Senior Camp 2018

For the past 17 years, our minister Stephen has spent the first week of July at Senior Camp - a camp for young people aged 16+, currently held in Armagh. After 8 years as a camper, this was his 9th and final year on the committee.

This year there were 82 campers, 16 committee members and 11 cooks - with around 15% of the campers/committee coming from Scotland. The speaker this year was David McCullough, church planting minister of Woodstock Reformed Presbyterian Church in East Belfast. David was Stephen's minister growing up, and when he and Carla first got married, and will be speaking in Stranraer on 25th August at our church family weekend.

David's talks were on the book of Hebrews, and are available to listen to/download below:

Here are some of the reflections from others who travelled over from Scotland for the camp - they were asked about the talks, the activities and their favourite part of camp:

Sarah

1. Rev David McCullough preached through the book of Hebrews. We explored what Jesus Christ achieved when He came to earth, being the "final word", winning the battle in restoring all that man ruined and living a perfectly obedient life to God. Christ is a perfect example of the way we should live our life in that he pleased God in all that he thought, said and did. I learnt therefore that without Christ, we would have no Shepherd to guide us the right way. We can always trust in Him, He understands us as He came in our form and through His death for us we can seek for forgiveness from God.

2. The weather was amazing all week so I really enjoyed the sports outside like the team activities and the paint-balling. As a very competitive individual, I took it very seriously so enjoyed when our team won and at the same time made many new friends!

3. As it was my first camp, I loved getting to know people and everyone was really easy to get on with. Being in fellowship and amongst other Christians really strengthened me and by the end, I had not only made some great friendships, but had also grown in faith with God.

Eilidh

1. Over the week we did a study in the book of Hebrews. In the talks Rev McCullough very vividly described the life and example of Jesus Christ and our relationship with Him. In the talks we were reminded that not only is Jesus our saviour, but he is our “shepherd”, our “ king”, our “captain”, our “liberator”, our “champion” and our “Great high priest”. He is all the above and more. He came to restore. He is able to sympathise with us in whatever we face in our lives, I found this very encouraging as it doesn’t take you long to look around you and see that it is a very secular world we live in yet we are comforted by looking to Him and knowing that he is “the same yesterday, today and forever” - Hebrews 13 vs 8

2. We had excellent weather at camp this year it lasted the whole week!! I loved taking part in all of the sports outside, especially all the group activities where we all had to work as a team... I’m still recovering from our tug of war!!

3. My favourite part of camp this year was definitely getting the opportunity to share fellowship with other young Christians, the week went past so quickly in their company!!

Emily

1. The talks at camp this year focused on Hebrews. I found them very encouraging as a reminder that,  even though we are vulnerable sheep that so easily wander and get distracted, we have a great Shepherd and High Priest who is always looking out for us. It was especially encouraging to be reassured that even though we struggle with temptations on earth that Jesus understands exactly what we’re going through and has not only been faced with temptations we might be facing but ones others are facing as well. 

2. I really enjoyed the paint-balling as I hadn’t done it before and thought it was a great experience (even though it was roasting and we were running around in big boiler suits!) I also enjoyed the sports outside in the sun.

3. My favourite part of camp was definitely reuniting with friends and building up new friendships through fellowship together.

Jessica

1. The talks this year I found very relevant to young people today. We are surrounded in schools by non-christians 24/7 where they do not understand us and try to change us. Due to this it can result in us being 'embarrassed' of Jesus which Rev McCullough spoke about. Why should we be ashamed/ embarrassed of Jesus when he isn't of us? Instead of being embarrassed and ashamed of us he died on the cross to save us and he made that known. He loves us as he is our shepherd, our king, our champion, our great high priest, our hero. We should be holding fast onto him as he is to us and as David said, we should be eager to be learning more about Jesus in order to tighten the grip meaning it is less harder to let go when tempted.

2. I really enjoyed the whole week!! Due to the really warm weather there was a hose pipe ban when we were over meaning no messy games which is always a plus! Didn't have to put up the smell of fish guts and cat food etc for a whole week! So my favourite activity was the non messy games as we didn't have to get messy!!

3.  My favourite part of camp was definitely the same as Eilidih and Emily! I loved being able to chill and talk to friends and to develop those friendships face to face. So used to just talking to everyone online so it was good to be able to put my phone down for the week and just have fellowship with one another!

Look out for more reflections on the RPCS website soon!

Banner of Truth Ministers' Conference

At the end of April, Stephen attended the Banner of Truth Ministers' conference in England. It's a great opportunity to meet fellow ministers from the UK and around the world, and be encouraged by talks on the subject of ministry.

Breakfast with brothers from Chile, Albania and Larne!

The conference gave Stephen the opportunity to meet Simon Arscott, the minister of All Nations IPC (Ilford) where one of our members, Gareth, is attending while he's working in London.

It was also a chance to catch up with fellow RP ministers from Ireland who had made the trip over. Warren Peel (Trinity RPC) was one of this year's main speakers.

Videos of the talks are available here.

Camp Reunions 2018

Last weekend one of our young people, Hannah, attended Girls' Discovery Camp Reunion (10-12 year olds) in Northern Ireland. Here are some of her highlights:

"The talks at camp reunion were on the Armour of God. We learnt about what it was and all the different parts of it. The activities we did were very fun, we went to jump lanes and went for a walk to the beach too. We played lots of games. We also had some craft activities. I most enjoyed the talks and seeing friends from the Summer camp the most . The crafts were also really fun"

Earlier in February, our minister Stephen was over helping out at Senior Camp Reunion (16+). The talks were given by Andy McKelvey, a medical doctor and deacon in Cullybackey RPC (the home congregation of Stornoway minister Stephen McCollum).

Some of the young people from Airdrie and Glasgow also attended. When they got home, they answered a few questions for the RPCS website:

What were the talks on?  What was something that really stood out to you or made an impression from the talks?

Emily: The talks mainly focused on body and soul and how they are integrated. Throughout the weekend Andy explored mental illness and the idea of us all being so dependent on other people throughout our whole life and how we should always be aware that even one simple conversation could be moving people towards or away from God. I found all the talks extremely interesting as nobody really talks much about mental illness, even though it was a bit different from usual talks. 

Eilidh: Over the weekend the focus of the talks were on body and soul. On Friday night the talk was on Humanity and what really stuck with me was that we are the image bearers, all of us, even from the womb and because we are made in God’s image we’re able to see the difference between right, and wrong.  On the same night Andy spoke on suffering. He said that we all had faced suffering at least once and that as we get older we will experience much more, for example bereavement. In these times of suffering, no matter how painful God IS with us, and we depend on him to guide us in both the big things and the small things. 

Jess:  The talks were focused on Body and Soul. I felt they were very different to our usual talks as Andy spoke about things that are very relevant in today’s society but stuff that isn’t really spoken about. It really helped that Andy explained how we should be with people with mental illness and how we should always go to them and speak to them and how they will push us away. One day we also heard how we should love all of those fellow Christians no matter what they’ve done and to always look out for each other. Also what he said about suffering – saying that all suffering has a purpose, and we might not ever know the true reason until we are in heaven and God reveals his plan to us.

What were some of the activities you enjoyed from Camp Reunion?

Emily:  My favourite activity from camp reunion was the game in Portrush. We were given an ornament of a whale and had to trade it in different shops to see who could get something with the highest sentimental value. Our group managed to get a t-shirt with our picture printed on it saying “ Camp Reunion 2018”. It took some serious negotiation skills!

Eilidh: On Saturday we drove down to Portrush. We did a trade for trade and my team ended up with two extra freebies!! It was a pretty gray day but had so much fun!

Jess: I think I’ll just go with Emily on that one. We were in the same team except I got to keep the t-shirt!!!

What was your favourite part about Camp Reunion?

Emily: My favourite part of Camp Reunion was being able to have fellowship with other young people, learning more about such an interesting topic, and renewing friendships from camp in the summer. Roll on camp 2018!

Eilidh: The highlight of reunion was definitely seeing everyone again and having fellowship together. It all passed SO quickly!! Can’t wait to see everyone again in the summer!

Jess: My favourite thing about camp was definitely getting to catch up with everyone and speak to new people! My least favourite thing was how cold it was the first night! I went to bed with a jumper, hoodie, and jacket on as well as my towel!!! All because Eilidh forget to put the radiator on!

Puritan Reformed Fellowship

Last month Stephen attended a new gathering of Scottish ministers called the Puritan Reformed Fellowship. The conference was attended by like-minded men from the RPCS, Free Church of Scotland, Free Church Continuing, International Presbyterian Church and Associated Presbyterian Churches, as well as by one brother from the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC).

The conference was held in the Macdonald Crutherland House Hotel in East Kilbride. It was a good, central location, and with a number of men coming from the Inverness area and the Western Isles, relatively close to Stranraer!

Eating and talking together was one of the highlights of the conference

Proceedings began on a Monday night a talk by Malcolm Watts (Emmanuel Church Salisbury) on 'What is a Reformed Church?' (he has a book by the same title). The next morning he spoke on 'Five Solas of the Reformation', before an interesting lecture on the Lord's Supper by Malcolm Maclean (Greyfriars Free Church, Inverness). Dr Maclean reminded us that Reformers like Calvin thought the Lord's Supper should be held far more frequently than it is today - and questioned the helpfulness of the traditional Highland Communion Season in this regard.

In the afternoon Joel Beeke (Heritage Reformed Congregation, Grand Rapids), who had just arrived from America, spoke on 'Puritan Worship' and 'Puritan Preaching'. He spoke twice again that evening at a Scottish Reformation Society meeting that was open to the public.

The next morning, Dr Beeke gave his final talk on 'Puritan Evangelism', before Dr Donald John Maclean (an elder in Cambridge Presbyterian Church and author of James Durham and the Gospel Offer in its Seventeenth Century Context) spoke about the life of Durham, a Covenanter minister and author who died at 36. Dr Maclean challenged the divided Presbyterian denominations in Scotland to unity:

It's at this point that we have fallen furthest from our Reformed heritage. Durham simply would not recognise, could not comprehend, the multiplicity of orthodox Westminster Confession, Presbyterian denominations. He could not understand three psalm singing churches in a small village, struggling to support ministers, while towns with tens of thousands of people have no basic Reformed witness. He would quite simply say that we are, taken as a whole, in a state of sinful division

Perhaps by God's grace this conference will be a first step towards healing these divisions and changing the Confessionally Reformed church scene in Scotland.

First ever Firm Foundations weekend!

During the last weekend of October we held our first ever Firm Foundations weekend. Those signing up for it were promised a weekend of intense theological instruction, made up of both lectures and formal and informal discussion.

We were delighted to have seven guys attending - from both Scotland and Ireland, as well as inside and outside the RP Church. We were thrilled that David Whitla was able to join us to give the lectures.

David, a Scottish native and former pastor at Southside Indianapolis (RPCNA) is currently studying for a PhD focussing on Scottish Covenanter Theology and Spirituality at Queen's University Belfast in preparation to return to the States to teach at Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

David also helped pioneer the hugely popular and successful Theological Foundations for Youth programme, which has had a big impact for good in the RPCNA and influenced a future generation of ministers, elders and members.

Things began on Saturday afternoon (David had been speaking at the RPCS Presbytery on the Saturday morning) with a lecture on the Mediatorial Kingship of Christ - a topic on which the definitive book was written by former Stranraer minister William Symington.

After tea, David set the guys a 'Bible readiness' quiz, aimed at showing them how well we need to know our Bibles, but which also opened up many areas for discussion.

On the Lord's Day, the guys joined us for the prayer meeting and morning worship. Following this we had a church lunch, which provided a chance for the congregation to get to know our visitors.

After lunch, David gave a talk on where the RP Church came from, focussing mostly on the 17th Century Covenanters. We were glad that some of the congregation were able to stay around for it.

After evening worship, we had a 'Stump the Pastor' session where David answered questions the boys had submitted on topics such as Dispensationalism, God's regrets and Baptism.

On Monday, David gave two more lectures, on the Lord's Day and the Regulative Principle of Worship. After some more informal discussion, the guys headed for home.

We are grateful to God for a good weekend of fellowship and teaching, which hopefully gave those who came plenty to think about and work through, as well as giving them a taste of Stranraer!