This year’s annual Redwood camp meeting, which ran from July 19 to 29, was more focused on outreach than it had been in years past. There was still fundraising for evangelism in the Northern California Conference, and people told plenty of mission stories. But this year, a group from Redwood went out into the surrounding communities during camp meeting to share a message of health.
The idea of reaching out to the communities of the local Adventist churches came from Dr. Gordon Botting, NCC health director. “I wanted us to go to more than just camp meeting,” said Botting.
In addition to the community outreach, Redwood camp meeting offered its usual array of meetings for every age group to the about 3,000 people in attendance. One camper, Jeanie Fisher, remarked upon her arrival how she was “looking forward to the meetings — they are what I come here for.” The featured speakers this year were Steve Wohlberg, speaker and director of White Horse Media; Jack Pefley, senior evangelist for Amazing Facts; Dr. Neil Nedley, speaker, author and practicing physician; and Herb Montgomery, from Renewed Heart Ministries. There were also immersive programs for all of the various children’s divisions.
For the duration of camp meeting, evangelism was emphasized — from the stages of the various meetings, through the NCC’s evangelism booth, and by personal interactions with the NCC staff. The evangelism focus produced an offering of about $76,000. Included in that total was the income from a pair of unusual auctions. One auction, similar to one held last year, was for a can of Loma Linda Nuteena, and it netted the same amount as it had the previous year, $500. The second auction was for a homemade quilt; that brought in $1,000. The offering allows NCC’s evangelism department to help subsidize local church efforts to reach their communities for Christ. “Over a year's time, we will receive 70 to 100 requests for funding,” said Ralph Robertson, NCC evangelism coordinator. “So far, God has always supplied the funds that are needed. No outreach plan submitted from our churches has been denied for lack of funds.”
In fact, money from the evangelism department funded the health meetings held in the Redwood communities. The four Adventist churches in the Redwood area, Arcata-McKinleyville, Crescent City, Eureka and Fortuna, each hosted an eight-week program on depression. Nedley, the creator of this program, called “Depression, The Way Out,” was the opening night speaker at all four locations. In order to prepare for these meetings, the churches mailed 40,000 fliers to the communities. More than 60 people attended these meetings on average. One attendee was a pastor of a Sunday church. “I believe that depression is one of the major lifestyle diseases of the 21st century, and I encourage churches to participate in this practical program,” said Botting.
Camp meeting peaked on the final Sabbath afternoon with a baptismal service in the Eel River, where 15 people decided to make a public stand for the Lord. With the continued focus on evangelism and community outreach, organizers hope for even more baptisms next year.
