HIGHLIGHTS ON S
cripture Union NZ (SUNZ) has been running camps on Ponui Island in the Hauraki Gulf since 1932, facilitated and supported by the wonderful Chamberlin family. From that time, camps have developed from a boys-only camp each summer to multiple co-ed camps each year, catering for all ages. The activities available to campers have also developed as new resources and facilities have been added and the campsite on Ponui has grown into a multi-use site, used year-round by schools, churches and families, as well as each summer by SUNZ.
called Going Deeper) and in April 2019 we held our first autumn camp on the island with our first-ever Fishing Camp. This boys-only camp is obviously focused around fishing in various forms–from kayak fishing to boat- and land-based fishing off the beach or point–but its main emphasis is youth development. It’s about teaching not just fishing skills, but life skills too. Campers had to cook for themselves and plan their own overnight expedition. They had various masterclasses to gain new skills and experiences. They even had a survival challenge of swimming from the edge of the bay back into shore whilst wearing a life jacket.
Ponui is a special place, as anyone who has ever been there will tell you–often campers return year after year, and many even return beyond their school years as leaders or attend family camp or the adult Bible study camp. Many refer to Ponui as their spiritual home–a place where they get their yearly recharge and break from the reality of their daily lives to reconnect with God.
Interspersed throughout the camp were six sessions called ‘For Reel?’. We took up the fishing theme in a wordplay on ‘real’, and asked the questions: ‘is God for reel?’ and ‘if you believe He is, is your faith for reel?’ Despite all of the fishing and many different activities over the course of the camp, these teaching sessions were seen as a highlight by many of the campers. Before camp, all but a couple of campers had no interest in the Christian faith or were struggling with it. The week was a significant opportunity
SUCAMPS on Ponui have continued to develop in recent years with the development of a spring Ponui camp–Ponui Extreme (now 20 www.sunz.org.nz
