This year’s online BCC Easter conference began on Good Friday with TV broadcasts from the USA, the Netherlands, Canada and Norway. Fellow believers from around the world heard the gospel of hope. The online event continued with three days of programs for children, families and adults.
By Ulrikke Andresen – Photo by Øystein Vårdal
The traditional Easter conference in BCC has often been the most attended of its events, with a packed conference hall on Easter morning. A year ago, this changed drastically, and since then there has been a shift to becoming an “online church”.
Many people expressed thankfulness for this initiative, which allowed for believers from many countries to connect for edification, despite closed borders. Even though most still sit at home when this conference starts on TV, there is a festive atmosphere and an expectation to receive help for living a personal Christian life.
READ: Day has dawned, sorrow’s gone
The Gospel of hope connects us
The conference opened Friday night with verses from Romans 15: 13: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope”.
“Jesus came to make our joy full. We can only maintain full joy through perfect faithfulness to God. A simple faith in God excludes sin. It is about keeping your heart with all diligence, for from it springs the issues of life. So keeping mye heart pure is decisive for my life,” said Kåre J. Smith.
After the opening meeting, the evening continued with an online concert, where songs from the BCC songbook Ways of the Lord were performed. The songs have always been an important aspect of the church’s edification, and the book contains over 400 songs that continue to give hope, faith and strength to many people in various life situations. In a panel discussion from a TV studio in Connecticut, USA, stories about the songs and the people who wrote them were shared.
The message of Easter for children
There was a program for children on Saturday morning, with a Sunday school session for both young and intermediate children. Through animated films, music, quizzes and conversations, the children learned more about why Easter is celebrated, and what Jesus’ life and work mean for us today. The children’s programs were translated and dubbed into 14 languages, so that children could participate and understand the message on an equal footing, regardless of where they came from.
There were also prepared activities that families could do from their homes, including a joint “Easter Expedition” for children, where they could discover new Easter traditions by “traveling around the world” to solve tasks.
See more of the Easter message for children on YouTube, or on this website. You can see the song “Jesus Christ is Risen” from the children’s broadcast here:
“Easter Smile”: an initiative for spreading joy
A new activity called “Easter Smile” was also launched. It involved spreading joy to others with suggestions of shared activities for families. The goal was to encourage participants to think about others during this special time.
“Easter Smile” started as a competition with various tasks, including writing a letter to a friend, delivering flowers to the elderly, surprising someone with a cake, or arranging a day trip for families or friends.
Photos from the competition were shared continuously on BrunstadTV throughout the day, making it possible to follow along with endeavors made around the world.
We gather around Jesus’ work of salvation
Easter is a time we as Christians commemorate Jesus’ work of salvation for all humanity, when he completed His work on the cross and opened the way to salvation for all who want to follow. For us, it is perhaps the most important event in world history, reminding us that light overcame darkness, and that Jesus’ work gives us hope, help and strength to begin a completely new life. This message enables us to look forward to the future, even though the world is chaotic, and the future is uncertain.
We hope everyone has had a blessed Easter holiday, and share the song “Day has dawned, sorrow’s gone”, sung by members from around the world during last year’s online conference.