Young people from the whole world gather for Easter Camp in Norway

9. April, 2019

Soon, the starting shot for Brunstad Youth Club’s first camp of the year will be heard, and around 4,500 participants from 37 countries are expected to arrive in Norway. This is the big highlight of the spring for many youth groups, and the new main organizer has ambitions of raising the camp by even a few more notches.

By Johanne Reiersrud – Photos by BCC

Expectations for the upcoming Easter Camp are high. Youth groups at home and abroad have started the countdown, and these are busy days for organizers.

“We are in the final round, ‘fine-tuning’ the program and preparing ourselves for the arrival of around 4,500 young people from around the world,” says Peter Tischhauser from Brunstad Youth Club.

Brunstad Youth Club has taken the baton as main organizer

This is the fifth year in a row that Easter Camp will be arranged for BCC’s youth at Oslofjord. But this year, Brunstad Youth Club, BCC’s affiliated youth organization, has taken over as main organizer. The target group is youth between the ages of 13 and 18, together with their local youth associations.

Many youth associations from Norway and other countries gather during Easter Camp for various activities and Christian edification. Photo: BCC

Four times a year, Brunstad Youth Club will arrange youth camps, and youth groups from all over the world will meet here. Throughout the year, teenagers in their local club branches meet weekly and can choose between various leisure activities in a Christian environment. The groups also work together and save to attend one or more of the camps each year.

Easter Camp lasts for five full days. During the day, there are a wide range of optional activities that often reflect the leisure activities offered at the local level. This means that young people can meet others who share their interests. In the evenings, everyone gathers for Christian edification, celebrations and fellowship in the main hall.

Exciting evenings of fellowship, edification and celebration in the main hall for the 4,500 young people gathered at the camp. Photo: BCC

The Sports Arena houses many of the activities

“Much of what will happen during the camp will take place in the new Oslofjord Arena, which opened in December,” explains Peter Tischhauser. He is responsible for Brunstad Youth Club’s efforts during the Easter Camp and is deeply involved in most of the preparation for the youth event this Easter.

“During the camp, we will open a ‘Camp Hub’ here, a gathering point in Oslofjord Arena. Here, we will be close to the tournaments and many of the daytime activities. Convenient if you have signed up for ice hockey, climbing, volleyball, or football, if you are cheering for your favorite teams, or just want to hang out with your friends.”

There are 38 different activities to choose from during the camp. The many sports activities are only a part of what is offered. In addition to sports, there are groups for computer programming, singing and music, sign language courses, TV production, chess, to name a few.

Oslofjord Arena will be open and will house a slew of sports activities, tournaments and otherwise serve as a gathering place for young people during the camp. Photo: BCC

New communication technology creates excitement during the evenings

Peter doesn’t want to give away all the details before the Easter event, but what is clear is that both the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony will be arranged with a whole new twist, where parts of the evening will have sport and competition as an integral part of the celebrations.

There will also be a very special gathering on Sunday evening, when new communication technology will be used to bring forth a highly interesting message. Central parts of BCC’s history and teachings will be put under the microscope and illuminated from a young person’s perspective. This is part of a larger investment in new dissemination techniques that are quite evident in the youth camps, explains Peter.

Competition and edification engage young people, shown here from the New Year’s Camp in December. Photo: BCC

“As Kåre J. Smith, leader of BCC, has stated earlier, we want to prepare a good environment for the young people. We want to be creative and inventive, and always offer something new. The leadership of BCC is fully committed and will contribute to this – their vision is for young people to know the spirit that was in Jesus Christ,” he explains.

“We also want to support this in Brunstad Youth Club. Our goal is to create the Easter Camp ‘of all time’, an unforgettable experience for young people. They will have fun, fellowship, edification, and participate in activities they love. Those who travel here will feel that there is no better place to be for Easter,” says Peter Tischhauser.

Music and song: one of the groups performs their contribution during the last youth camp. Photo: BCC

From last year’s sign language course, also one of the activities offered this year. Photo: BCC

38 different activities! Ice hockey is one of the popular sports. Photo: BCC