Zach Motts is a missionary to Japan with World Gospel Mission.

Wanted: Camp Meeting

        When I was traveling through the United States raising support to come to Japan as a missionary with World Gospel Mission, I had the chance to visit many camp meetings. Some of them are doing well, but many of them seem to be a mere whisper of what they were in their hey-day. I suppose the value of camp meetings must be very deliberately communicated from one generation to the next, or they will simply shrivel up and die. Some camp meetings have obviously done this better than others. Some camp meetings that I went to were depressing in the way that such a rich heritage and vision was being allowed to decay and be lost.

        Would you be surprised if I told you that the denomination I work with in Japan has an interest in starting a camp meeting? They are probably many years from being able to make that dream a reality, but the idea of a place where people could come and be immersed in a Christian community for a time has immense value here. In the United States, where there are churches all over the place and where it is easy to surround oneself with Christian friends, we sometimes do not see the value in deliberately being together. Now picture yourself in Japan. The Christian population is less than one percent, so the odds of your schoolmates, co-workers, or the people you meet on the street being Christian are rather slim. Most of the churches are very small, so meeting other Christians your age is sometimes difficult. One young man told me that he had never met another Christian his own age until he came to college and got involved in a Bible study there. Imagine the difficulty finding a Christian spouse in this environment. Imagine the difficulties and loneliness that come from being a religious minority.

        How valuable a camp meeting would be here! A place where Christians are not a minority; a place of rest after struggling so long in a country where Christianity is so foreign would be so refreshing. What an experience it would be to suddenly be able to meet other people your age who are dealing with the same struggles that you are! A camp meeting could be such an amazing way revitalize the church here and reach out to Japan.

        Do you see how valuable this part of our heritage is? Being able to be a part of a camp meeting is not a privilege all of us have. Cherish it, if you do. The opportunity to share in Christian community is always a treasure, a gift. Don’t waste it. Don’t lose it. Share it.