SEP exists primarily to provide young people with a channel through which to come into relationship with Christ. The SEP staff, and indeed often the campers themselves, demonstrate our values and ethics and do so through hard work but also . . . fun! Young people who may have never seen positive Christian examples in their lives have the opportunity to learn about and begin to get to know Christ.Why do we still need it? Because SEP has for some years been one of the most effective mission programmes operated by the members or the organisation of the WCG. Over the last few years alone literally dozens of young people have come into a personal relationship with Christ and hundreds more have had the opportunity to learn more about the Christian message. Last year at SEP there were 13 baptisms and so many uncounted others who began a journey – statistics tell only part of the story.
It is a spiritual ‘home’ to many Christians of all ages and so serves an inward purpose as well as the stated mission of demonstrating the benefits of a Christ-centred life.
Is it just a sports/outdoors activity camp? No; SEP tries to provide an all round experience of sporting, craft and social experiences that young people may not otherwise have opportunity to try. Inevitably in an outdoor setting many of these are physical in nature but by no means are all of the activities sporting. Over many years former campers have told us that the most valuable aspect of SEP for them was simply spending time together and making new friends.
Is it just for young people? Not exclusively. SEP campers range from 11-17 years but the staff range from young babies to honoured ‘veterans’ in their 80s. One of the strengths of SEP is the family atmosphere with mini-campers and crčche through to staff members with decades of service and experience.
Is SEP only for committed Christians? No; many of the campers and also staff are relatively new to Christianity or are perhaps neutral towards it. We approach them as ‘pre-Christians’ and aim to give everyone a positive experience of a living faith. There are no barriers to cross or tests to take in order to be considered.
Why do the staff give up two weeks holiday to go? All the staff are unpaid volunteers. They go for a variety of reasons but most because they enjoy the atmosphere, they want to help achieve its objectives and also because they witness first-hand the difference it makes in young people’s lives.
Why don’t the young people come back and attend WCG congregations? For a range of reasons. Firstly less than 50% of campers are now from a WCG background, many are from other denominations or simply do not attend any church. Secondly, we shouldn’t under-estimate how difficult it is for young people to attend church. The pressures from media, peer groups and youth culture are very difficult to work against. Being a young Christian “out on your own” is not easy. Perhaps the challenge for congregations is to provide a home atmosphere similar to what young people find at SEP. What ways can your church group consider to support and welcome young people, as well as reach the post-modern generation?
Has it changed in recent years? Absolutely; SEP is somewhat smaller in terms of numbers of people and budget than it has been and according to many attendees is the better for it. We now have a reduced pool of potential staff from which to draw but nevertheless we find sufficient to run a good programme every year.
We have more legislation in terms of child protection and health and safety with which to comply. This can be frustrating at times but is necessary and largely for the benefit of all participants.
Most importantly however, we are now much more explicitly Christian in many aspects. There are daily worship services led by the campers and rather than the “do’s and don’ts” approach of previous generations we now focus on the fundamental truth of Christ’s message of love. This has maintained and further embedded the special atmosphere commonly referred to as the ‘magic’ of SEP.
SEP’s longevity is perhaps due in large part to the fact that it has consistently changed and re-invented itself. It must and will continue to develop and we will again re-examine some aspects to ensure that we are doing the mission as effectively and efficiently as possible.
Is it a perfect environment? No, the physical environment of the setting is perfect for our needs and never fails to inspire, even with its weather challenges and midgies! On the other hand some of our equipment and accommodation is less than ideal and wherever you have 270+ human beings living in close proximity there are occasional difficulties.
It isn’t a perfect microcosm or utopian zone but as a functioning Christian community with a clear purpose and unity of spirit, it certainly offers a peaceful place that for many is the highlight of their year.
What can I do to help? First and foremost you can pray for the safety and success of SEP. Everyone who has been to SEP knows that it is not achieved through our physical efforts alone. There are literally hundreds of stories of God’s protection and blessings being on camp. We try never to take these for granted and regular communication of our gratitude to Him and of our heartfelt desire that SEP would achieve its goals helps us to remember the power that makes it possible. To know that many people all over the world are praying for the SEP ‘mission’ success is an inspiring context in which to work.
As a group, congregation, club or individual you could consider sponsoring a camper – we have a scholarship fund which seeks to help those who could not otherwise afford to attend SEP. The fund is never large enough so all donations are greatly accepted.
Other ideas might include helping us out with donations of equipment, stamps to help with postage costs, looking for opportunities to spread the word about SEP (we have a website and leaflets to help with this), etc.
SEP (UK) is the Summer Programme of the Youth Ministry of the Worldwide Church of God. It exists to: • assist teens as they come to understand and grow in a relationship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ • to encourage teens to pursue the Christian way of life • to promote an enjoyable and responsible experience of sporting, recreational and social activity in the rugged environment of Loch Lomond in Scotland. It seeks to achieve these aims through the positive teaching,
loving relationships and Christian example of all the SEP staff. We define this as a Christ-centred environment. |
Noble and Gladys Aylward. The children had an opportunity to learn about the lives of these people and the theme was used in the Christian living classes too. The main service featured messages by Blair and Marissa Phillips entitled “Everyone is special to God” and by Gary Glenister on his experiences of visiting prisoners and helping organise services for them.
There was a wide range of activities from the artistic T-shirt painting to the energetic football and to the challenging wall-climbing and obstacle course. There was also time to relax on the lawn with friends and the two evening activities were a sing along and a quiz.
Steve Hudson did an excellent job in coordinating it all and his daughter Laura helped to produce some fine brochures about it. Thanks also go to Helen Francis who did a sterling job of producing food for everyone.
The Life Club which followed was very lively with much laughter. The Chairperson was Ayelet Melman and the Topics Leader was Lucy Keen. Topics questions included who has helped you in your Christian journey and when was the last time you did something for the first time? Speeches were given by Adele Dewhirst who spoke about some of her favourite things, Mark Francis spoke about how God is always with us, Laura and Matt Hudson gave a very funny presentation on the differences between men and women and lastly Nathaniel Melman gave a speech about the benefits of laughter giving many opportunities for the audience to do so. 
