Salvo men ‘arise’ to their purpose
- deansimpson7
- 41 minutes ago
- 2 min read
BY LAUREN MARTIN
The Arise Men’s Camp at The Salvation Army’s Collaroy Centre on Sydney’s northern beaches was abuzz with the holy spirit earlier this month, as 130 men from their 20s to their 80s gathered to hear from God and support each other.
With busloads of men coming from several corps in the Victoria Division, the annual Arise Men’s Camp has grown over the past few years, with organiser Lieutenant Keven Williams saying he has never seen more hunger for God in the room than he witnessed at this event.
“There was a huge hunger for the spirit this year … really from the word ‘go’, from Friday night’s session right through until Sunday, we had people captivated, we had people engaging. You could sense the spirit in the room,” Keven said.
This year, a large contingent of young adults attended from various corps across the division over the weekend of 24-26 October.
“We had about 30 people under 30 in the room,” said Keven. “It was like the younger generation brought an energy into the room and the older generation were catching onto the spirit of being young again – the vibe was just phenomenal.”
Dr Sean Nolan, of Shire Salvos in southern Sydney, taught on 1 Peter 2:9, that those in attendance were God’s chosen people, the royal priesthood, God’s special possession and that they have been called out of darkness and into the wonderful kingdom of light.
“There was a real sense that everyone there was specifically chosen by God to be there,” said Keven. “Sean’s teaching opened up for the men to consider what God is calling them to arise into.”
Feedback shared with the organising team included comments such as people learning “a better awareness of where I am with the Lord”, that they are “closer to Jesus” and the “the importance of mentoring/praying for one another.”
For Keven, he sensed that the men there really caught the vision of being spiritual fathers and sons.
“I would want to see coming out of this event that men would catch the vision of mentoring and praying with each other. Walking alongside each other and doing life together.”
Keven, who is the NSW/ACT Divisional Men’s Ministry Champion as an additional role to his Eastern Beaches Corps Officer appointment, says he would gladly come alongside any corps or Salvo who wants to invest in raising up healthy, godly men in their corps and communities.
“If they are keen to either speak about having a young adult men’s or inter-generational men’s ministry at their corps, if they want to learn more about mentoring or father-and-sonship, just reach out because I’m willing to come and spend a few hours or a day to do some training and support.”
Keven is currently working with his counterpart in the Men’s Ministry space in Victoria to explore how an event like Arise could work within that division.
Click through the slideshow below for more photos from the weekend:
