depth.
The Conference President, Pastor Steve Goods, also blessed us with his presence and encouraged us to be missionaries in Australia.
A musical concert was held on Saturday night, and it was amazing to see such wide and diverse talent, especially among the young people. There was so much zeal and passion to minister through music and it was indeed an inspiring service.
A prayer group was established where people rose in the early morning at 5am to pray and seek the Lord’s presence and leading throughout the camp. The need for constant group prayer, even after the meeting, was realized and a team was formed that will meet occasionally to pray even after the camp.
Camp meeting finished on Sunday with the word. The visiting Pastor blessed all present with a closing prayer from the Bible text Deuteronomy 28:1-14 and combined it with Numbers 6:24-26.
