Washington Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president

What is it like being at Oshkosh with the International Pathfinder Camporee? An abundance of things come to mind!

When I look around, I see 57,000 people camping in all manner of tents, campers and hammocks. It is a pretty amazing sight!

Pathfinders come from all over the world. There are thousands of young people! They gather on the corners of the streets and chat and trade pins from different countries.

They complete honors, they pray, they play, they listen to the programs, wave flags and march. They sing with enthusiasm. Many of our Pathfinder youth have prepared for and are being baptized.

The adults that work to make this an amazing experience for the young people is also an amazing gift in the Adventist church.

There are adults here that came to very beginnings of the international camporees when these programs started many years ago. They keep bringing young people to experience and see all that is put into place for the Pathfinders to experience.

There are adults here with their clubs for the very first time. They have found the resources, planned the menus, scheduled duties for their members and they walk for miles each day to ensure that their young people are able to take it all in. They do it with smiles on their faces and a twinkle in their eyes as they see the experiences that their young people have.

Praise God for these volunteers and praise God that another generation of leaders will rise up from the young people here and say we need to provide this experience for the next generation!

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 states: “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.”

Praise God for the many kinds of gifts and service on display at Oshkosh! But praise God that these gifts are also on display each week in the Washington Conference territory! Total Member Involvement is all of us using the gifts we have in ministry for the honor and glory of God. Let each one of us continue to be involved in ministry in our communities for Christ!