Fellowship with the parents in preparation for the 2025 Family Camp given on November 6, 2025
Welcome to our 2025 Family Camp!
This guide is intended for parents and burdened saints who will be joining us for the Family Camp. We hope all of you will take a few minutes to read and know the burden for this family time, and also some practical points in order to have an enjoyable time with all the children. May the Lord grant us all a memorable time together! Our burden during the Family Camp is that the entire household would participate for all three days to get continuity of the theme and the full benefit.
Our current practice of Family Camp in the church in Anaheim
Years ago, the church in Anaheim conducted what were called “Children’s Camps”. The purpose of the camp was to focus specifically on the children. As the years passed, the name was changed to “Family Camps”, as there was the realization that the whole family as the unit of salvation should be the main focus. God cares about households. The burden was, and still is, to have an opportunity for children and their parents to come together to eat, sing, listen to stories, memorize Bible verses, and do activities together as a family. It is also an opportunity for families to blend and fellowship with one another on how they are bringing the church life into their family life.
Our Household: The Unit of Rejoicing
The topic for this year’s Family Camp was “Our Household: The Unit of Rejoicing”. Deuteronomy 12:7 says: “And there you shall eat before Jehovah your God, and you and your households shall rejoice in all your undertakings, in which Jehovah your God has blessed you.” Watchman Nee says,
“You and your household received the blessing of God and rejoice therein … Have you seen this? God promised the Israelites that they would eat, drink, and rejoice before God on that day household by household. In other words, blessing is for the household, not for the individual.
Throughout the entire Old Testament, God dealt with man by households. Likewise, in the New Testament, He deals with man by households. This is the smallest unit; one cannot reduce it to a smaller one.” (CWWN, vol. 49, “Messages for Building Up New Believers (2),” pp. 310, 312)
Then, regarding Deuteronomy 12:7, brother Witness Lee says,
“This indicates that the children of Israel not only ate before the Lord; they also rejoiced before Him. Eating and rejoicing go together. As the children of Israel enjoyed the produce of the good land in the presence of God, they rejoiced. Apart from the riches of the land of Canaan, they had nothing to eat and therefore no reason to rejoice. Both the eating and the rejoicing were dependent upon the riches … The riches of Christ are the factor, the cause, of our rejoicing in the place of God’s choice.” (CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “The Genuine Ground of Oneness,” pp. 276-277)
As part of God’s chosen people, we enjoy the fulfilment of this promise. We are on this earth to receive His life, experience Him, enjoy Him, and express Him until we are corporately ready for His return. In His wisdom, God has placed each one of us in our household. In our human lives filled with ordinary yet busy days, we can be those who are found full of rejoicing in His presence!
“To rejoice is not an act; it is a law. If we try to rejoice, that is just an act. It will never work. But if we keep the principle of the spiritual law, spontaneously we will be rejoicing. Rejoicing is a law that belongs to the Spirit of life, and the Spirit of life is nothing less than Christ as the life-giving Spirit. Christ Himself is the Spirit of life, and within Him there is such a law.” (CWWL, 1973–1974, vol. 1, “The Indwelling Christ in the Canon of the New Testament,” p. 572)
Our children benefit from being raised in such an atmosphere. Of course, the enjoyment and rejoicing may look different depending on the ages of the household members. As parents we can seize each opportunity to speak to our children what pleases God, what makes Him happy. These interactions will give our children a strong foundation and help them choose to live a life that pleases God—rejoicing and being prepared with us for His return.
Family Meetings
“The family life is the basis of our daily life, and our daily life is the basis of the church life”. (Life-study of Colossians, msg. 54, p. 477)
“No family can go on without prayer and the reading of the Word. This is especially true with families that have children.” (CWWN, vol. 49, “Messages for Building Up New Believers (2),” p. 542)
There is no “cookie-cutter procedure” for “family meetings”. There is no specific way or formula to carry it out. It will look different if you have a toddler or if you have a fifth grader. Nothing lengthy, always age-appropriate. You might just sing a song together, or read a few verses or a chapter of the Bible before going to bed, or pray a couple of sentences before any meal, stay longer at the dinner table, or pray/sing while driving to school. You might have a daily or weekly time to read the Bible, memorize verses, and have short conversations about their day, their lows, and highs. This brings rejoicing to our household!
Schedule
Friday, November 7th (District 3)
5:45 PM: Registration
6:00 PM: Dinner
7:00 PM: Session 1 and family activity
Saturday, November 8th (District 3)
3:45 PM: Registration (for those absent on Friday)
4:00 PM: Session 2 and family meeting
5:45 PM: Dinner
6:45 PM: Cleaning
Lord’s Day, November 9th (Tri-City Park)
Address: 2301 N. Kraemer Blvd., Placentia, CA 92870
2:00 PM: Registration
2:15 PM: Games
3:00 PM: Session 3
3:40 PM: Prizes and final announcements
4:00 PM: Cleaning
Registration
Upon arrival on Friday, check in at the registration table to receive your name tag and materials.
Meals
Dinner will be provided on Friday and Saturday. A light snack will be provided at the park on Lord’s Day. This is an opportunity for families to spend time together, memorize Bible verses, and recite them at the Memory Verse Station.
Memory Verses
We encourage all families to spend time together memorizing the Bible verses! Each child will receive a memory verse card based on their age group, in addition to their name badge. Once your child/children have memorized a verse, guide them to the Memory Verse Station to recite the verses to the ones serving in that area. Please, make sure they wait until a check mark is added to their card and recorded by the serving ones. On the final day, prizes will be awarded to those who have memorized at least one verse.
Singing
We will have corporate times of singing and stories. Please, sit with your children at all times. Encourage your children to participate by being the first to sing and follow the instructions. Each family will receive a printed songbook on Lord’s Day. We encourage all the families to start familiarizing themselves with the songs for this time. You can find an audio playlist of the songs under the “Songs” tab at https://children.churchinanaheim.org/family-summer-camps.
Story Times
During our three meetings together, we will develop the burden for this Family Camp, followed by short stories from some of our young people, college age and young adults, about some of their spiritual history with their parents, for our mutual encouragement, as follows:
- God’s intention was to fill the earth with families that love Him and know Him.
- In the Bible, we find out about the first family.
- We must always be thankful for the family God made for us.
Family Activity
On Saturday afternoon, we will have an activity by families. All necessary materials will be provided. This is an opportunity for all family members to work together. Find ways to distribute the tasks among each family member.
Games at the Park (On Lord’s Day)
Location: Tri-City Park (2301 N. Kraemer Blvd., Placentia, CA 92870) We will gather at Picnic Shelter 1. Parking is also available in the nearby neighborhood. Family games will start promptly at 2:15pm. We encourage families to bring a change of clothes, a light lunch, and arrive at the park after the Lord’s Day meeting to eat with other families. After the games, we will gather for singing and share our final stories. Finally, we will award prizes to all who memorized their verses. We recommend that each family bring picnic chairs or blankets. We will provide light snacks. Make sure to bring water for the members of your family!