"You know the face and the voice from Camporee 2019. But do you know the person behind them? Let’s meet Stephan Sigg, President of Seventh-day Adventists German-Swiss Conference", Paulo Macedo, Camporee PR, interviewed Stephan Sigg, the main speaker of the event.PM. Camporee 2019 is already in its fourth day. How have you been living it?
SS. Camporee is the best the Church can provide for Pathfinders. Not just a place when they have fun and play games, but all live in a real Christian community, meet and talk with role models, nurture and express their faith in a personal relationship to Jesus, through prayer and worship. Camporee is about the kids and we are here to serve them.
PM. The theme of this Camporee is “God’s Promise: always with you”. You chose Joshua as the central character of your messages. What’s the link between the theme and this biblical hero?
SS. Joshua is an Old Testament role model. He was a young man, a slave boy, that by God’s grace becomes a leader and strong man of faith. Part of his biography relates to life of teenagers, teaching that true origin and identity is shaped not only by where they come from, but mainly in the fact they are children of God.
Joshua was born Hosea, but his name was changed to Joshua, that means “God is my savior”. He had role models, like Moses, who mentored him and was meaningful to his path.
He had Christian friends, like Caleb, who grew with him spiritually and with whom he learned to seek the presence of God. So, the secret of his strong faith was to be rooted in a spiritual family and people, to be mentored by good role models, to be accompanied by pairs and always live in God’s presence and in relationship with Him. These were his key factors. This was more important than being a great military leader and a conqueror.
PM. If you were to describe your messages here, in Camporee, in a few words, how would you sum them up?
SS. The main goal is to show teenagers that Christian faith is basically to learn how to trust God in every situation. It’s less about rituals but mainly having a relationship with God, Who is someone always in control of your life, Who will lead you to the Promise Land, as He promised, because He wants your best.
PM. And how challenging is being to talk to almost 3000 young people from different origins?
SS. We have the challenge of the language, because I am speaking in a language that is not spoken by any delegation in this Camporee. So, the message must be simple and meaningful at the same time. The other main challenge is that you have to cross the border from Joshua’s life to the everyday life of this teenagers, so it gets practical.
PM. In one of your messages you told us some of your personal experiences about God’s presence in your life. Can you tell us about your personal experience?
SS. I believe in Pathfinder and Camporee because my personal faith is connected with this. I didn’t grow up in a Christian home, but I got connected to a Christian Pathfinder ministry, where I learn to love Jesus. But I didn’t have a Church to go to. In my late youth, the question: “Where is my spiritual home?” became decisive. I started to pray about it and to pray about what God had in mind for my future, looking for different Churches, but I had a sense of not belonging anywhere. I attended a Christian congress and became interested in the book of Daniel. That is when I came across a flyer in my town, that offered a seminar about Daniel, by a health league. I came in contact with an Adventist pastor and learned about the Bible and finally got baptized.
PM. How important is leaders sharing their experiences for spiritual nurture?
SS. There is a very important thin line that needs to be respected when you tell stories. The danger is that you put yourself in front of Jesus and mislead kids. But I also believe that personal stories connect kids with the life experience you have with God. These experiences are God given treasures to share in a responsible way. The story is not an end in itself but helps to understand a deep spiritual truth. If it doesn’t achieve that goal it is not worth telling.
PM. Please leave a message to our readers…
SS. A Camporee reminds us, as a Church, that ministering to kids and teenagers is at the core of our mission responsibility. If you are able to reach to young people in meaningful ways, you are equipping them to communicate the Gospel in the culture they live in. The best thing we can do as a Church is not only Camporee but also to integrate systemically young people into a living faith community that represents the family of God in the present age.
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