Camp meetings in the winter? Strange concept, but it works well in the Last Frontier.
The Alaska Conference actually holds six winter and spring camp meetings in different areas of this vast and remote land. The latest one was for interior Alaska and was held at the gymnasium of the Fairbanks Church. The church has outgrown its facility and now meets in the gym of Golden Heart Christian School, the local Adventist school. The weather was unusually mild, and the programs were well-attended. Ken Crawford, Alaska Conference president, did an informative three-part presentation, "The Road Ahead," a guide for God’s people through the final world events as outlined in the book of Revelation.
Part of the program was a dynamic weekend for youth and young adults. The guest speaker was Nathan Stearman, who serves as pastor of the Juneau/Sitka district. The young people from around interior Alaska were more than enthusiastic about a chance to get together with friends they rarely see and inspired by the theme, "Radical Is Normal." The weekend was filled with games and projects including Name That Tune and building of camp stoves. Saturday night ended with the young people lofting Chinese lanterns into the clear, star-studded sky and watching them drift over the city.
In preparation for camp meeting, the week prior Tina Steenmeyer, Alaska conference Discover Bible School (DBS) coordinator, traveled to Fairbanks to train members on how DBS can be an effective outreach tool to spread the Three Angels' Message. DBS is the statewide outreach program used by local churches to reach people in both urban and rural Alaska.
Such exotic places as Kotzebue, Nome, Savoonga and Gambell were the recipients of additional winter camp meetings held Feb. 27–March 1. For more information, visit our Facebook page.
The Fairbanks Church has outgrown its facility and meets at Golden Heart Christian School.
Steve Evenson, Fairbanks Church pastor, leads youth in song during camp meeting.
Members from interior Alaska enjoy worshipping together.
Camp meeting activities for youth include learning survival skills.
Hannah Bador (left) and Michael Bergeron (right) try out their camp cook stove.
