2018 Family Camp

June 29 - July 2, Friday - Monday

at Murietta Hot Springs Conference Center

Map

For medical assistance, contact camp doctor: Dr. Peter Fung – (562) 658-9514.

For medical emergency, notify FCBC leadership immediately, request 911 services or notify any MHS staff.

For shuttle service at camp, contact brother Chi Ming – (949) 232-9969.

Schedule

Welcome

Christmas is called “the most wonderful time of the year” in that famous song. But, it only comes around once a year...can there be other wonderful times during the remaining 11 months? Well, at least for our church, I think June-July is also a “most wonderful time.” I love Family Camp...church retreats in general are at the top of my favorite events in the church calendar. They have been since my youth.

However, I realize that there may be some who don’t necessarily “love” Family Camp...that it can be a bit uncomfortable being around so many people for 72 consecutive hours. Self-described “introverts” can find the camp environment to be more tiring than relaxing. For others, especially those who volunteered to serve, Family Camp can feel like a working vacation...with many responsibilities and to-do’s on the list. For parents with young children, Family Camp can add on a layer of stress that wouldn’t exist at home.

So, what’s the answer to making Family Camp (and just living as a part of the body of Christ, in general) meaningful, refreshing, rewarding and motivating? How can we overcome those barriers—whether they be personal, social, or psychological—that prevent us from seeing our place and time among the Church family as a true blessing?

I believe the answer is in remembering what we’re all about—our purpose and mission as a follower of Jesus and as a member of His body—the Church.

Almost exactly a year ago (as I write this), church leaders and interested members gathered together with our regional Southern Baptist director of mission, Dr. Michael Proud (who also spoke at Family Camp a few years ago), to wrestle with this foundational concept as part of our Transformational Church study:

What is our church all about?
What is the mission of FCBC-FV?
What do we envision our church becoming?

After hours of discussion and prayer, the answers and conclusions came back to the basics that most of us already knew. The mission of FCBC-FV is quite simple. Not simplistic, but simple enough that even the youngest students of the Bible can comprehend it. Our mission revolves around two central teachings of Jesus, one of which He called the “Greatest Commandment” and the other which the Church has entitled “The Great Commission”:

Love (Matthew 22:36-40)
Disciple-making (Matthew 28:18-20)

We boiled down these fundamental ideas into an FCBC-FV mission statement:

Loving God, Loving People, Making Jesus Know.

Slogans don’t make a church “Transformational” but knowing our mission is a necessary starting point. This church year and this Family Camp are dedicated to taking the steps to realizing this mission statement.

Dr. Proud’s Transformational Church report came back to us with three recommendations: one short-term, a medium-term and a long-term.

The short-term goal was simple but profound: develop a culture of spontaneous prayer. Members ought to pray with and over each other at any time, in any place — even over the phone or internet. We should NOT be shocked to see people huddled in prayer together! It ought to be a normal part of church life.
(The medium-term recommendation was developing a strategy for discipleship and evangelism. The long-term was to envision FCBC’s place in Fountain Valley and to prepare for the demographic changes and challenges that lie ahead.)

So, here’s an idea for camp: try to pray spontaneously at least once at camp with someone. Spontaneous means it’s not pre-planned, so your closing prayer during small groups— while very valuable and important—does not count! But to even get to the point of praying spontaneously will require a level of “fellowship” that perhaps we’re not accustomed to...where we let down our “shame-guards” and open ourselves for another to support us. You might find it a surprise to read that even the great Apostle Paul requested support: “Pray for me” (Ephesians 6:19).

Going back to our mission statement and making the most of this weekend at Family Camp...may I also challenge you to another spontaneous prayer? This prayer can be with someone else too, but let it begin with you praying it alone. It’s a spontaneous prayer of our (your) mission statement. It’s a prayer of obedience to Jesus’ great commandment and commission. Throughout this camp—when you’re going to meals, to worship time, to small groups, to your room and even to recreation, pray something like this:

God, show me how to love You more, to love others more, and to make Jesus known.

Yes, I know if you plan to pray it, it’s not really “spontaneous.” So call it “planned spontaneity!” Utter this prayer throughout the day wherever you are. And see how the Lord will answer that prayer specifically. I know it’s a prayer He desires to hear, so I know He will answer you. Will you obey and trust the Lord? I’m confident that even you who are most stressed or uncomfortable in Family Camp will go home blessed as you obey. Who knows? You might be singing a modified version of that old Christmas tune:

It's the most wonderful time of the year The kids going swimming
And everyone singing,
Spontaneous prayer...
It's the most wonderful time of the year

It's the hap-happiest weekend around With the registrars greetings,
The worship and meetings
In hot springs we lounge
It's the hap-happiest season around.

Blessings,
Pastor Godfrey

Camp Rules

Participation

Make the most of every opportunity to glorify God and bless your fellow brother/sister here at camp.

Dress Policy

“Comfort with modesty” (no bare shoulders, backs or midriffs; no short shorts or skirts)

Campground Environment

Safety first! Supervise and know where your kids are at all times.
If you damage camp property, you (or your parents) are responsible.
No candles, oil lamps, or open flames. No fireworks, explosives. No skate boarding/roller-skating/roller-blading.
Prohibited: profanity, abusive or inconsiderate language, use or possession of tobacco and alcohol products, lewd or pornographic materials or publications.

Lodging Areas

Respect lodging areas. Keep noise to a minimum. Curfew is 11:00 p.m; enjoy your cabin time in your apartments. Quiet hours are 10:00 pm to 8:00 am.
Youth must avoid opposite gender quarters.

Electrical Devices

Cell phones and pagers must be on silent (vibrate) mode or turned off during worship and general meetings. Why not try something crazy and turn off your phone altogether!
No smartphone/iPad/laptop use (for games, surfing web, social media, music, etc.) except for urgent phone calls/texts, ministry/camp admin and for Bible app.

Murrieta Hot Springs Christian Conference Center Rules

No drinks or food in private rooms, except for water bottles.
No aerobic exercise, massages, facials, makeup demos.
No secular movies/music.
No illegal substances, gambling or disruptive activities.
Modest clothing

Speakers

English Speaker - Pastor Greg Yee

Greg Yee, was born and raised in Oakland, California and currently serves as the superintendent of the Pacific Northwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church overseeing 78 churches and 250 pastors. He met Mary, his wife of 27 years, at the University of California, Davis where he studied Human Development. After his pastoral training at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, he planted Parkwood Community, as well as served as interim pastor of Glen Ellyn Covenant Church in the Chicago area. He went on to be the founding pastor of New Gen, a ministry to second-generation Southeast Asians in Sacramento, California. Before moving to Seattle, Washington he served as associate superintendent of the Pacific Southwest Conference. There he served in the areas of pastoral care, multi-ethnic ministries, and congregational development. Greg and Mary have three children, Jordan (22), Erin (17), and Caden (12). Greg enjoys basketball, the outdoors, and eating good food with good friends.

Chinese Speaker - Pastor Benny Wong

Benny Wong (B. Th. Prairie Bible College; M. Div. China Evangelical Seminary; D. Min. Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary) is the Senior Pastor of First Chinese Baptist Church Los Angeles. His life goal is to bring as many people as possible to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and help them to become true disciples of Him. He feels honored to be serving with many godly and sacrificial leaders in FCBC and he is married to Julia who is also called to the ministry. He enjoys meeting with people, learning new things, sports, music and his way to deal with stress is to play the violin!

Youth Speaker - Pastor Alex Chen

Alex was born and raised in Southern California, with a brief stint in Taiwan (which he loved!) God gave him a Christian home and church to be raised in, but his faith only increased as he learned and relearned the gospel of God’s amazing grace over many years. After graduating from Biola, Alex spent about 10 years in youth ministry, teaching the Bible and trying to keep up with the latest memes. Alex is a huge sports fan, possibly the biggest one you will ever meet. He also loves eating Chick-fil-A.

Children's Speaker - Auntie Lois Sherwin

Passionate about connecting kids with Christ who loves them so completely, and helping parents as they raise their kids to know and love Jesus, Lois is blessed to serve at Grace Community Seal Beach as Director of Children’s Ministries. Lois is happily married to Dr. Nick Sherwin, a business professor at Biola University. They have two children Jennifer and Nick Jr. a beautiful Daughter in love, Meghan, and two bonus granddaughters, Lillie and Eva. Lois loves learning and earned two Masters, one in Biblical Studies from Trinity Theological Seminary and a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Talbot School of Theology. Lois also leads a care team for her mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2013. When not serving, Lois enjoys reading, baking, walking, bike riding, scuba diving, and travel!

Message Outlines

Devotions

Adult and Youth Devotions - Terry Wong

There is a television show called "Undercover Boss." It is a reality based TV show where the leader of a major company goes undercover to work the lowliest job in his company. For example, the CEO of a major fast food company would disguise himself and work as a hamburger cook in one of his restaurants. At the end of the show, the CEO usually learns a valuable lesson about the life of his employees. He understands the struggles of life that is involved for in working for minimum wage and he understands how difficult the work can be. Something like this probably has happened or may happen to all of us. It happens to us when we become parents. We never realize all the work that goes into being a mother or a father until we become one. We learn a lot when we personally experience role-reversals or when we witness them. Let's read Matt. 18:23-35 to see what we can learn from this role-reversal parable.

There are three main "actors" in this parable; the king, the king's slave and the friend of the slave. This parable has two main parts that both parallel each other. The first is between the king and his slave and the 2nd is the slave and his friend. Let's compare those two scenes (I will fill out one side and you fill out the other side)

The king and his slave	The slave and his fellow slave
The king summons the slave to come to settle the debt (which would take about 164,000 years for him to pay back)	The slave ________ out his fellow slave who owes him money (which would take about 100 days to pay back)
[We can assume that the king asks for his money to be repaid]	The slave _________ his fellow slave and _________ him and demands that his friend pays him back
The slave request for more time in order to pay back the debt.	The fellow slave _________ for more time in order to ______ _______ the debt
The king feels compassion and forgives the entire debt	The slave ________ his fellow servant in _________ until the fellow servant can ______ him back.

The main point of this parable is found in the 3rd scene. We, as sons of God, have been forgiven a great debt that we could never repay and therefore we should forgive the debt (so small in comparison to the debt we owe God) of those who sin against us. The slave in this parable failed his role reversal test. But if we are honest with ourselves, we are probably more like the slave than the king in this story. So why are we like that? Think about somebody you find difficult to forgive and why it is so for you.

Part of the reason is that we easily forget how much we have been forgiven and we dwell on how great we have been sinned against. Whether we like to admit it or not, we consider our sins against God smaller than the sins of others against us. A child who disobeys his parents will never see their disobedience as serious as the parents because a child can never understand how much a parent does for his/her child (until, of course, that child becomes a parent). The next time someone sins against you, realize that your sin against God is so much greater than what was done to you. Only when we realize how great our sin is against God will we being to understand how undeserved God's grace is towards us and unreserved is His love is for us.

Children's Devotions

Adult and Youth Devotions - The Principal of Love – Jeff Sheng

Scripture: Luke 6:35-36 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

Background: These two verses recorded the time when Jesus was teaching His disciples. In Luke 6:12 we read that Jesus went up a mountain, prayed all night and chose twelve to be His disciples whom He called apostles. Early in the morning, Jesus and His disciples came down from the mountain to a plain, and started to teach His disciples in front of a big crowd. Some people called this passage the “Sermon on the Plain.” Jesus preached to His disciples as well as to the crowd. Without doubt, this teaching also applies to Christians today, so we need to seriously listen and obey.

Message: In 6:27-42, Jesus talked about how to treat other people: “The Principal of Love.” He also talked about the principal of God’s Kingdom. His teaching is of a very high standard, more than the love/hate emotion and ability of human nature. How would the disciples and future leaders carry out His teaching? The key lies in 6:35-36, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

God created the heavens and the earth, and provides whatever is necessary for the lives of all people. There is no difference in how He treats the good and the wicked: Page 18 “…for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
He loves the world, even though we are deep in our sins. He prepared salvation for us before the creation of the world. He sent His begotten Son to bleed and die on the cross. His blood paid the ransom for our sins, so that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Jesus taught His disciples to treat others as the merciful Heavenly Father does. He taught us to obey the principal of love: though people hate, curse, insult, rob, do not repay debt, let us still love them, treat them well, bless them, pray for them and love them as we love ourselves (6:27-34). This is not from us but God’s mercy. It is His will. In this way, He promised us a very big reward – to be His children!

Meditation: If I have been saved, and have a new life in me, I should live out this new life in my relationship with other people and in obedience to God’s teaching. He chose me and gave me His grace. If we treat those around us with kindness, if brothers and sisters in the church truly love one another, people will see that we have God’s presence in us.

Many visitors have commented this when they first came to our church: that they saw joyful smiling faces, they felt welcomed with warm greetings, and they could sense the presence of God. They attended Sunday School, stayed for lunch, and did not want to leave. They continued to talk with our brothers and sisters, sharing their life stories. They wanted to stay to experience the extraordinary warmth of the house of God. Because of such a welcome, many visitors later accepted Christ as their personal Savior, and their lives were changed. Those new, as well as young members have now become co-workers in the church. They serve the Lord and others fervently and give their very best.

The church is responsible for proclaiming the gospel and expanding God’s kingdom. The church is the place to have fellowship with God as well as with the body of Christ. “But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). God expects us to love one another, just as He loves us. If we truly love one another, we walk in the Light. God IS with us, and we will be a good testimony for our Lord Jesus.

Question: How does the “The Principal of Love” encourage me? Am I living out godliness? Am I often touched by God’s deep and unmoving love? Can my life be a touching testimony as I serve others?

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for saving me. You have loved me and chosen me, while I was yet a sinner. You gave me faith so that I could experience your grace. Fill me with Your Spirit so that I may obey the Truth and pursue Your Way. Help me to remember the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. May I love whomever You love. Help me to do the gospel work with a true heart. May Your will be done! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!

Children's Devotions

Adult and Youth Devotions - Grace Extremely Undeserved – Benny Lau

I had an appointment with the Los Angeles rental property inspector. As the property owner of 6-unit apartment, I went for the scheduled interview with a fearful heart. After the inspection, the inspector gave me a list, which was shorter than expected to fix the problems within a certain period of time. He jokingly said that there should be more items to be fixed; however, seeing that I had a caring and kind relationship with my renters, he shortened the list. I thanked him and said, “You are so forgiving.”

Let us think about this: grace is receiving something which we do not deserve. Every one of us has sinned – against God and against people. Man never deserves the grace of forgiveness nor God’s love, yet God gave us these through Jesus Christ. Because of sin, we deserve to die (Rom. 3:23; 6:23). However, “…God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” We do not deserve the wonderful grace of God. But Jesus, holy and blameless, sacrificed His life so that we are not condemned for our sins. God promises to care for those who trust Him. Because of our faith, one day we will be forever with Him in heaven.

Let us thank our true and living God with unceasing praise!

Meditation:

Romans 3:23 “ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”

1 Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I praise You and thank You! You suffered for my sins. You gave me undeserving grace, so that my sins are forgiven. I have been saved and renewed. Often, I let You down. But with a humble heart I bow before You today to pray. Thank You for being so compassionate. Thank You for giving me a precious gift – Your wonderful grace. Thank You for Your love. Amen.

Children's Devotions

2018 Family Camp

June 29 - July 2, Friday - Monday

at Murietta Hot Springs Conference Center

Map

Schedule

Welcome

Camp Rules

Speakers

Message Outlines

Devotions

Camp Evaluation

Click here to fill in the Family Camp Evaluation Form

2018-06-29 - Family Camp

2018 Family Camp

June 29 - July 2, Friday - Monday

at Murietta Hot Springs Conference Center

Map

Schedule

Welcome

Camp Rules

Speakers

Message Outlines

Devotions

Camp Evaluation

Click here to fill in the Family Camp Evaluation Form